Child Item

Dropbox required update, but update failed and so does clean install

Application Affected
Dropbox
Device
HP Probook 650
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 10 Pro
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
none at this moment, not able to install

My dropbox recently popped up a message that I had to update the app. It also stopped syncing. So I downloaded the installer for the update. When I launced it, it said "On your marks", next the window disappears. Nothing seems to happen with the update and dropbox still won't sync.

In services I noticed there are two dropbox updater services. I tried to start them manually but both failed with an unknown error.

Next I completely removed the Dropbox application, removed all registry entries related to dropbox and all dropbox folders on my system (except the data folder).

Downloaded the installer. It launches, downloads the program and next displays a window saying "installing dropbox" with a progress bar. But the installation never finishes and hangs indefinately (tried to leave it at least for an hour).

When I try to close the installer window, it ask me to confirm I want to cancel the installation. When I confirm cancellation finishes after a few minutes and the window closes . However all dropbox processes remain active in the task manager:

When I try to start the installer again, it says there is already an installation running. When I kill all dropbox processes in the task manager, I can relaunch the installer but with the same result, it hangs forever without any error message.

Anything else I can try, or should I start looking for another storage solution?

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mz5

I get it, so no easy solution anywhere in sight. But thanks anyway for your efforts!

Dropbox has been providing an excellent solution to me for the last 6 or 7 years. Unfortunately now it seems the product quality has gone downhill and no longer forfills my needs so I have to move on. From my viewpoint as a customer, I need a simple solution that forfills my needs and that works. Not something that requires hours and hours of troubleshooting, and even if we would manage to get it to work now, I do not have a lot of fate anymore that the next update won't break it again.

I just installed another cloud storage product from one of your competitors, took me in total 2 minutes setup time and everything works like a dream straight away. Same price and my data stays in the EU, which is a bonus to me. So I'm happy.

I will end my Dropbox subsciption here, best of luck to you all!

All comments

Jay

Hi @mz5, thanks for messaging the Community!

Could you try downloading the offline installer of the Dropbox desktop application from this page to see if this helps?

Keep me updated with any progress!

Brian M

Hi. Likewise having trouble with the required update - just get "On your marks". Its the same with the Dropbox installer and the offline installers (latest version I tried was 233.4.4938). I don't want to do a restore to an older date as I gather I will still be forced to upgrade. That will also affect other programs on the PC as they will get reset (currently working fine). Using Win 10 ver 22H2 on a 64 bit PC, with no other apparent issues. Hope someone can help as this is used for files to do with a community help role I have.

Thanks

Brian

Megan

Hi @Brian M, let's jump into this!

Can you let me know the exact error or behavior that you notice on your end when trying to update our desktop app?

Did you make sure that this is not caused by security software on your computer or your network settings? Do you have any proxy, VPN, security software, or even ISP/router settings that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains?

Can you try these steps for an advanced reinstall?

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

Brian M

Thanks for the prompt reply Megan. There is no particular security software (other than Defender etc) and I have tried it multiple times with no firewall. There is no VPN or weird router settings that I know of. The previous version of Dropbox has been running with all the same configurations for a couple of years at least. There is never any kind of error message. The exe program shows up in the Task monitor briefly, but with little or no CPU activity associated. In the registry there was a folder in WOW6423Node called dropboxupdate. Likewise in the other file locations that were referred to in the advanced instructions - no mention of dropbox - just "dropboxupdate". I deleted all such folders but they return just the same if the update is run again.

Well, after all that, and deleting keys and folders yet again, the dropbox installer failed again (error message below) but I tried the version 233.4.4938 (yet again) - and it worked!

Mysterious but thanks very much.

Regards Brian

Megan

Hey @Brian M, thanks for the speedy update!

I'll take that as a win! 🤗

In any case, if you need anything else give me a shout, thanks!

mz5

Hello Jay, thanks for the link to an offline installer. I searched but could not find it.

I tried the offline installer (Dropbox 233.4.4938 Offline Installer.x86.exe), I launch it (as administrator of course), it shows the same windows "Dropbox is installing". After a minute or so another window pops up saying "Error- installation failed", no further details, see screenshot:

The original window ("Installing Dropbox") stays active, so do a number of Dropbox processes in the task manager. When I try to close this installer window, I have to confirm cancellation again, after I confirm I want to cancel nothing happens, not even after a very long wait. I have to manually kill all dropbox processes in the task manager to close the window.

