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Dropbox desktop app suddenly stopped working on two Windows PCs — installer hangs and fails

gmansi

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for help troubleshooting a Dropbox desktop app issue that has now occurred on two different clients' Windows computers. Since both users have experienced very similar symptoms, I'm wondering whether this could be related to a recent Dropbox update, a Windows update, or a problem with the Dropbox updater.

The symptoms

On both computers:

Dropbox suddenly stopped syncing files.
The Dropbox icon disappeared from the Windows system tray.
Launching Dropbox manually did not bring up the application window or restore the tray icon.
Several Dropbox-related processes were still visible in Task Manager, including Dropbox, Dropbox Service (DbxSvc), Dropbox Setup, and DropboxUpdater (x64).

Troubleshooting attempted

I downloaded and ran the official full Dropbox desktop installer from the Dropbox website.

The installer remained on an "Installing..." screen for approximately 20 minutes, with no clear indication of progress. Eventually, the installation failed with the following message:

"Installation error: The installation process was not completed. The installation has been canceled."

In Task Manager, the Dropbox installer and updater processes showed little or no CPU or disk activity while the installer was apparently stuck.

My questions

Is anyone else experiencing this issue recently?
Could this be caused by a recent Dropbox desktop app update or a Windows update?
Is there a recommended way to reset or repair the Dropbox updater or installation without creating a new Windows user profile?
Are there any diagnostic logs I should collect to identify why the installer is failing?

I would prefer to avoid creating a new Windows user profile, as this would require reconfiguring the user's applications and settings.

I have not deleted the local Dropbox folder or manually removed Dropbox-related files.

Any suggestions or information about similar cases would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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Accepted answers

gmansi

Hi Megan, thank you for your detailed instructions!

Fortunately, the issue has been resolved on the first computer after restarting Windows.

Also I used:

Get-Process -Name "*dropbox*", "*msiexec*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -ForceStop-Service -Name "dbupdate*", "dbupdatem*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Initially, Dropbox was no longer syncing, the system tray icon had disappeared, and launching the application manually did not bring it back. Several Dropbox-related processes were still running in Task Manager, including Dropbox, Dropbox Service (DbxSvc), Dropbox Setup, and DropboxUpdater (x64).

I tried running the official full desktop installer, but after approximately 20 minutes it failed with the following message:

"Installation error: The installation process was not completed. The installation has been canceled."

After restarting Windows, Dropbox launched successfully and synchronization resumed normally.

I did not clear the application cache, delete or rename any configuration folders, or create a new Windows user profile.

At this point, I cannot confirm what caused the issue or whether it was related to the Dropbox updater or a Windows process that had become stuck.

I will monitor the situation and follow your suggested troubleshooting steps if the problem returns.

Thank you for your help!

All comments

Megan

Hi there, @gmansi, let's see what we can find about this together!

Thank you for providing detailed diagnostic information. As a first step, please terminate all running Dropbox background instances:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Click More details if you are in compact view.
Under the Processes and Details tabs, locate and end all the tasks related to Dropbox.

Do you have any security software—such as an antivirus, VPN, or firewall—that might be blocking Dropbox? If so, please try disabling them temporarily to see if that helps.

Next, please try to clear your application cache and temporary files. This will clear configuration files without deleting your locally synced Dropbox folder or files:

Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
Type %LOCALAPPDATA% and press Enter.
Locate the Dropbox folder inside %LOCALAPPDATA%.
- Rename or delete the instance_1 folder (or the entire Dropbox folder within AppData\Local if Dropbox is uninstalled).
Press Win + R again, type %APPDATA%, and press Enter.
Delete the Dropbox folder inside %APPDATA% if it exists.

Lastly, please try installing the Dropbox desktop app using the offline installer here.

I'll be waiting your updates on this!