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Migrating from Mac to Mac using Migration Tool

Greetings,

MacBook Pro (old machine): OS 12.6.5

MacBook Air (new machine): OS 13.3.1

1. I have been using Dropbox to backup my files on my MacBook Pro, all my files are online and only the ones I use is made available offline

2. I used "Migrant Assistant" to migrate to a new MacBook Air, so the folders & files in Documents, Downloads, Desktop are seen on my new Mac.

3. I am unable to setup Dropbox on my new MacBook Air. I get the error from Dropbox App which says "cannot setup the folders" (Desktop, Downloads, Documents)

For eg it is asking me to move "Move Desktop folder to its original location, then try again"

4. When I click on the Dropbox icon on the toolbar, it says "Upgrade to the latest version of dropbox", but I had downloaded the app just then on MacBook air.

I don't know what to do. Please advise.

regards,

Mahesh

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Walter

Hi @BG Mahesh, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Could you send us a screenshot of the exact error you're getting along with the desktop app's exact version and status as shown in your menu bar?

If you can access the desktop app's preferences, can you take a look at the location of your Dropbox folder and let me know what you find?

Any additional information or screenshots are more than welcome!

BG Mahesh

06 New Mac Backup failed message05 New Mac Backup message04 New Mac Dropbox location moved message 03 New Mac Dropbox Location.jpg 02 Old Mac Dropbox Location - users - bgmahesh.jpg 01 New MacAir device dropbox version

I added captions for you to see which images are from old and new Mac. But I will summarize

1. new mac, dropbox version - v171.4.6182

2. New mac, dropbox location (not changeable in preferences) -> Users->***->Library (hidden directory)->Dropbox

3. Old Mac dropbox location -> Users->***->Dropbox

Megan

Hi @BG Mahesh, sorry to jump in here, but could you try setting the Backup from the website, directly from this page?

Also, can you please let us know if you've attempted any troubleshooting steps like rebooting your computer or reinstalling the app at all since you first noticed this?

Let us know how it goes!

BG Mahesh

On https://www.dropbox.com/backup/all I see only my Old MacBook Pro

I don't see my new MacBook Air on this page

No, I haven't rebooted or reinstalled the app. Since you asked, I rebooted my Macbook Air. And I installed Dropbox Mac app again (I did not uninstall, but installed again). When I restarted dropbox app, I got an error "Cannot restart" and it gave a link to the file, whose contents I can share if you wish directly, but then I could login afterwards from dropbox app but it is not syncing

Jay

Hi @BG Mahesh, in general, we don't recommend using migration programs as they can affect the permissions and settings in Dropbox desktop application on the new machine.

Did you disable the computer backup feature prior to the migration, so that the folders would've been in their default locations on the new machine?

BG Mahesh

No, I did not disable backup before migration. Should I have ideally logged out of Dropbox before starting migration?

Since I haven't really don't anything on the new MacBook, what do you suggest I do? Redo the migration with Dropbox-logged off?

Jay

As it sounds like you still have the old machine to hand, I'd recommend disabling the backup first, and let it finish returning the backup folders back to their old locations.

Once that's confirmed, you can sign out of the Dropbox desktop application, and then begin the migration process to the new machine.

Signing into the Dropbox desktop application on the new machine will also give you the option to setup the computer backup again, and this time there shouldn't be any errors.

BG Mahesh

So if I follow these steps, all the files I had backed up from my old machine will now be seen in the new machine, isn't it?

Post that, is there anyway I can use both old and new machine and get the dropbox files on both machines? Basically at work if I work on old machine, at home when I work on the new machine I will see all the changes done on the old machine, isn't it? But for that to happen, I will need to enable the backup on old machine. Correct?

Jay

The computer backup is different to the normal Dropbox syncing process. The computer backup is just that, a one-way backup to the site that updates whenever you add files in those folders you've selected. They will be visible on the site alone, and can't directly be synced to the other machine, unless you download them manually.

However, what you're describing is just the normal syncing process, so if both computers have the Dropbox desktop application signed into the same account, and files in the Dropbox folder (and not in the folders used for the computer backup), then those files would sync to the other device. You don't need to have computer backup enabled for files to sync between machines.

BG Mahesh

To summarize,

1. I care only about my FOLDERS to be backed up. I don't want my Computer to backup as I can always get a new system, new OS and just restore backup

2. In view of this, do I disable backup in Old Machine

3. Initiate Mac Migration from Old mac to New Mac

4. Once Migration is done, when I login to dropbox on new Mac, theoritically everything should work, am I right?

Hannah

Sorry to jump in here, @BG Mahesh.

If you don't really care about backing up the computer files on your new machine and only want your Dropbox files to be available on it, Dropbox-wise, you can simply install the Dropbox app on the new machine, sign into your account and the app itself will sync your files; no migration needed.

