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Dropbox re-indexes files during every startup on my Mac Mini

David Hwang

Because my internal drive is only 256 GB, I set up Dropbox on an external SSD (Samsung T7 2 TB, APFS encrypted) so I can keep my files available offline.

The issue is that every time I restart the system, Dropbox reindexes all the files, which takes a considerable amount of time.

I’ve reinstalled the app several times, but the problem persists. How can I prevent Dropbox from reindexing on every restart?

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Accepted answers

David Hwang

After several tests, I discovered that Dropbox takes an unusually long time to reindex at every startup when my Dropbox folder is on an external SSD, even if only a small number of files are kept locally.

I eventually moved Dropbox back to my internal SSD—the last thing I wanted to do—and everything returned to normal.

It seems that the Dropbox Mac app doesn’t work well with external SSDs, most likely due to macOS’s frustrating limitations on cloud storage.

All comments

Mark

David Hwang wrote:
How can I prevent Dropbox from reindexing on every restart?

You cant I'm afraid.

Its how it knows that the files have not changed since the last time the app was launched - and it compares the files between the web cloud version and locally. However, it shouldnt take huge amounts of time, or, slow the system down too much. But, if they are all local that DOES slow things down as it has to check each manually where as if they are all in cloud that part doesnt have to happen for those files.

Megan

Hey @David Hwang, thanks for posting here today!

Reindexing is normal in order for the app to sync any local changes to your account online and vice versa. It's definitely expected when using an external SSD too.

However, as @Mark pointed out it shouldn't take a long time. Keep in mind that this definitely depends on the amount of files you have available locally, inside your Dropbox folder.

How long does the process usually last, and how many files do you see when you select your Dropbox folder, and check its properties?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

David Hwang

It doesn’t appear to slow down the system, but the process takes several hours, during which I can’t sync files across my devices. My Dropbox contains about 1.2 TB of photos and videos, which seems to be causing the issue.

David Hwang

It takes several hours!

When I check the properties of my Dropbox folder, I see the following:
Size: 1.18 TB downloaded for 124,599 items.

Every time I start the system, I have to wait a couple of hours before I can sync between devices, which is not ideal.

Mark

It shouldnt take that long.

I wonder if the database is corrupted. To resolve that an unlink/relink works as it rebuilds it from scratch. BUT that does take time, so, do it when you have a spare few hours!

David Hwang

By “unlink/relink,” do you mean signing out of the Dropbox app and then signing back in?

I’ve already tried that, but it didn’t resolve the issue. My Dropbox app has still been indexing/syncing for 3.5 hours now.

David Hwang

I eventually moved Dropbox back to my internal SSD—the last thing I wanted to do—and everything returned to normal.

It seems that the Dropbox Mac app doesn’t work well with external SSDs, most likely due to macOS’s frustrating limitations on cloud storage.

Theresa

Hi there @David Hwang and welcome back to the community. I am so pleased to hear things are back working as expected. Thank you so much for coming. back to share this with us. Updates like these are always appreciated and are what keep the Dropbox Community thriving.

By the way, I'm Theresa one of the community managers here at Dropbox HQ 👩‍💻. Since you're using Dropbox on a Mac Mini.. I'd love to know - how do you typically use Dropbox in your workflow. Whether it's for personal projects, work or bit of both, I'm always curious to hear how people are making Dropbox work for them.

Looking forward to hearing more,
T 😺 (Dropbox Community Manager)