Relink Dropbox files on external drive to a new computer

jcecchettini

I have all of my Dropbox files on an external drive.  I am upgrading to a new computer, but I don't want to download all of my Dropbox content from the cloud - I just want Dropbox to recognize the external drive as the location of the files on the new computer.

 

I have tried this in the past and have never been able to successfully link the content - configure a new computer, try to sync files, but I get an error message stating that a Dropbox folder already exists on the drive and asks to specify another location.  I want to be prepared this time! 

Hannah

Hey @jcecchettini, thanks for reaching out to our Community.

 

Will you be doing this on a Windows computer?

 

If so, what you'll need to do, is follow these steps:

 

1.Rename your existing Dropbox folder to "Dropbox (old)" or similar. 
2. During the installation, select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder. 
3. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync, so pause syncing or exit Dropbox. 
4. Move only the content of "Dropbox (old)" into the newly created Dropbox folder. 

5. When the move is complete, and not before, resume syncing or re-launch Dropbox.

 

I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any questions.