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Client startup on Windows has stopped working for me

I use Dropbox only rarely - to access a shared folder - and shut down the client when I'm done. In the past I would start the client by clicking on a desktop client point to (as far as I know) the local copy of the shared folder. A week or 2 ago that stopped working. Now licking that icon just opens the local unsynced copy of the folder. I can still start the client from the Windows Start menu but I'd rather do it the old way. Was there a change a change to Dropbox that changed this behavior? If so, is there a way to get the old behavior back?

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pokeefe0001

More information: I just looked at the Dropbox shortcut on another computer where Dropbox has not been used for at least 2 weeks. The shortcut does not point to the Dropbox folder; it points to

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Client\Dropbox.exe" /home

which explains why it starts the Dropbox client. Dropbox then rewrites the shortcut to point to the folder when the client is brought up and logged in. I assume Dropbox used to reset the shortcut back to the client's .exe file when the client is stopped, but now it does not. How do I get that old behavior back?

Jay

Hi @pokeefe0001, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

You could first try reinstalling the Dropbox desktop application, without uninstalling it first, by clicking this link to see if this helps.

Keep me updated with any progress!

pokeefe0001

I did that before posting my question. I thought it didn't work, but now it appears the problem is intermittent - sometimes working; sometimes not. I don't know if reinstalling the client software helped or not.

This morning after reading your posting I tried clicking on the shortcut and it did start the client. The PC had been asleep for 10 hours or so but had not been rebooted since I reinstalled the Dropbox code. I then issued a Quit - stopping the client - and again clicked on the shortcut. This time it just opened the local folder; it did not restart the client. I'm not willing to put the PC to sleep right now - I've got hours of backups running - but I did try logging off and back on. That did not help.

I notice there are a couple Dropbox-related scheduled tasks. Do either of them reset the shortcut?

Walter

Hey @pokeefe0001, could you send us a screenshot of where you're spotting those tasks?

Also, could you try rebooting your computer when you get the chance and let us know if the matters have improved at all?

pokeefe0001

I interrupted a backup so I could reboot. The reboot did not fix the problem.

It occurs to me that maybe this was never supposed to work (even though it has worked for many years). The Dropbox doc talks about a Dropbox icon on the Task Bar but makes no mention of a shortcut on the desktop. I don't know how I originally created the shortcut, but yesterday I copied the Dropbox icon from the Windows Start menu onto my desktop. As I mentioned earlier, the shortcut initially had a target of

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Client\Dropbox.exe" /home

and would start the client when clicked. Dropbox would refresh the desktop and then the shortcut had a target of

C:\Users\***\Dropbox

In the past the Dropbox client would apparently reset shortcut's target to the original value when the client exited but does not longer do that. I've confirmed that new behavior on 3 computers.

I have never before put a Dropbox icon on my taskbars but I've now done that, and it acts just as the desktop shortcut used to. If the client is not running, clicking the icon starts the client. If the client is already running, clicking the icon brings up the Dropbox folder in File Explorer. After shutting down the client, the icon will again start the client. Incidentally, the client re-displays the desktop when it starts but does not re-display the desktop when it quits. Nevertheless, the behavior of taskbar icon gets reset. I believe that is the same behavior as when Dropbox user to reset the desktop shortcut; I don't remember a refresh of the desktop when the client was shut down.

Megan

Is it safe to assume that you managed to find a solution to this @pokeefe0001?

It sounds like your steps managed to make it work. If not, let me know and we'll look into this more.

pokeefe0001

I found a circumvention, not a solution. The taskbar icon works the way the desktop shortcut used to work. I assume it is a bug that desktop shortcut now long works to start the client. Either this bug should be fixed or it should be documented that we need to use the taskbar icon (or the start menu entry) to start the Dropbox client code.

BoRubin

I'm facing the same issue, desktop shortcut reverts to the dropbox location rather than the dropbox client location.
1. advanced uninstall-reinstall did not help
2. re-install without uninstall did not help
3. workaround of a taskbar shortcut isn't for me.

I manually change the desktop location to the client for Dropbox to start up, and after a reboot it reverts automatically back to the folder location and the shortcut opens that location instead.

Any other suggestions?