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I get an 'uninstallation failed' prompt every time I try the process on my Windows.

dupecoop

I'm having problems with Dropbox on my PC running Windows 10.

I need to uninstall and reinstall but nothing I try allows me to uninstall Dropbox.

I tried the traditional ways and got the 'uninstallation failed' prompt every time.

I also went into the Program folder and tried the Dropbox Uninstaller app there. Didn't work.

What else might I try?

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Hannah

Hey @dupecoop, thanks for reaching out to us and sorry to see you're having trouble.

To fix this, open the "Task Manager" by right-clicking your taskbar and clicking "Start Task Manager".

Then click on the "Processes" tab to see if there are any other Dropbox processes that may be preventing the app from being uninstalled.

You may need to click "Show processes from all users" to check all processes.

If you see any items that refer to Dropbox, or any programs that you may have linked to it:

- Click on the line that references the process to select it
- Click on "End Process"

After this, you should be able to follow the uninstall process as normal.

Let me know how it goes!

dupecoop

Thanks for your reply Hannah.

I did as you instructed and I still cannot uninstall Dropbox. Screen Shot 2022-10-21 at 4.38.35 AM.png

dupecoop

Follow up...

After the uninstaller failed, I checked and Dropbox was gone.

So I tried reinstalling Dropbox and the installer hung (green line moving left to right over and over).

After about ten minutes that box just disappeared. And Dropbox appeared in my list of apps.

However, it doesn't open. I restarted and it still won't open.

Does Dropbox have tech support that will take control of their customer's computer so they can determine the issue? I've tried all the recommended fixes and nothing works. And I depend on Dropbox in my work.

Nancy

Hi @dupecoop, I’m sorry to hear the issue persists.

If you’re on a paid personal plan, you can chat in with our support team. Phone support is only available for team admins on Business teams, at the moment.

If you’d like us to check this further though, can you please clarify whether nothing happens when trying to launch the Dropbox app or if you see any type of error message?

dupecoop

I have a Dropbox Plus - 2TB plan. What are my support options?

I have Dropbox set as a startup item, but it's not appearing in my taskbar.

And if I try to open Dropbox nothing happens. Not error message, nothing.

Megan

Hey @dupecoop, happy Monday!

You should be able to chat, or email our Support team, using the link Nancy provided in her reply. Have you also tried an advanced re-install by any chance?

dupecoop

Thanks for your reply, but the link you provided has a problem.

When you click on "Windows" (or Mac or Linux for that matter) in the middle of the page, nothing happens.

Can you take a look at that?

Hannah

Apologies for that, @dupecoop. I will include the steps in this thread in detail.

Please save and quit all programs accessing files in the Dropbox folder, and then follow these instructions:

Note: Please be sure to take note or take a screenshot of any Selective Sync settings you may have applied as well as the location of your Dropbox folder (if not in the default location) prior to re-installing, as you will need to match these settings upon re-install.

1) Quit Dropbox.

2) Uninstall Dropbox.

3) When the uninstall finishes, restart your computer to ensure that the uninstall is complete.

4) After this, proceed to delete remaining registry entries:

a) Click the Start button. Type REGEDIT in the search box and press Enter.
b) In the Registry Editor, navigate into the following locations until you find the keys for "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate", they will be in either or both of the following two locations:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\
c) In both or either of these folders, please delete only the "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate" folders by right-clicking on the individual folders and selecting "Delete".

5) Then, please delete the Dropbox remaining folders:

a) Open a Windows File Explorer (not Internet Explorer).
b) Type %LOCALAPPDATA% into the address bar (include the % percent signs) and press enter.
c) Delete the folder "Dropbox" from the resulting window.
d) Please repeat these steps with the following folders as well (it's OK if you don't find a Dropbox folder in any of those locations):
%APPDATA%
%PROGRAMFILES%
%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%
e) Then restart your system.

6) Download the newest version of Dropbox.

7) Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the installation file and double click on it.

8 ) During the initial setup and sign in process apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall and select the Dropbox folder location (if not in the default location).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this process removes the previous settings and configuration, if you wish to avoid re-downloading your Dropbox content you will need to manually choose the location for Dropbox to sync to, otherwise you will create a new Dropbox folder and start to download your content again.

To select your already established folder on your drive, after signing in and choosing which folders to sync, and before you click on "Open my Dropbox folder", you should see an "Advanced Settings" link, click on this.

Then you can choose the parent folder of the already established Dropbox folder, for example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path "D:\OtherDrive\Folder\Dropbox (Team)" you'll want to select the folder "D:\OtherDrive\Folder".

At the end of this process, after clicking "Open my Dropbox folder", it might take some time to re-index the files and sync any pending changes.

dupecoop

I did everything you detailed here.

At Step 2, the deletion of Dropbox started and then failed. But I restarted anyway and continued with the subsequent steps.

After that I reinstalled, but the green installer progress bar just keep moving from left to right. It's been about 30 minutes so far, so I assume it's a fail.

Any other suggestions? I have a paid account and will need to cancel if this cannot be resolved.

Walter

Hey @dupecoop, sorry to jump in here, but could you try reinstalling the app again using the offline installer from this page?

If you happen to have an antivirus or firewall running on your computer, please make sure to disable them temporarily during this process.

Let us know of any updates!

dupecoop

Thanks Walter.

Exactly the same thing happens when trying to install with the installer from that link.

The green Dropbox Installer progress bar just keeps moving from left to right but never advances to the next step.

I even tried it in Safe Mode. Same thing happens.

And, again, when I try to uninstall Dropbox I get a 'failed' prompt.

Strange, because Dropbox had worked well on this laptop for years. This issue started suddenly and I hadn't installed anything new.

Walter

Thanks for the additional information @dupecoop - much appreciated!

May I send you an email to have a further look internally at this point?

dupecoop

Yes, please. Thanks Walter.

Do you have access to my email address? If not, please provide yours so I can email it to you.

Walter

No need to @dupecoop - I've just sent you an email to the email address that's associated with your profile here on our Community.

Whenever you get the chance, please have a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there.

blaumar00

Got exactly the same issue. Do you mind to share the fix?.

Walter

Hey @blaumar00 - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please clarify your computer's OS version and send us a screenshot of any errors (or the last screen) you're getting?