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How can I move my Dropbox files to a new computer?

Windows 11 Pro

Dropbox

I have this Dropbox installed on my now much older and computer and want to move this over to my newest, extremely faster new system. Both are on my home network. What is the step by step process to copy or move this data? When the move is complete there will be no new data sent to the old computer.

The data is a massive amount of telescope images taken remotely and sent as taken to this account. The system is in California while I am in Virginia. Currently this account has just over 1TB of raw data to be moved. The old drive in the old computer will be removed and stored as a physical backup.

I just want the quickest way to transfer the data please and the step by step process to accomplish this. I'm 71 years old, somewhat comfortable with computer systems however this new Windows 11 Pro will take some getting use to. The new computer has 2 - 2TB m.2 hard drives and 2 - 16 TB 3.5" hard drives. The second m.2 drive is mainly used as swap folder space for image processing.

I've used Dropbox for years but know little of the inner workings. I install, usually with some issue it seems, then it just does its thing.

Thanks,

Steve

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Hannah

Hey @Steve R.8, thanks for posting to the Dropbox Community!

To be honest, to avoid moving files around and possibly getting permissions issues, the best way to go about this, is to simply install the Dropbox desktop app to your new computer and sign in to your account.

The app will subsequently create a Dropbox folder in your hard drive and sync your files to your new computer.

I hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please let me know!

Steve R.8

Thanks for the assist but this installed Dropbox on the C drive and I want it on the D drive. What do I need to do to move that over? No files have been saved. I'm surprised there was not option on installing location as the C drive is seldom ever the largest drive.

Hannah

Thanks for the reply here, Steve.

There should have been an "Advanced" setup option during the installation process, but no worries, we can fix it.

Before we try anything, though, can you let me know what you mean by "no files have been saved"? Did you pause syncing before they started downloading?

Steve R.8

OK, looking now it seems some files have been saved. opening my Dropbox >SRO Data > Images > I see two different statuses, one being a cloud symbol and the other with a green circle with a check mark inside. My assumption is the last is the physical file being downloaded to the folder and the cloud symbol means not downloaded but available?

If so how do I download all data to my drive. The main reason for this new computer was because of the large amount of data to process. In some cases creating the image of a galaxy or nebula may consist of hundreds of frames of data as well as bias, dark, and flat frames which could add 50-80 more frames. If these need to be downloaded then the processing time get very excessive.

Out of 113 folders only 12 have the encircled green checkmark. I see a link for "Make Available Offline" so I'm guessing that I would need to select every folder with the Cloud symbol and then choose this?

My original setup from years ago (7-8) just saved all to disk as they were acquired so I haven't seen this before. Please advise

Thanks

Hannah

That's true, Steve, the status of the files is exactly as you guessed.

The ones with the cloud icon are in a state we call 'online-only'. You can see more about the sync icons and what they mean here.

The online-only files don't take up physical space, so they should also sync pretty quickly.

What's the app's sync status now? Has it finished syncing? You can see that by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your system tray.

Nancy

Hi again, @Steve R.8, and sorry for the nudge.

If you have any updates you’d like to share with us, or if you need any further assistance, please let me know.