Transfer Dropbox Backup to New Mac

Hi @creblinho, thanks for messaging the Community!

You could restore from a Dropbox Backup if the Dropbox desktop application detected it correctly.

Otherwise, you can disable the backup, move the folders back to their old location, and create a new backup on the new machine.

If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.

Hi Jay,

Thank you for your response. The dropbox application is aware that the backup of my previous computer exists and it is all still stored online, but i don't think it has detected that this new computer should be identical to the old one. Are you saying I should press "restore from backup" in this following window:

Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 17.43.07.png

The "Mac" computer is the old machine I migrated from originally (Mac (2) is just my MacBook Air) and it is also seeing my new machine as a new Mac titled "Mac". If I restore from this backup, will it not create two copies of the same folders in my dropbox folder?

The contents of this backup were imported from my original computer using migration assistant, so the folder structure is the same and the folder is hidden inside my dropbox folder as shown below:

Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 17.44.03.png

I could disable the backup but would have to do so from my old machine. If I disable the backup from there and Dropbox automatically moves the folders back to their original place, what will happen to this backup folder as shown on my new machine? Will it dissappear too? Because so far, I think this is also the main place where all of my files (Movies, Pictures, Music) are stored for this computer.

Since you moved to a new computer, the Dropbox desktop application knows that this is a different machine, even if you used the Migration Assistant.

However, given that you've already used Migration Assistant, and that the files were transferred too, this may have unexpected effects which we wouldn't be able to determine.

You could restore the backup to your current machine, though it would be at your own risk since I wouldn't be able to advise what would happen.

Okay thank you, in that case I will figure a way to move the files & swap the backup that minimises risk. For future reference, what would be the best way to migrate data onto a new machine when using Dropbox? Should I always leave the Dropbox folder unticked in Migration Assistant, and then restore my Dropbox files from online? Or is there another recommended way to do this?

In general, to avoid any potential conflicts or confusion regarding data, when moving to a new machine, we don't recommend using any non-Dropbox backup/restore process or service (such as Migration Assistant, Time Machine, or other services). This is because, in cases like your own, if the Dropbox Backup feature is enabled, this takes system folders and moves them into the Dropbox folder, which I'm not certain if those services copy across correctly.

The safest method is to restore from a Dropbox Backup (if there is already one on your account), which allows files to return to the same folders as before. The normal files in the Dropbox folder would also sync as per their normal process.

Okay thank you. I would still have to use migration assistant to copy applications etc, but maybe I can untick the Dropbox folder when migrating (although this has also caused problems in the past).

I ended up taking the following steps and some strange things started happening:

Before going onto my old machine to remove the backup, I quit dropbox on my new machine and moved the folders from the backup location back to their original place (deleting the "Mac" backup folder in Dropbox).
I went onto my old machine and disabled the backup, which moved all the files from that machine to their original location.
On my new machine, I relaunched Dropbox and started backing up and it created a new backup called "Mac (3)".
It seemed to go smoothly and back everything up succesfully, but then randomly after it had finished, it started "backing up" again (which in reality it was actually deleting all of the files in the "Mac (3)" folder). The “GB remaining” figure was getting smaller and not bigger, and the completion figure was switching between 99% & 100%.

It seems to be deleting everything contained in my new backup for some unknown reason. Luckily, I did make a hard copy of all of these files before starting this. I have a screenshot of a recording I made while it was doing carrying out this process:

Screenshot 2023-08-23 at 20.42.48.png

As mentioned, I have all of the files safely copied onto a separate hard drive. How can I put my files back into the folders and make sure it does not keep doing this?

The Dropbox app wouldn't be deleting files from backup and then deleting it from the computer.

Are you sure it's not just completing the indexing and the uploading of the backup at the same speed (meaning it's finding new files and then uploading them just as fast)?

I do not know, all I know is that there are files going missing from my backed up music, movies and pictures folders, and they are showing up as deleted files when I look inside the folders of the backup on dropbox. And the backup that did originally say 170 GB or so now has a size of about 250 MB (it is still deleting, I thought I would just leave it for now rather than trying to interfere with it).

Below are some pictures to explain this better:

Firstly an example folder with detailed files hidden:

Secondly the same folder with the deleted files shown:

Screenshot 2023-08-23 at 21.13.56.png

The backup which was around 170 GB initially:

The process in its current stage:

Screenshot 2023-08-23 at 21.14.25.png

The final picture shows this weird behaviour I am seeing in the dropbox app. If you compare it to the image I sent earlier, you can see that the "remaining" number is getting smaller, while the app jumps between 99% and 100% done, while simultaneously deleting files.

