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Dropbox keeps (re)indexing and syncing after activating smart sync

I've recently activated the smart sync functionality for my teams account. When I did, Dropbox started indexing and syncing a huge number of files which made sense to me because it needed to download all shortcuts to online files (the ones y had previously saved online only using selective sync). However, after finishing the whole process (after a day or so of syncing), and restarted my laptop, Dropbox seems to have started the process all over again. And today again. When hovering over the dropbox icon in the taskbar, the pop up message mentions hundreds of thousands of files to be indexed and uploading/downloading tens of thousands of files too. These numbers go down slowly (syncing in progress) but then go up again as if the whole process starts all over.

Is this a know issue? Normal behaviour? Any suggestions about what I could do to solve this?

I'm running Windows 7 and Dropbox v47.4.74

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Wietse V.

Hi Minato,

Thanks for your reply. I decided to reinstall the Dropbox desktop application yesterday. After I did, I waited another couple of hours for a full sync, but once that was done the issue seems to have disappeared. The Dropbox app now reports that it's fully up to date and seems to stay that way (except for normal syncing behaviour when a file is changed).

I propose I wait to see if the problem reoccurs, and if it does I will create a ticket at the support page as per your suggestion.

Kind regards, Wietse

All comments

Minato

Hey @Wietse V.,

It appears that this issue needs to be investigated by a speciliazed team.

Can you create a ticket at our Support page?

When you create it, please, send me the ticket number so I can forward it!

Thank you in advance!

Wietse V.

Hi Minato,

I propose I wait to see if the problem reoccurs, and if it does I will create a ticket at the support page as per your suggestion.

Kind regards, Wietse

Wietse V.

Unfortunately the problem just popped up again (after a few days of working normally). A couple of observations:

- dropbox at first failed to start at windows startup. When I rebooted Dropbox did start and started syncing.

- Dropbox now is indexing 340,000 files and I have syncing icons on all my files and folders on dropbox. DB also reports that it's uploading 1782 files, which does not correspond to 1782 new or changed files I added to my computer since yesterday.

- I occasionally get pop-up messages informing me that I just joined folders that I in fact have joined already days or weeks ago.

Argh.

I'll request a support ticket to further investigate this.

dupyckles

Hello, I am having the same problem: indexing and uploading thousands of files, so that my recent changed files are not uploaded. This problem started when I generated about a million small data files (less than 5 kb each) for my work. After I used the files, I did not need them anymore, so I deleted all of them with the hope the problem disappears. However, the problem remains, and the number of indexing and uploading files keeps increasing. Now it is more than 100 thousand for both. In the "Recent Changed Files" list there are only those deleted files. Can anybody help me? The problem is that my recent changed files are not been uploaded...

trackerweb

Hi There,

I'm having the same problem of this guys are facing. After searching around, i can see that this is a problem for many user. Is anything that we can do?

Otherwise i have no choise that stop using the services. Everytime i restart computer, start to Resync again, i have around a 1Tb of files, so, it been days that neves stops Syncing/uplaod/reload this that was UpToDate before.

Any solutions?

DragonLover

Same problem here. No syncing problem on desktops (Windows 10) but on my MacBook Pro mid 2018 Dropbox is syncing, uploading and downloading like crazy (hover over the icon shows these activities) , and keeps doing so for days already, without me having changed anything that would justify this. And ond the dekstops no problem at all, so evidently a bug. Downside is that these unnecessary activities cut my batterylife, making my MacBook empty in a few hours instead of an working day. I hoped to find a solution here, but nothing? Ik stop dropbox on the MacBook but this diminishes my faith in DropBox dramatically.

Lusil

Hi @DragonLover, sorry to hear about this experience.

I've sent you a ticket to the email address associated with your Community profile so that we can have a more in-depth investigation of this behavior.

When you have the chance, please check your inbox for my message and we'll take it from there. Cheers!

PS. If anyone else is still having trouble or any questions, please don't hesitate to give me a nudge. :slight_smile:

MrV

Same here. All of my laptop's are behaving exactly the same. Each time you restart the laptop there are over 45000 files synking!! Super slow to start, then checking for changes theeeeeeen synking which takes for ever even though on fiber.

Have reinstalled the desktop app with no change in behaviour. It drains battery and hogs resource for 10,15,20min while doing this. Mad.

MrV

In addition to the above.
The same behaviour on my Surface Go (fastest version), surface book i7 16gb ram 1tb, old Samsung laptop and 13inch MacBook pro... I actively avoid restating the computer I'm using to avoid DBs frustrating process of starting checking and then synking the world.

Lusil

Hi @MrV, thanks for nudging us here and welcome to the Dropbox Community!

As a first step, I'd recommend checking out this article in case one of the ways listed helps tackle this behavior.

Let me know how it goes!

MrV

Hi Lusi,

Had a quick look and I have to say that the problem isn't as much the high resource draw (well just time as it doesn't slow down the device that much) from the computer rater the general behavious of Always needing to sync once the computer starts up. The fact that it has to go through this process Every time creates a great delay in synking actuall files I need and also chews up battery.

I will check more in depth re number of files etc as per artice, but overall, even on my 1t 16gb ram SurfaceBook it's taking it's time Every time you restart the computer and DB desktop start up fresh.

To test it for myself again, I left my Surface Go to fully complete sync over night. Then in the morning I restarted the device and observed the following.

