Dropbox stuck indexing, then silently shuts down

Hey there (@Beennn), did you point the new installation to your existing folder-structure using the Advanced Settings on the setup window? Any detail in regards to how you went about with the migration would be very helpful.

From there, as it looks like you may have some files in your folder that have their permissions incorrectly set, the first step is to try resetting the permissions to see if that helps Dropbox interact with your files. Those are the instructions in Part I. If that doesn't work, I'd like you to try the advanced reinstall steps outlined in Part II. Please only go to Part II after restarting your computer and making sure that Part I didn't solve the problem.

Part I: Permissions:

Spoiler

You can fix your permissions settings with the following steps:

#1. If Dropbox is running:

- Click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray

- Choose "Exit"

#2. Press the Windows Key + R (at the same time) then type "cmd" and press enter to open the Command prompt.

#3. Copy and paste the following lines into the Command Prompt, one at a time, and press RETURN after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands(don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. Also, you can only paste them by right clicking and selecting “Paste”. Don't worry if one of the instructions below fail or you can't find the folder in one of these locations. This is normal.

icacls "%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

icacls "%APPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

If you have any questions before you do this, or if you see an error after running one of these commands, please let us know!

#4. Restart Dropbox from Start -> All Programs. Please also restart your computer.

Part II: Advanced Reinstall

Following, please follow these instructions to perform an advanced reinstall.

Please do let me know of the outcome whenever you have some spare time & I’ll do my best to follow-up with you. Enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!

All comments

Part I: Permissions:

Spoiler

You can fix your permissions settings with the following steps:

#1. If Dropbox is running:

- Click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray

- Choose "Exit"

icacls "%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

icacls "%APPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

If you have any questions before you do this, or if you see an error after running one of these commands, please let us know!

#4. Restart Dropbox from Start -> All Programs. Please also restart your computer.

Part II: Advanced Reinstall

Following, please follow these instructions to perform an advanced reinstall.

Please do let me know of the outcome whenever you have some spare time & I’ll do my best to follow-up with you. Enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!

Beennn

Hi Jane,

Thanks for your reply,

did you point the new installation to your existing folder-structure using the Advanced Settings on the setup window? I did yep; i have dropbox on its own dedicated HDD, my windows instalation is on its own dedicated SSD; i also use the windows SSD for program installations (including dropbox); i then set the location for dropbox to use under the advanced settings during installation to use the HDD (the HDD already holds all of my dropbox files pre-installation).

Unfortunately part 1 didn't work - will be trying part 2 today. Will keep you updated, thanks!

Sure @Beennn, let’s leave this discussion open as a point of contact; please take your time to try my suggestions & keep me posted on the outcome whenever you get a chance!

Beennn

@Jane sorry for the long delay - unfortunately i'm still having trouble after following part 2 of your instructions. Can you advise anything else?

Thanks,

Ben

Thanks for sticking with me on this discussion Ben (@Beennn); I appreciate the update & I’d happily further investigate the cause of this discrepancy with you! As I’d like to dig a bit deeper & have a closer look on your setup through our Official Support channel having all our tools available, I’ve made sure to reach out to you directly via email.

Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap!

Hi Jane.

Do you know perhaps what are the Pt I permissions instructions for mac? (mac Os Monterrey 12.6.3)

Thanks a lot.

Daniel

Jay

Hi @danielarce, these are old instructions specifically for Windows devices due to how permissions work on those devices.

Could you clarify what issue you're experiencing on your Mac device?

Hi Jay.

My dropbox seems to be stuck at indexing, it shows to be syncing. But nothing happens. It doesn't sync any file.

Every day I must force quit and reboot several times the dropbox app, then pause/resume sync until it starts syncing files.

I have followed all instructions related to this issue. Configured all systems permissions. Reinstalled the app etc.

I’m using a Mac Studio M1 max Chip but had the same issue with an iMac pro.

Thanks.

Daniel

Hi there @danielarce, sorry to jump in here, but could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

Hi @Walter

Screenshot 2023-05-08 at 11.03.24.png Screenshot 2023-05-08 at 11.02.20.png Screenshot 2023-05-08 at 11.01.55.png

any other info you might need, please let me know.

And thanks for helping.

Daniel

Megan

Hi @danielarce, could you also check if there's a third party app, like a security app, that could be hindering the syncing process? Could you try temporarily disabling your antivirus or firewall? Maybe that will do the trick.

Let me know of any updates!

Hi Megan.

Thanks for reaching out.

Dropbox just stopped syncing completely. Reinstall it. Disabled all security third party apps.

Nothing seems to work.

Giving up on this.

Daniel

Megan

Hi @danielarce, is it possible that you're syncing locally more than 300K files, which is the soft limit of the desktop app?

If so, can you try using selective sync and remove some folders from your Dropbox folder, to see if that helps with the syncing?

Hi Megan.

I’m only syncing few files. 15 files actually. Double checked I am on selective sync.

Hey @danielarce, thanks for clarifying that for us. Can you let us know if syncing is stuck at the exact same number of files or if it is progressing at all?

Still stuck at the same point.

I can't even edit preferences.

Screenshot 2023-05-11 at 09.24.21.png

Turned off any security app. Nothing changed.

Thanks

Thanks for the clarification and the screenshot too @danielarce

May we reach out via email to have a further look internally at this point?

Sure, that'd be great.

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