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Dropbox preventing GPU to switch display mode

Hello

I have a gaming laptop with a discrete RTX 3070 GPU.

Nvidia control center manages the switching of the display to the integrated or the discrete GPU, depending on the needs.

It should switch to the discrete GPU when launching a game and switch back to the integrated graphics when the game is closed to save on power consumption.

This works well, except when the Dropbox app is running.

I get an error message when launching any game stating that the Nvidia container was unable to switch the display mode due to Dropbox.

Is there any way to fix this issue besides closing down the app (which instantly resolves the issue!)?

I prefer to keep Dropbox active at all times, but this issue is preventing this.

Nvidia problem.png

Thanks for your help!

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BenDBX

Hi Everybody,

We have implemented a hardware acceleration toggle, and we would love if anyone experiencing this could test it out to make sure it solves the problem.

Affected users on Mac can option + click on the tray icon and disable hardware acceleration from the drop down menu.

Affected users on Windows can ctrl + click on the tray icon and disable hardware acceleration from the drop down menu.

Let us know if this works!

Regards,

Ben

All comments

Megan

Hi @Jharn, let's jump right into this!

Have you checked to make sure you're using the stable version of the Dropbox app?

Here is how you can check: Locate your Dropbox icon, next to your WiFi and hover your mouse over there. That should give you a number. Can you share that with me?

Also, when did you first notice this behavior?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

Jharn

Thank you for your reply! Yes sure, I have version 160.3.4611 installed at this time.

I noticed this behavior right away when I purchased this brand new laptop 1 week ago.

I have installed and updated all drivers & Windows updates at this point as well.

Looking forward to your suggestions!

Walter

Hey @Jharn - sorry to jump in, but I just wanted to mention that our latest, stable version of the desktop app is 159.4.5870. You seem to be running a beta version at the moment.

Could you check if you notice this behavior on the stable version as well?

You can download it from this page. Just make sure to toggle off the 'early releases' switch from your account's settings online beforehand.

Jharn

Hello!

I installed the version that you mentioned, but sadly it has the exact same effect.

On a side note:

The 'early releases switch' was already turned off in my settings and I installed the Dropbox application from the main Dropbox.com site (which installed that 160.3.4611 version. I didn't specifically go for any beta version (maybe this just became the next stable build yesterday or something?).

Megan

Hi @Jharn, just to clarify, which version do you have installed on the device at the moment?

Also, feel free to have a look into this Help Center article, in regards to high CPU usage, and make sure you've excluded all possible factors.

Jharn

I tried with both the versions 159.4.5870 (as Walter suggested) and 160.3.4611 (which is installed by clicking 'download app' on the dropbox homepage).

The problem persists in both versions.

I also checked the Help Center page you suggested, but this doesn't really fix anything related to the problem I'm having.

My problem has something to do with Dropbox using the GPU to render some things and not allowing to switch the GPU while running the app.

Walter

Hey @Jharn, happy Monday and sorry for the late reply.

If you're still having issues with this, would it be OK if we reached out via email to investigate further?

Jharn

Hello

Yes, certainly! Thank you.

Nancy

Hi @Jharn, I hope you’re doing well!

I’ve just logged a ticket for you, so that we can check this further.

Cheers.

AB2021

I have the same issue.

I get the error "Application blocking display mode change", with the app being dropbox.exe

Can you share a fix ?

Walter

Hey @AB2021, sorry to hear about this.

Can you please send us a screenshot of the exact error you're getting and also clarify the exact version and the status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your taskbar?

This will help us assist further.

Jharn

I ultimately just turned off the integrated graphics all together and decided to just run everything on the discrete Nvidia GPU all the time to prevent it having to switch. Not ideal for battery life, but at least I don't have the problem anymore 🙂

allanriveroll

Hi! The same is happening to me with Dropbox and Google Drive.

The instant fix, as you say, is just to use the NVIDIA GPU, but it's no ideal at all!

Hope Dropbox works on a solution for this problem.

AB2021

Here you go:

Error message :

Version:

unnamed (1).png

As you can see with the other comments, this is not a unique issue to me, its the exact same error as the OP.

Can you please check my dropbox is locking the GPU and preventing it changing ?

Thank you

Nancy

Hi @AB2021, and thanks for the screenshots!

It looks like you’re currently running the beta app version of the Dropbox app (162.3.5368), which may cause various issues. Can you please switch to the stable one, and let me know if you see any difference?

@allanriveroll, can you also check whether your desktop app is running the beta app version and switch to the stable one, if necessary?

AB2021

Why does your dropbox.com website share beta versions ?

I downloaded the client direct from dropbox.com and you're telling me its the beta one?

Regardless, both versions have already been tested as mentioned here:

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/Dropbox-preventing-GPU-to-switch-display-mode/m-p/628797/highlight/true#M45360

and the issue remains

Hannah

Hey @AB2021, you probably have the "early releases" option enabled in your account settings.

This would download the beta version of the app to your computer. You can turn this setting off from this page.

Once that's off, can you please install the latest version of the app?

There's a new stable version out, which might do the trick.

kokuryuha

Add me to the list with the same problem.

Early releases is not turned on, and Dropbox was just downloaded from the site. 161.4.4923.

Nancy

Hi @kokuryuha! Thanks for reporting this, too.

I’ve just opened a ticket for you and sent it over to the email address that’s tied to your forum profile here.

When possible, please reply back to me and we’ll take a closer look.

Paul Hx

I'm having the same problem. Dropbox v162.4.5419 (settings are to opt out of using beta releases).

Nancy

Hi @Paul Hx, I hope you’re doing well.

Can I open a ticket for you, so that we can look into your Dropbox account?

Jharn

Hey, I'm the OP. I didn't really get around to getting an actual fix, but I just decided to turn of the iGPU entirely (if you have a MUX switch), so my laptop just runs entirely on the discrete GPU all the time. It's worse for battery life, but I'm no longer hindered by this and can let Dropbox run in the background without problems 🙂

Trisk

Hey guys! Having the same issue as well. "Early release" is turned off, running v163.4.5456.

My solution is to quit the dropbox instead of switching everything to discrete GPU.

Is there any solution for this?

unknown

Mine has been messed up black screen whenever its about to load the desktop, but its ubuntu that it wont load linux 5.15.46-47 ubuntu with linux i think the grub or sonething took 2gigs of ram for no reason

Jay

Hi @Trisk, in order to look into this matter in more detail, would it be possible to reach out to the email associated with your forum profile?

anonymous, have you tried reinstalling the app?

Trisk

@Jay - ok.

Nancy

Hey @Trisk! You should have now received a new email from us.

Please reply to it, and we’ll take a closer look.

Thanks.

nnifinn

I'm having this issue as well on a new laptop with a discrete GPU.

Dropbox version: 163.4.5456 (experimental versions disabled)
Operating system: Windows 11 (Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621)
CPU: i9-12900H
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070ti
Nvidia driver version: 527.56

Please feel free to reach out to me via email and let me know what I can do to help.

Edit: I ignored the "failed to change display mode" message and loaded into my game, and I found that the game used the Nvidia GPU instead of the iGPU. It seems that the error is a non-issue.

Hannah

Hey @nnifinn, happy Monday!

I just sent you an email, so make sure to get back to me when you have a chance.

Ash_mz21

Same problem, both GoogleDriveFS.exe and Dropbox.exe are preventing display mode change,

Windows 11

RTX3060 running 528.02

Dropbox v165.4.4286