I have had Dropbox for an eternity and it has never failed, until now. The Desktop version has vanished. The icon is no longer in the Taskbar even though the program still shows within the Start menu and the folders show in File Explorer. I have tried the following: * A restart because that's the first thing you ask for. * Running the application again from the Start menu (still no taskbar icon). * Doing a standard uninstall, restart and re-install. This gets me an message an unknown error and a code the Chatbot thinks is related to 2FA which I don't have applied on the account. * Do the Advance uninstall and re-install, which is:* Restart the computer * Uninstall Dropbox * Restart the computer * Open Registry Editor * Delete "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate" folders from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (SOFTWARE, WOW6432NODE). * Delete Dropbox folder from %LOCALAPPDATA%. It wasn't present in the other three locations. * Download and Install the Dropbox Desktop app * Linked through advance settings to its original drive and folder. * Tried this twice. Both failed, still no icon, still no possible way to syncronize files through the Desktop App. * Tried an earlier Stable Build (203.4.4857). This briefly worked. It recognized the install, connected to the Online Folder, started a sync and the icon appeared. THEN the app updated added the current build to the PC and I am back to no icon, no sync and No Resolution! *

Child Item

My Dropbox icon vanished from my taskbar, and I can't get it back.

I have had Dropbox for an eternity and it has never failed, until now.

The Desktop version has vanished. The icon is no longer in the Taskbar even though the program still shows within the Start menu and the folders show in File Explorer.

I have tried the following:

A restart because that's the first thing you ask for.
Running the application again from the Start menu (still no taskbar icon).
Doing a standard uninstall, restart and re-install. This gets me an message an unknown error and a code the Chatbot thinks is related to 2FA which I don't have applied on the account.
Do the Advance uninstall and re-install, which is:
1. Restart the computer
2. Uninstall Dropbox
3. Restart the computer
4. Open Registry Editor
5. Delete "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate" folders from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (SOFTWARE, WOW6432NODE).
6. Delete Dropbox folder from %LOCALAPPDATA%. It wasn't present in the other three locations.
7. Download and Install the Dropbox Desktop app
8. Linked through advance settings to its original drive and folder.
Tried this twice. Both failed, still no icon, still no possible way to syncronize files through the Desktop App.
Tried an earlier Stable Build (203.4.4857). This briefly worked. It recognized the install, connected to the Online Folder, started a sync and the icon appeared. THEN the app updated added the current build to the PC and I am back to no icon, no sync and No Resolution!

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Accepted answers

Tim Seabrook

I have identified the issue on Windows 11. In Windows Security, under Device Security, there is an option for Local Security Authority protection. This is a simple on/off option though it requires a restart each time you change it.

If the option is set to On, then this prevents Dropbox from showing in the Taskbar and stops any attempts to re-install it with the current builds.

With Dropbox version 203.4.4857, the LSA protection setting could be on and Dropbox continued to work.

However, while it is possible to install the earlier version of Dropbox, as soon as the connection process completes, Dropbox also installs the latest version and this overrides the previous build.

All comments

Mark

Out of interest what version of Windows etc. are you using? Is it a standard Windows install? No junctions/external or networked drives etc.?

slemaire

I have the same problem on ny MacBook. Extremely frustrating!

Tim Seabrook

I am using Windows 11 Pro. Yes, it's a standard install. No networked drives or external drives. Don't know what you mean by "junctions".

I use the standard Windows Defender for Anti-virus and Firewall and the same configuration is on another desktop PC where Dropbox works like it should.

nixxx

I encountered the same issue twice and attempted the same solutions without success.

I resolved it by reinstalling a repair version of Windows 11, as the problem was likely due to a corrupted system update.

Tim Seabrook

If the option is set to On, then this prevents Dropbox from showing in the Taskbar and stops any attempts to re-install it with the current builds.

With Dropbox version 203.4.4857, the LSA protection setting could be on and Dropbox continued to work.

However, while it is possible to install the earlier version of Dropbox, as soon as the connection process completes, Dropbox also installs the latest version and this overrides the previous build.

echos2

Changing the local security authority setting did not work for me. I was able to selective sync yesterday when I installed the dropbox app, but today I can't do anything except access folders that I sync'd. There's no way to add more. Super frustrated and sick of wasting time on this.

echos2

And of course my frustration is not directed at you. Just hoping the Dropbox people are reading this.

Hannah

Sorry to see that your Dropbox icon is missing, @echos2.

Was the Dropbox application just installed yesterday for the first time on the particular computer?

Can you let us know what troubleshooting steps you've tried so far, except for Tim's solution above?

echos2

Yes, I installed the app yesterday on Windows 11. The little Dropbox icon even shows to the right of the screen in Word and PowerPoint for files in the folders that I sync'd yesterday. This is a new profile on an up-to-date Windows 11 laptop.

I haven't done anything other than turning off the local security authority setting and restarting. When it still didn't work, I used Task Manager to force quit all Dropbox processes and then attempted to start the Dropbox app from the Windows start menu again. Spent way too much time on this trying to find another way to sync folders, but no luck. I have not updated or reinstalled anything because ... well, honestly because I'm completely irritated and frustrated with this right now but luckily it's not my main machine.

<rant> I'm actually just waiting for Apple to fix my MacBook Pro so I can go pick it up. Luckily, I have a Windows laptop here with a new profile that I can use. (Not that it matters, but I was preparing this machine to give to my mother but had to break down and use myself because ... thanks, Apple.) So I just needed a quick sync for 3-4 folders that I need to work on for the next couple of days on this Windows 11 machine, and ARGH. Between Microsoft, Apple, and Dropbox, the technology gods hate me this week. </rant>

I downloaded the folder I need from Dropbox.com and put it in the Dropbox folder on my harddrive, which has of course now caused a selective sync issue on that folder. Give me a couple of days and that will probably be my next support request, lol.

(Here's hoping that Dropbox isn't screwed up on the Mac when I finally get it back.)

Hannah

Thanks for the additional info, @echos2.

I would totally be frustrated as well, so I understand.

Just to confirm, are you missing the small Dropbox icon at the bottom right of your screen, by the clock? Or the larger Dropbox icon that's pinned to your taskbar, which opens your Dropbox folder?

If the former, and if you've confirmed the Dropbox icon isn't hidden, a reinstall would definitely help.

Hopefully that does the trick, but keep us updated if it doesn't.