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"DROPBOX_ROOT_DUMMY_FILENAME…_TO_USERS" failing to sync

I'm using Dropbox v180.4.4912 on macOS 13.5 on an Apple Silicon Mac mini. If it helps, I'm also using Maestral 1.8.0 (both GUI and daemon) on a different Mac.

I have a persistent sync issue in my personal Dropbox:

Screenshot 2023-08-21 at 2.13.45 PM.png

When I click on "Go to folder", Finder becomes the active app, but the currently-open window doesn't change to any different folder, no matter what folder I have open.

I poked around in Console.app, but didn't see anything useful.

I used to get a red circled "1" in my menu-bar icon when I first started getting this error, but now it's a red circled "2". I'm not sure what the second extra thing that Dropbox is encountering that's causing it to bump the badged number from 1 to 2.

Suggestions? Quitting and restarting Dropbox doesn't fix it, even temporarily, and I've rebooted my computer for OS updates once or twice since I started getting this error.

Thanks in advance.

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Mark

Have you tried searching for that file on using Finder?

algae-jacket

Tried it just now. Didn't find any file that turned up for DROPBOX_ROOT_DUMMY_FILENAME.

Of course, this probably isn't the whole filename, but I don't have a way to get at the full filename without the middle being elided.

Jay

Hi @algae-jacket, does this file exist in the Dropbox folder on the other device using Maestral?

algae-jacket

As far as I can tell, no. I ran

find . -name "*ROOT*"

in my respective Dropbox folders and no matches happened.

Walter

Hey @algae-jacket, sorry to jump in here, but could you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions as outlined here and let us know if this persists?

algae-jacket

Held down the option key and clicked on both buttons.

The (2) badge persisted.

I quit and restarted Dropbox.

The (2) badge came back after a bit.

Anything else I could try?

Walter

Thanks for the update! Have you tried enabling hidden files to show on your computer @algae-jacket ?

algae-jacket

Yes, I peeked at `~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox-Personal/` after pressing ⇧⌘. and didn't see any file like that in the root directory of my Dropbox folder. The only hidden things in there is .dropbox. Looking at the contents of the directory with

ls -la

only adds .DS_Store and .Trash/.

Anything else I could try?

Jay

Thanks for the info, I'd recommend contacting the support team for further assistance on this matter.

cancooks

Did you have any luck resolving this? I'm having the exact issue. It's only doing it on my personal dropbox and not business and only in my new MacBook Air and it's fine on my MacBook Pro.

Walter

Hey @cancooks, sorry to hear about this.

Would it be OK if we reached out via email to have a further look internally?

Fallschachtel

I'm having the same problem. Sync issue with my private dropbox, but not with the business one. I'm on a mac studio.

Fallschachtel

Is there any solution to this in the meantime? Thx

Nancy

Sorry to hear this, @Fallschachtel. Can you let me know the OS version of your device, as well as the app version of the Dropbox app on it?

Fallschachtel

It's Dropbox Version 188.4.6302, and the OS is Sonoma 14.1.2. I'm not sure when this started, but it may have been when I updated to 14.1.2.

Walter

Hey @Fallschachtel - sorry to jump in here, but if this persists after quitting and relaunching the app as well as rebooting your computer, please send us a screenshot of the app's exact status so that we can have a visual too.

Thanks!

Fallschachtel

Alright, after rebooting the sync issue still appears with the same message, but the dropbox actually is syncing - I see the same contents as on my laptop as on my Mac Studio, and when I make changes on either machine, it immediately appears on the other. So I will just ignore the error message for now and hope that no future problems crop up. Not sure if the rebooting was what helped with this, but thank you in any case!

clobybar

I am also having the same issue. Mac OS 14.1.2 (23B2091) on M3. Affects my DB personal account, but not my business account. Nothing in this post will make the error go away. Annoying.

Jay

HI @clobybar, have you already been in contact with the support team regarding this issue you're experiencing? If so, could you let me know the ticket ID to locate it on our system?

clobybar

Certainly.

Ticket #23089484

Thank you very much.

Hannah

Thanks for the ticket number, @clobybar.

I've passed your comments along to the agent working on your case and raised the priority of the ticket.

I can see you have an update on the ticket as well, so make sure to check it out!

Fallschachtel

If there's a solution to this issue, please share!

clobybar

I'm told to do an advanced reinstall but haven't had time nor energy. This is a bug that they just need to fix.

https://help.dropbox.com/installs/advanced-reinstall