this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2025
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Is it possible to reinstall Linux (or distro hop) without losing my Dropbox install? Could I move the Dropbox install to my home folder so it survives the OS install?

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[–] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Of allllll the things you’re worried of losing…. It’s a Dropbox install?

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Yes, lol. Long story short,I don’t have the password because it’s a shared account

[–] Badabinski@kbin.earth 24 points 1 day ago

This is the most important piece of information. You should edit the post and/or title to make this more clear.

[–] Peasley@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

You dont need the install preserved, you need the login session preserved. I doubt that it's even possible

[–] davidgro@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well, that makes a huge difference to the meaning of the question.

I don't know, but maybe the login is held in a dotfile such as ~/.dropbox or maybe in ~/.config/dropbox or similar, and just backing up that (not to Dropbox!) would be enough to restore being logged in on a different system.

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

New problem: they have 2FA as well

[–] Whostosay@sh.itjust.works 28 points 1 day ago

Fix: download what you need locally, reinstall Linux, find a different software or account, be free of this problem forever.

[–] KurtVonnegut@mander.xyz 3 points 1 day ago

Ah ok. So its not so much the current files that you want to retain, but the ability to receive files locally through sync, when someone else elsewhere makes a change?

Sounds a bit like not wanting to remove the Netflix app because its logged in with the unknown password of an ex.

I would back up all the important files you need before you change anything.