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How can I move my local Dropbox folder to my external drive?

bferney

I've looked through the various posts and do not see anything that is specifically addressing how to do this.

Right now, my Dropbox file is synced to my desktop so that files are visible either through the web or on my desktop. I need to move the automatic sync from my desktop to an external ****** drive to free up space on my desktop. How to I change the setting in Dropbox to automatically sync everything to the ****** drive and not my desktop?

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Walter

Hey @bferney - thanks for using Dropbox and welcome to the Community!

Can you try these steps to do this and let me know how it goes?

Thanks!

bferney

Thanks, Walter -

So, here is where the wheels immediately get wobbly on the cart . . .

The instructions say to open the dropbox icon in my task bar and to click on the "initials or avatar". When I open the dropbox icon on my task bar, it opens Explorer. There are no initials or avatar. When I open dropbox through the internet, I see my initials; but, when i click on the initials, there is no option for preferences or sync.

I moved all of the files on my desktop to my external drive last night; but, that moved them out of Dropbox on the web as well - files that others have access to and need to do their work.

Rich

bferney wrote:
The instructions say to open the dropbox icon in my task bar and to click on the "initials or avatar". When I open the dropbox icon on my task bar, it opens Explorer.

Either you're clicking the wrong icon, or you're double-clicking the correct icon. The icon they're referring to is the one in your system tray. A single-click opens the app, while a double click opens Explorer.

If you have a Dropbox icon anywhere else (Start Menu, Desktop, pinned to your task bar) that's the wrong icon. Refer to the this help article on how to access Preferences.

bferney wrote:
When I open dropbox through the internet, I see my initials; but, when i click on the initials, there is no option for preferences or sync.

You can't make this change on the Dropbox website. It needs to be done through Preferences in the Dropbox application on your computer.

bferney wrote:
I moved all of the files on my desktop to my external drive last night; but, that moved them out of Dropbox on the web as well

You can't move the Dropbox folder manually. If you do, Dropbox will not be able to sync, and as you experienced, could see it as a mass deletion.

And, speaking of mass deletion ...

You need to be VERY CAREFUL while running Dropbox on an external drive as data loss can occur under the right conditions. If the external drive were to become disconnected while the Dropbox application is running, Dropbox could see the sudden loss of the files as a mass deletion and then sync that to your account and any other devices that you sync with.

bferney

Thanks for this clarification - there is a difference between the task bar and the systems tray, which is what was confusing me.

So, I understand about the mass deletion. Is there a way to transfer the files back to their original locations? I assume that I can then change the backup location to my external drive and it will not mass move the files as it did before? I need to get them off of my C drive and onto the external drive.

Appreciate the help!!

Nancy

Hey @bferney ! Hope it’s alright if I jump in, too.

How did you move your files over to your external drive exactly? Did you just copy paste the files from your Dropbox folder to your external drive directly or did you manually move the whole Dropbox folder there?

bferney

Nancy, I did a drop and drag through Explorer. It removed some of the synced files, but not all of them. When I try to drop and drag the files back, it tells me that I do not have sufficient space to accomplish the task and need another 456 GB of space.

bferney

Allow me to clarify - it moved the files to the external drive; but not all of them and those that were moved to the external drive were removed from Dropbox.

Nancy

Thanks for clarifying! As the next step, can you tell me what’s the current syncing status of your Dropbox app?

I’d like to make sure it’s up to date first, before taking any other actions.

bferney

Nancy, the message is "everything is up to date"

Nancy

Perfect. What I was thinking, in this case, is to try and move your Dropbox folder again to your external ****** drive (with these steps).

Once the folder has been successfully moved and your Dropbox app shows as up to date, you can move back your files within the Dropbox folder and wait till they’re synced to your web account once more.

Let me know if that works for you, or if you have any further questions.

bferney

Thanks, Nancy -

When I click the "sync" tab, there is no "move" option. I have the following options:

Selective sync (select folders)

Save ****** drive space automatically

Default sync state for new files

Dropbox folder Location (C:\Users\Barb\Dropbox) - and it allows me to change location

Flexible Filenames

Jay

Hi @bferney , you can click the Dropbox folder location, and then change the location to your external drive, which will move your Dropbox folder there.

Note that you need to select the parent folder in which you want it to be created. For instance, if you want your external drive location to be E:\My Files\Dropbox, then you need to select E:\My Files.

Make sure that there isn't already a Dropbox folder in that location that you move it to, as the desktop app will recreate the Dropbox folder.