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When I try to open my files within the Dropbox folder, Explorer crashes. I'm on Windows.

Hi there,
First I introduce myself, I am Roberto from Spain, it is a pleasure to be here with you.

I have never had any problem with the desktop version of Dropbox, but recently it is impossible to open files from the dropbox directory, on my windows 10 laptop. Every time I open the dropbox directory, the explorer crashes, it keeps thinking with the mouse pointer in the shape of a circle. I can not open the files, no photos, no text or anything.
If I close the application process, the same thing happens, it doesn't respond, but if I uninstall dropbox, the directory and subdirectories work perfectly and I can open the documents. It doesn't sync anymore though. I only have two devices with dropbox installed.
If I reinstall it, it crashes again as soon as I open the directory. I have tried the versions: 178.4.4811, 175.4.5569 and 168.4.4802 in both 64 and 32 bit. I have also tried uninstalling the latest windows updates.

If I make changes to a document through the mobile, or add another file, they are updated on the laptop, but I cannot open them. Curiously, through the icon of the tray, where you can see the latest changes in files, I can open them there, but if I want to open a specific one that hasn't changed for a long time, I can't locate it to open it.

Has something similar ever happened to you? How did you solve it? I have looked in the photo but I have not found my problem.

Thank you very much for the help.

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Walter

Hey @TitoritoTito - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Could you let us know the exact OS version of your computer and send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version as shown in your system tray at the moment?

Also, do you happen to be running any antivirus, firewall or VPN/proxy on your computer?

Let us know more and we'll take it from there, Roberto.

TitoritoTito

Hello good Morning. Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes of course. I attach a screenshot with my version of windows, and another with the status and version of the dropbox. In the latter, the status says "Updated" in Spanish.

Thank you very much for the help.

Hannah

Just to confirm, if you close the Dropbox app completely, does the issue persist, @TitoritoTito?

How about any security apps, like Walter mentioned? Do you have any antivirus/VPN/firewall etc. that might be causing this?

TitoritoTito

Hello!

First I apologize for the delay in answering, I have been away these days.

Exactly Hannah, as you say with the application and process completely closed the problem persists, I have to uninstall the application to be able to enter the directory and open all the files with the same normality as in other windows explorer directories. Without uninstalling, it is impossible to open the files in the main dropbox directory or in any subdirectories.

Regarding what you say, I don't have a VPN or antivirus installed, just standard Windows security and its firewall. But I have not made any changes so that dropbox suddenly stops working for me. Beyond the changes that Windows may have made for some reason or update. In the firewall I have the dropbox.exe allowed.....

Thank you very much for the help.

Nancy

Hi from me as well, @TitoritoTito!

If you right click on your local Dropbox folder and go to its Properties, can you let me know how many files seem to be local at the moment?

You can also upload a screenshot of what you see if you prefer (just make sure to hide your username).

Also, since you mention that the issue persists while the Dropbox app is closed; do you have any other third-party apps running at the same time that could be interfering? What do you see if you open your task manager?

TitoritoTito

Hello!

Here I attach the properties of the dropbox directory. 61 files and 16 directories.

I have tried deleting all dropbox content after making a copy elsewhere on my hard drive, after uninstalling dropbox. I have logged in to the web and indeed it looks empty. I have installed the latest version of dropbox and started and synchronized without documents, and the same thing, just copy a file and I can't open it from windows explorer. I have tried rebooting into safe mode with network options enabled, and it works perfectly, I can browse all directories and open files. I get back to the desktop with a normal reboot and I'm still stuck.

Could it be some service or other process that conflicts?

Megan

Hi @TitoritoTito, thanks for the added info!

Can you try to perform an advanced re-install following these steps?

Здравко

Hi @TitoritoTito,

Did you intentionally set your Dropbox folder as read only or this is some kind of mistake? 🧐 Try wipe this flag out from the Dropbox folder and all its content (files/subfolders).

Good luck.

TitoritoTito

Hello, thank you very much for your answers.

I have done the advanced re-installation and everything remains the same, no difference.

Regarding the read-only attribute, I have removed it, and also in all subfolders and files, and everything remains the same. That is so by default, since by installing dropbox in a different directory, the same "Dropbox" parent directory that is generated has the same read-only attribute.

I'm a bit desperate, what could have happened to the computer for this to happen suddenly?... also in safe mode it works fine...

Hannah

Thanks for the update again, @TitoritoTito.

