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App always updating thousands of files

Since a few weeks, my Dropbox app is always updating thousands of files, whenever my computer is started, taken out of sleep or hibernation. I think it started after I used Dropbox to briefly store a lot of small files on a secondary laptop. Searching on the internet, I have found more people with similar problems and I have tried some of the suggested solutions, but so far to no avail. This is on Windows 11, Dropbox plus subscription with selective sync enabled (my whole dropbox doesn't fit on the laptop).

What I have done: remove and reinstall Dropbox; remove, delete dropbox cache folder, reboot laptop, reinstall Dropbox. At first the reinstall seemed to work but it didn't solve it permanently. Any other suggestions?

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Megan

Hi @gjwolfswinkel, thanks for the screenshots!

It seems you're using the beta version of our app. To eliminate the possibility of this causing the syncing issue, can you try going into your account settings on the Dropbox website, and turning Early releases off?

After that, install one of the stable builds of the Dropbox application.

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Walter

Hi there @gjwolfswinkel - sorry to hear about this and thanks for letting us know the troubleshooting steps you've attempted so far.

Could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status as shown in your taskbar so that we can have a visual too?

Thanks!

gjwolfswinkel

2024-01-03 21_14_50-Greenshot.png 2024-01-03 21_15_19-Greenshot.png

Sure, here you go Walter. Hope this helps!

Megan

Hi @gjwolfswinkel, thanks for the screenshots!

After that, install one of the stable builds of the Dropbox application.

gjwolfswinkel

Hi Megan,
As an IT guy I'm always trying new stuff, I wasn't even aware anymore I had this set in my account. I have now disabled that setting and reinstalled. First result looks promising, no indexing and updating thousands of files after the first reboot. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days and will post results in this thread in a few days. Thanks so far!

gjwolfswinkel

Hi Megan,

The problem hasn't returned for a few days now. Consider it solved 🙂 Thanks!

Kirola

I'm having the same issue, and my early release is set off already. This ties up a LOT of my computer memory as it updates, and it takes DAYS to complete, making my computer run slow. I end up turning updates off, but then, of course, it doesn't update new files. The above solution won't work for me, so what else do you have in Pandora's Box of solutions?

Nancy

Sorry to hear about this issue, @Kirola.

Can you send me a screenshot of how many files the Dropbox app is currently trying to update on your device, so that I can have a visual and further assist?

Kirola

Nancy

Thanks for that! It looks like the app is trying to update a very large number of files indeed, which explains why it takes so long to complete the updates.

Did you take any actions on the Dropbox app, right before this behavior started? For example, did you add a large number of files in your local Dropbox folder or did the app start updating these files out of the blue?

Kirola

Hi, Nancy,

I tried to answer via email, but just got a denied notification, sorry I didn't know earlier to respond earlier. No, it's started updating all the files every day about a month ago out of the blue. Don't know why. I do add and change files, but not even close to it needing to update that many files. And I don't know that I actually have 3,000,000 + files on drop box to update, so that's weird to me, too.

Nancy

Hmm, I see; this is a bit odd indeed. Can you let me know what’s the current syncing status and app version of your Dropbox app?

Kirola

Syncing 3,382,797 files. Where do I find the App Version?

Hannah

Hey @Kirola, to see the version of the Dropbox app installed on your computer, hover over your Dropbox icon.

Kirola

Version 216.4.4420. Seems to be stuck at Syncing 3,382,797 files.

Hannah

Thanks for the update, @Kirola!

Can you try these steps, to see if they help?

Kirola

I'm not sure. I got no message about links, I did get a a message that said the fix permissions was fixed. Here's what I see now:

But it doesn't really seem to be syncing.

Nancy

Thanks for giving that a go! Are you still seeing the same number of files trying to sync to the app?

Kirola

Yeah, it still says $3,382,763.

Nancy

If the app’s still stuck at the same file count, can you check if there are any third-party apps that could be interfering with Dropbox or accessing the files in your local Dropbox folder? If there are, can you please disable them temporarily and see if that helps?

What you can also try after that is to uninstall the Dropbox app from your computer, restart your device and then, reinstall it.

Let me know if any of the above makes a difference.

Kirola

How do I check for third-party apps that might be interfering?

Jay

HI @Kirola, you'd need to check this yourself by quitting all open apps and services on your machine, to ensure that nothing is attempting to make changes to any files in the Dropbox folder.

Kirola

Oh, yeah I did do that a couple of times. However, I left for the weekend, came back this a.m. and rebooted my computer, and now I have a notice that everything is up to date. So I guess for now it is fixed. Thanks for all the help.

Kirola

Well, now, two hours later, we're back at updating 3,157,000+ files, putting a drag on my computer again. Sigh...

Nancy

Hmm, I see. Can we go ahead then and log a ticket for you? We can contact you to the email address you see here and investigate this internally.

Kirola

I ended up deleting Dropbox Desktop App and then reinstalling it yesterday. It has been updating the files I selected, and we're down to 155,000 ish. Let's hold off on the ticket to see if it stops continually updating after it has completed all current updates from the re-install. I'll let you know one way or the other when that is completed. Thanks!

Kirola

A new day, a nice resolution. The deletion of and re-adding Dropbox Desktop seems to have worked. All files are now synced, and I'm not having any further issues so far. I believe the problem could perhaps be related to QuickBooks files. I have the QB program on my desktop, but I have the actual file that I access on Dropbox so that I can access it from home or from my laptop if I have to be on the road and process payroll. It always seems to take a very long time to sync the QB file, and I believe that is the file that might have caused the sync to get stuck. Don't know for sure, but wanted to pass that on for your information. Thanks for all your help!

Megan

Thanks for the heads up @Kirola! 😄

Happy to see that your issue is now resolved!

If you need something else, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help every step of the way.