6.35 device restart
6.36 device up and running
6.37 db desktop app started
6.42 db complets startup sequence and begins to check for changes
6.47 db check for changes complete - now starting to synk 34.000 files (!!!!)
7.03 db 16.500 files left to sync (I have fast fibre btw)
7.12 db 3000 files left to sync
7.15 db sync complete
Total run time: 40min

Now, how is it possible that 34.000 files need synking when I know that nobody is using our filing system at that time (guarateed) and minutes prior, before restarting the device, DB was up to date.

I went through almost the identical timeline this evening when starting up the surface. I don't ever remember experiencing the same issue when I used to have our entire DB folder stored on my drive, just now when I have started using smart sync to save space.

I only run smart sync and no selective sync as all folders are ticked.

Many thanks for any thoughts or comments.
V

Lusil

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, @MrV!

Hmm. :thinking: Could it be by any chance a third party app that's effecting the syncing process during startup?

In any case, let me know what you find and I'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible!

MrV

That's not a bad thought but my surface go is almost brand new with absolutely minimal software installed. Just bare essentials Office and browser sort of thing. Struggling to think that there is anything wrong with the filing structure as the device is new with a clean install and has behaved like this straight away.

My samsung laptop is also bare bone install and behaves the same. My surface book has a fair bit on it but still... they all behave the same.

I have tried reinstalling the desktop app on both surfaces with no effect. Took 30min with 30k files synking again this morning.

Nothing smart about the smartsynk haha :slight_smile:

Btw, i never really engage to write to support etc but this is definetly getting to me that much that I am!

Lusil

Thanks for the additional info and sorry to hear about your frustration, @MrV.

I've followed up with a ticket to the email address connected to your Community profile so that we can have a more in depth look into this together.

When you have the chance, please check your inbox and we'll take it from there. Cheers!

maffye

Is there any development in this case?

I have the same problem with 42.000 files that are synching and resynching again.
This happened when my dropbox had stopped synching after the "out of space" event.
I had deleted lot of files so as to free space, I 've managed taht one, but unfortunately it occured now the re-synching event (in contrast with my laptop , where everything is ok)

I have already reinstalled the dropbox without having a solution. My system in my desktop is windows 7

I dont have any firewall, or antiviruse , malware app.

Is there any cure? Thank you in advance

Hitch

I have something somewhat similar occurring. The last few months (2 or so), it's as though suddenly, Dropbox is using all my available bandwidth and synching takes forever. I've used DB for nearly a dozen years, so it's not like I'm unfamiliar with what to expect.

What's odd is, for example, I'll add one new 300mb video to a DB folder with 200 other videos. The next thing I know, all of the videos are being re-synched and reindexed. For no apparent reason and when I check on the website, it advises me that they've all been "updated" when no--they haven't. This is affecting the performance of my computer significantly, in terms of eating upload time, download time, and it's even whacking my VOIP. (I have to turn off DB synching to use my d*mn phone!). I've never had to do this before, not even close.

I really don't know what the Hades to do about it, either. I have 42.5% of slightly over 3TB used. I'm at the point of thinking that I should nuke DB or nuke half of it and move the rest of my files to a straight server, like S3.

DragonLover

How I solved this problem is this: I found out that I could see which item stayed un-synced. I cut and pasted that item elsewhere and Dropbox worked properly again. In my case it was a zipped file that caused the trouble.

Hitch

Hi, DragonLover: Thanks, but sadly, that's not going to help me. I'm having this issue across the entirety of my Dropbox, apparently and something--something--has changed in the last few months.

I've run the same setup, same computer, same speeds, bandwidth, etc., for a decade and all of a sudden, it's as though half my bandwidth has disappeared, even though my speed and png tests say it hasn't. Something, somewhere, is screwing up the works and it seems to be oddly coincidental that there appears to have been a major DB overhaul around the same time.

MrV

Very interesting! I've had it doing a very similar thing. Well effectively hogging the bandwidht. It was actually my colleagues surface book which started running hot and the fans kicking in twice a day. This happened for a few weeks and when I bothered to ask him he said that it was DB synking. After looking at it a bit more I noticed that his DB had been synking, for NO reason files that were Already Synked over and over again taking upp all the bandwitdh.

Not sure what he ended up doing but it's not doing it any more. DB never used to be this way.

I undersatnd your frustration!

MrV

Thanks Lusi,

I have been busy with work and it seems that things are working on my work computer which is good. Will have to check back at my surface go and see if it's still missbehaiving. You don't notice it as much when connected to fiber as it does the stupid operation quicker but it defenetly cost me money when it did it without me realising while the computer was connected to my phone as a hotspot.

Thanks for your assitance so far.

Lusil

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, glad to hear that it's resolved for one of your devices, @MrV.

Also, thanks for taking the time to share what did the trick for you, @DragonLover - awesome work! :slight_smile:

@maffye and @Hitch, if you're still having trouble, could you send me a screenshot (without personal info) of what your Dropbox icon shows when you hover over it?

Let me know of any updates, peeps!

sidejo

I have the same issue since updating to Catalina. Shows syncing 320k, uploading 208k with no real changes on my end.

I'm pretty sure I don't have that many files there in Selective Sync. Screen Shot 2019-12-03 at 4.35.39 PM.png

Lusil

Hey @sidejo, thanks for the screenshot! Definitely helps me understand what you're seeing.

In general, if you have a lot of files in your Dropbox folder, it's recommended that you selectively sync folders to help improve the performance of the desktop app.

Also, I can see from your screenshot that you have the beta version (xx.3.xx) installed. Could you try installing the stable version (xx.4.xx), to see if that helps, by:

Going to your General tab.
Unchecking the option to Include me in early releases.
Downloading and installing the latest version.

Let me know how it goes!