Can you also try to install the Dropbox app with admin privileges this time, to see if that works?

TitoritoTito

Hello again!

I am already an administrator on my PC and whenever I install dropbox or other programs I install it as an administrator by default. Anyway I uninstalled dropbox again and did an express install using the "Run as administrator" command from the dropboxinstaller right menu, and all is still the same when opening the dropbox directory.

Thank you for your help.

Nancy

Hey @TitoritoTito! Sorry to jump in.

Can you also try the steps mentioned here to fix hardlinks/permissions?

If this doesn't seem to help, we can log a ticket for you instead at this email address.

TitoritoTito

Hi Nancy, you are more than welcome.

I have tried both fix options and still have the same problem. It is not possible to open a file from Windows Explorer, it is always thinking with a little circle as a pointer. I can open them from the latest file changes by clicking on the Dropbox tray icon and I can even browse the photos using Xnview which is my default image viewer.

Thank you very much for the help, I think we have tried almost everything, right? he he

Nancy

Thanks for giving that a go, @TitoritoTito!

I've gone ahead and logged a ticket for you. Please reply back to me, when you have some free time.

TitoritoTito

Hi there.

I'm just coming in to tell you about the quick experience I've had with dropbox support. It turns out that a person suggested that I create another windows profile, also an administrator, as my user, and log in there to my dropbox account to see if it worked. In that case they could not do much since it is a problem of some windows parameter or privilege or something. Once this new user is created, and logged into dropbox, after the quick synchronization, I can enter the directory perfectly, open the files quickly and without blocking, so we can do little else. Now I have to wait or continue investigating to see why it has stopped working for my main user, if there have been no installations or anything weird, one day it just stopped working fine, although as I said it synchronized perfectly and opened the application without problem, and even the files from the system tray icon, the problem is the access to the dropbox windows folder, which keeps thinking blocked....

Thank you very much for the help!!

abdullahhhh01011

"Hello Roberto,

Welcome to the community! It's a pleasure to have you here.

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're facing with Dropbox on your Windows 10 laptop. Your detailed description of the issue is really helpful for troubleshooting.

It's unfortunate that opening files from your Dropbox directory is causing the Windows Explorer to crash. This kind of situation can be quite frustrating. Since you've already tried various versions of Dropbox and even considered Windows updates, here are a few additional steps you might consider:

Compatibility Mode: Right-click on the Dropbox executable file, go to 'Properties,' and under the 'Compatibility' tab, try running it in compatibility mode for a previous version of Windows to see if that resolves the issue.

Selective Sync: While you mentioned that syncing is not an issue, it might be worth checking the selective sync settings to ensure that all files and folders are selected properly.

Clear Cache: Sometimes, cached data can lead to unexpected behavior. You could try clearing the Dropbox cache by stopping Dropbox, deleting the contents of the '.dropbox.cache' folder, and then restarting Dropbox.

Windows Event Viewer: Check the Windows Event Viewer for any specific error messages or events related to the crashes. This might provide additional insights into what's causing the problem.

Contact Support: If you're still facing the issue after trying these steps, it might be a good idea to reach out to Dropbox support. They might have additional troubleshooting steps tailored to your specific situation.

Remember, technology can be a bit finicky, but with some patience and exploration, issues like these can often be resolved. I hope one of these suggestions helps you get your Dropbox working smoothly on your Windows laptop again.

Best regards,
Abdullah

TitoritoTito

Hello abdullahhhh01011!

First of all, thank you very much for your encouragement, and for such an elaborate answer/suggestion, your interest is appreciated. It took me so long to reply because I'm on vacation in a village with no internet access.

Regarding the points you mention, I found the release of the cache very interesting and I have tried it without satisfactory results. I also found the windows event viewer very interesting, and I have verified the error that is produced, but no matter how much thought I have given, I have not achieved anything, it seems that it is related to the DistributedDOM.
Regarding starting Dropbox in compatibility mode, I have tried it, but also without success. Although I don't think this will help much as the directory access problem occurs even with the dropbox app not started. In other words, the process is closed, and I can't open the main directory, it keeps thinking, and it can't open files or anything. The only way to be able to safely navigate in that directory and open its subdirectories and files is by uninstalling dropbox, in that case everything works perfectly... it's very curious.

At the moment I'm getting by with the other Windows user that I created to collect the photos when I synchronize the phone, to archive them locally on my hard drive.

Thank you so much.