How to Upload to Dropbox Without Syncing on Windows
External hard drives finally crash, and that’s the reality. Therefore, moving to a cloud-based backup like Dropbox is more vital than ever. Just sign up for the service, then move the backup files to a specific folder on your Windows computer, and they’ll be synced with Dropbox. It’s simple, right?
Well, this method has several disadvantages. On the one hand, it is a single thread system, which means that only one file will be synchronized with Dropbox at a time. In addition, the speed is not so phenomenal and for large files it can take centuries.
Second, you should keep all of your important files and folders in one folder under a drive. This way your whole file organization is started.
Therefore, there should be a more workable system that allows you to upload files to Dropbox seamlessly without compromising speed or time. And that’s where the direct method of uploading files to Dropbox (not syncing) comes in.
You will need two tools for this method. One of the tools is RaiDrive and the other is TeraCopy.
While RaiDrive allows you to create a virtual drive on your Windows 10 PC (without occupying any real space), the other helps you copy files to Dropbox seamlessly.
Advantages of this method
- First and foremost, you can experience the benefits of multiple file downloads. Unlike the traditional synchronization method, you can upload multiple files and folders here to Dropbox. Well, you get decent speed compared to Dropbox sync.
- Second, you can copy files from multiple locations / drives on your PC. And the best part is that you have to right click on a file to copy it to Dropbox.
- In addition, there is the benefit of checking the file checksum at the end of each download. This way you will find out whether the download you have started has been successful.
- Most importantly, with this method, you don’t have to create additional drives on your Windows PC. And compared to selective synchronizations, it’s a much better option.
Now that we’ve established the benefits, let’s see how to upload files to Dropbox without syncing.
1. How to create a network drive
As mentioned above, we will take the help of RaiDrive. It creates a Dropbox storage network drive on your Windows 10 PC. This way you can explore all of your files from the convenience of Windows Explorer.
Step 1: Once RaiDrive is installed, click on the Add icon at the top and select Dropbox from the list.
2nd step: Here you can also select the name of the network drive by clicking on the Drive drop-down list.
Step 3: Once done, you will need to give access to your Dropbox account.
Your account will be linked once the app has verified your credentials.
Initially, you will not see any progress because the tool will first index and then pull the contents of your Dropbox folder on this drive.
How to quickly upload files to Dropbox
For the next step, we will use a third-party tool called TeraCopy. It is a free tool designed to copy content at the maximum possible speed transparently.
Unlike the usual copy and paste, you get a ton of easy-to-use options.
Step 1: Once you have installed the tool, copy the file of your choice and press the Ctrl + V key combination. Windows now offers you two options: Copy with TeraCopy or Copy with Explorer.
Select the old one, the download process will start instantly. You will be able to see the progress of all the files you have selected, as shown in the screenshot below.
So what difference does it make to the table? For starters, you can have multiple download sessions.
All you have to do is tap the little Plus icon in the lower left corner, and you will see a mini copy window. Now just drag and drop your files into this window, and you should be sorted.
Yes, it’s that simple.
2nd step: Aside from that, you can set up some checks to notify you when a file collision occurs. Error messages will be displayed directly in the window. Just click the Unattended check box on the right side of the screen to see all of the copy options.
Once the files are downloaded, you will be able to see them in your Dropbox account. Just as you see on the virtual drive of your Windows PC. You can thank me later.
Step 3: To calculate the size of a file or folder, select the folder and press the three-dot button. Then click on Calculate size to check the size.
To do this, note that the default sort must be set to Size.
Limitations of this method
This method is not without limits. On the one hand, if the network connection fails, the entire load will fail. In this case, you will have to redo the whole process.
The solution is to start the process all over again. Then click on the Unattended check box and select the option “Replace all files if the size is different”.
And it will deal with all collisions and file incompatibilities.
Download files without the hassle
The combination of TeraCopy and RaiDrive gives you a hassle-free copying process. And the best part is that the process takes place quietly in the background. And the best part is that you can see the remaining space directly from your PC. If you’ve found another method to transport multiple GB / TB of data to cloud storage using multiple threads from a Windows PC, share the details in the comments below.
Then:
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Last updated on February 28, 2020