But if you're going to go through with the migration anyway, to ensure that Dropbox works correctly on the new machine, you'll need to do what Jay mentioned above, which is to disable backup on the old machine and then sign out of the Dropbox application on it, before going through with the migration.

fssbob

I had asked a similar question in a separate thread. If I understand the guidance you're giving @BG Mahesh properly, it's a bit different from the guidance I think I received.

I'm not using Dropbox Backup at all--just the standard Dropbox folder functionality (using the new CloudStorage setup). Soon I'm going to want to use the Apple Migration Assistant to set up a new Mac. After that I'll want to be syncing both old and new Mac Dropbox folders to my Dropbox account.

I take it from what you've said that I can do the following:

1) Sign out of Dropbox on the old Mac.

2) Run the Apple Migration Assistant.

3) Sign into Dropbox on both old and new Macs. Each will recognize the CloudStorage/Dropbox folder and sync the files there with their equivalents in my Dropbox account.

Is the above correct?

I believe the guidance I received previously was that, in addition to signing out of Dropbox, I WOULD NEED TO DELETE MY DROPBOX FOLDER AND THEN LET IT BE REBUILT BY THE DROPBOX SETUP PROCESS and have all content re-downloaded from my Dropbox account. That's because with the new CloudStorage setup, if there was already a CloudStorage/Dropbox folder in place, the Dropbox setup process would freak out and refuse to work. This would obviously be a major hassle. Can you confirm it's incorrect?

Thanks.

BG Mahesh

The migration failed after many hours. Not sure why

Anyway, on the old machine if I want to activate backup again, I need to go to Preferences, Backups, Manage Backup and activate backup again?

BG Mahesh

On the new Mac, since Dropbox app is still there, is it best I

1. uninstall Dropbox on my new Mac

2. Install Dropbox on new Mac

3. And will the files get restored to new Mac automatically or do I need to do something special in Dropbox->Preferences?

Jay

Hi @BG Mahesh, if you want to reactivate the backup feature on the old machine, you can do so in the Preferences. Installing the app on the new Mac will sync any files from this page onto the new Mac. Bear in mind that the computer backup files from the old machine won't appear on the new machine.

@fssbob, we do recommend not migrating the Dropbox folder to the new computer, if it's possible to exclude it during the process, to prevent any permissions issues.

fssbob

@Jay It's not possible to exclude the Dropbox folder from the Apple migration process. Prior to the CloudStorage change this wasn't a problem--Dropbox would just reindex the folder on the new Mac.

Given that it's not possible to exclude the folder from the Apple migration process, what is your guidance?

(And are you certain there will be a permissions issue, given that it's an Apple process that presumably knows about duplicating permissions properly?)

If you can't use the standard Apple process because of Dropbox, this is potentially a HUGE issue for Mac owners.

Thanks.

BG Mahesh

I figured this a bit late, I may sound dumb, so be it - backup and sync are different

All I care about is syncing files.

- On my new Mac, I uninstalled Dropbox

- Installed dropbox, logged in

- All files got downloaded to my new Mac

- The only thing I don't like is that the Dropbox location is hardcoded now to /users/myname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox - and I cannot find this Dropbox folder easily in Mac Finder, it seems to be hidden. The only way I can reach this folder is by searching for a folder inside Dropbox.

fssbob

@BG Mahesh There are a number of ways to get to it more easily. One is to click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, and then click on the folder icon in the dropdown that appears. You can also enable "Cloud Storage" in Finder Settings / Sidebar.

Jay

@fssbob, as you can't exclude folders during the migration, the safest option to prevent permission and syncing issues would be, on the old machine, to disable any computer backup, sign out of the Dropbox desktop application, delete the Dropbox folder, and then progress with migration to the new machine.

When you then sign in on the new device, the files would resync from the Dropbox site.

fssbob

@Jay, Thanks--that's good advice for now. But can I ask you to escalate this issue to Dropbox Development to see if they can make things easier for Mac users with large Dropbox folders. It would be great if Dropbox could adjust its setup process to once again support the way it used to work: If there's already a Dropbox folder there, the setup process checks with the user, and then syncs that folder to the user's Dropbox account.

Jay

Thanks, we appreciate any feedback on how to improve the Dropbox service, and we take all comments into consideration.

BG Mahesh

@fssbob - Dropbox App on this version of MacOS clearly says the path is hardcoded, we cannot change the path 😞

fssbob

@BG Mahesh Yes, that's correct. I'm not sure what I said that sounded different. I gave you two ways to quickly reach the folder in Finder, but its location is fixed.

Walter

Hey @BG Mahesh, are you still having issues with this?

If so, could you try these steps to reset your computer's OS folder and let us know if they helped?

Click the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.
Click your profile picture or initials.
Click Preferences.
Click the Accounts tab.
Press the Option key (on Mac) and at the same time click the Reset OS folders locations button.
Click Continue to proceed.

Thanks!