One thing to note is that the available GB on my Mac is still showing the correct amount (I think) so it seems something is still taking up the hard drive space. And the files are showing up in the "deleted files" folder on dropbox.

Are these files being deleted from an older backup somehow, since your computer is still showing the correct space usage?

All of the folders are showing as empty in finder and when looking at the backup online (unless you click "show deleted files"). How do I access the new backup if these are being deleted from an older backup?

Hannah

This is indeed a bit strange, @creblinho.

Is the Dropbox application still making updates, deleting files, etc. or did syncing finally become 'up to date' by now?

It has stopped now and everything is showing as "up to date". Strangely, my Mac storage space is still showing approximately the same space remaining, but the hidden backup folder is showing as 100 GB less than it is supposed to be on my Mac (but still 250 MB on the dropbox website). I tried putting in some test text files into my backup up folders and it does seem to be syncing the new files correctly.

However, I think I am going to try and disable the backup and hopefully the issues with the drive will be sorted. I really like the backup feature but it seems a bit too unreliable, especially in that it actually moves the physical location of the folders into the Dropbox folder. It seems to work better when backing up external hard drive folders and it does not actually move the locations of those, so maybe I will continue to use it for that. But at this point I am thinking it's best to remove the computer backup and maybe find another way to backup to a cloud server.

I have just realised that the hidden folder at Dropbox/.dropbox.cache/old files is 200 GB of random files so maybe that is the deleted backup and the thing that is taking up all the hard drive space? I have disabled the backup, so what is the best way to clear the data in this folder? Can I delete it all or is some of it needed for normal Dropbox syncing?

If I need to delete the Dropbox folder, re-install and sync everything from the online server again, I am happy to do that.

Hannah

The Dropbox cache folder will get automatically cleared by itself, so I would actually suggest allowing that to happen, before you resort to deleting files.

Let's keep an eye on it and let us know what happens!

Okay thank you, I will leave it for now and see if it clears. If I wanted to do a full re-install of dropbox however, would it make sense to uninstall everything associated with dropbox, delete the folder, re-install and then have the server sync and replace the folder?

Yes, that would be the best bet in this scenario. The optimal order to do so would be:

Unlink your desktop app
Uninstall the desktop app
Follow these steps to fully uninstall it (and delete the Dropbox folder)
Reinstall the app
Allow all files to sync down from the site

If you need any further assistance, please let me know.

Great many thanks, I will go through those steps and try to get things sorted again. Thanks to everyone for helping out.

Hi Hannah,

I've just used the migration assistant from my M1 Mac to another M1!!! Both using Monterey and I have a few issues too.

At first it seemed incredbly ok, however, it starded doing another backup of an external SSD drive of mine, so I removed this back up for a while until I solve the basics.

I still have my old machine in hand working well. Can I just remove dropbox from it and keep running on the new Mac?

If so, what steps should I take to do so without loosing data?

Thank you very much.

Pedro

Nancy

Hey @Mamede! Sorry to jump in here.

Just to clarify, do you have the Dropbox app installed on your new device, or are you planning to install it next?

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for jumping in!!

I do have the app installed on both machines. All files already downloaded to the new Mac also.

I've started the new Mac as a "new Mac" and later decided to go on the migration assistant. How bad is that? 😬

Nancy

Thanks for clarifying, Pedro!

Can you also let me know what’s the syncing status of the Dropbox app on your new device? I’d like to make sure everything’s up to date, before taking any actions on the old computer.

Hi Nancy,

I'ts syncronyzing everything. However, I want to disable one of the folders on my new mac, and it's not allowed, as seen on the second picture and on.

How can I safely delete my OLD MAC files without loosing anything?

Thankyou again,

Pedro

Screen Shot 2024-02-01 at 15.59.17.png Screen Shot 2024-02-01 at 16.08.56.png

Walter

Hi there @Mamede - sorry to jump in here.

Can you please clarify what you mean you'd like to one folder from syncing on your computer? Are you referring to a folder that you had moved or copied in your Dropbox folder or a folder you had backed up to Dropbox using the Dropbox Backup feature (shown in your screenshots)?