Dropbox tries syncing (deleted) files and gets stuck

Question

Hi there!

I'm using Dropbox on two laptops (Windows 10) and they both have had this problem recently - to be exact, the problems pretty much started with the last Dropbox update.

I tried uploading some phone backups into Dropbox, but it started only saying several thousands of files were syncing while giving a way to small file size (between 200 MB and 1 GB, while the files were around 80 GB). I then decided to try and delete these files, but the problem persisted on one of the two computers. One stopped after a while, without having synced anything, but the other one says that over ~33000 files - 1 GB are being synced (~16000 indexed and 16000 downloaded). The numbers don't ever go significantly down, only up. It does not mention an estimated time, though it did before, changing between 1 second and 2 or more days. I've tried deleting the files on the other devices I use as well, clearing the Dropbox cache and the PC bin, letting a cleaner run and letting the system search for broken files repeatedly, but it just starts back up every time I start the laptop.

I would try deinstalling Dropbox but the laptop in question is using the PC Backup and I don't know whether it will reintegrate into the old backup again (if I can keep it at all, if not, I definitely can't deinstall Dropbox) or whether I'll have all my files twice afterwards/a new PC backup, which I do not want. Since I added some files while the laptop wasn't syncing correctly, I'm not sure whether it would be able to download them?

Cicendula · Answer

Hi there!

Thank you for you reply! I sadly had do deinstall Dropbox on the PC that was giving me trouble because the system just couldn't handle all the syncing  (to be fair, it is not the youngest), but if the problem apppears again on the other one, I'll definitely try and let you know!

Walter · Answer

Hi @Cicendula; welcome to the Community!

I'm sorry to hear you're having issues with syncing; could you follow these steps on the affected computer and let me know if it helped improve matters at all?

1. Ensure that the Dropbox desktop application is running

2. Click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray and then click your profile picture (avatar) or initials

3. Select 'Preferences'

4. Click on the 'Account' tab, and then click in the window under the tab (just anywhere will do)

5. Hold down the 'alt+H' keys

6. Click on the 'Fix Hardlinks' button

7. You may be prompted for your a username and password, this is your computer login credentials, not your Dropbox account ones

8. Please wait about ten minutes to see if Dropbox resumes syncing.

If the above steps don’t resolve your issue, please repeat steps 1 to 5, but at step 6, this time click on the “Fix Permissions” button.

Just note that if you use “Fix Permissions” syncing will start back over. If you need to use this step, please allow for a few hours to pass and let me know if syncing becomes stuck again.

Thanks!

Cicendula · Answer

Update: I now tried deleting the files in the Dropbox bin, but it does not let me do so...