Next I tried to install the 64 bit version (Dropbox 233.4.4938 Offline Installer.x64.exe). It fails with an error stating it has no permission to write to C:\Program Files (x86). Which is weird, as I expect a 64 bit version to install in C:\Program Files and not in C:\Program Files (x86). In taskmanager all processes started by dropbox also show up als 32 bit, so it seems to me the 64 bit version is not 64 bit after all.

As the error message suggested, I removed the dropbox folder in C:\Program Files (x86) (required a reboot and some registry cleaning in order to do so, dropboxext64.87.0.dll was locked). Tried the 64 bit installer again, same result.

In taskmanger, "Servicehost: State repository Service" takes a lot of CPU during this all and keeps doing that until I reboot.

I do not use VPN of external firewall software. My AV software is a dedicated version of F-Secure, as provided by my ISP (KPN Netherlands). Disabling it during install makes no difference.

I have been using Dropbox for around 6 years now and it has been absolutely flawless all this time. Until this latest update that seems to break everything. And from what I read online, I am not the only one having problems with it. I hope a solution will be found soon.

Megan

Hey @mz5, thank you so much for the details!

Although you've already tried a few things, can you also perform an advanced reinstall using the steps I provided earlier?

If the behavior remains the same, let me know and we'll proceed accordingly.

mz5

Hi,

maybe I was not very specific, but I already followed this procedure between each step I took. So I cleared all dropbox related entries in the registry, removed all dropbox related folders (except the data folder) and did a reboot before launching the installer. I'm afraid that's not the solution.

mz5

Maybe worth mentioning: Since I value the privacy of me and my customers, I have turned off as much as possible of all the data aquisition/advertising/store crap that microsoft implemented in W10-64. So I run a very basic windows installation. Can you list which Windows services the dropbox installer/updater relies upon so I can check if that is causing issues here?

Hannah

Thanks for the update on this, @mz5.

Here you can find the minimum system requirements for the Dropbox desktop app.

But since this seems like an issue that might need to be looked into a bit further, I'd suggest reaching out to our support team.

They'll be able to access more account-specific info and assist you further.

Once you have your ticket number, please send it to us as well.

Thanks!

mz5

My system fulfills the minimum requirements, so that should not be the issue.

While scrolling through the registry, I did notice the new version tries to install a whole bunch of additional features such as backup, binder, external drive, passwords, paper, an office add-in, a lot of context menu handlers, autoplay event handlers and a zillion automatic update services. But I don't need or want any of this stuff. All I want is a simple app that keeps one folder on my pc synced with my cloud storage. How hard can it be.

I noticed there is a simplified version of the app for W7/8, any chance of using that on my W10 machine? That is the last thing I am willing to try. I will not be opeing tickets at the support team, it's been taking too much of my time already and I have other things to do. If the simplified version will not work, I will end my dropbox subscription after 6 years and start using a local backup solution on my own NAS instead.

Hannah

Thanks for getting back to me, @mz5.

The simplified version wouldn't be available for your OS version, I'm afraid, but there is another version you can download from the Microsoft Store.

You can read about it, see if you're eligible to install it, and steps on how to install it here.

mz5

Hello Hannah,

thanks for your suggestion, but as I mentioned above, I run a very basic Windows. My windows is in fact installed without the use of a MS account, and I do not have or want such an account. All MS Store functionality is therefore disabled on my system. Any chance of downloading the version you mentioned directly from Dropbox?

Hannah

Does this page help at all, @mz5?

mz5

Not really. That pages states that Dropbox requires Windows 10 version 19045.0 or higher, which is the version I am running. That's the good news.

But there is no download possibility on that page. All it says is:

And as I mentioned, I do not have a MS Account nor do I intend to create one. How difficult can it be to make a working executable installer available for your customers without forcing them to use the MS store.

Hannah

I understand where you're coming from, @mz5.

In that case, there's no way to install the Microsoft store version of the app, without the Microsoft store.

I will make sure to pass your comments along to the team, though, and if you want us to continue troubleshooting the installation issue of the desktop client, let us know and we'll be happy to help.

mz5

I get it, so no easy solution anywhere in sight. But thanks anyway for your efforts!

I will end my Dropbox subsciption here, best of luck to you all!

usascholar

Seriously you have to dig into the Registry and start deleting keys for the **bleep** update to work? WTF DropBox... did you fire your competent developers that do the MSI for the updates? Good lord people.

I have been with dropbox over 10 years, this cluster**bleep** of an update is the worst I have seen them screw the pooch on this.

Seriously DropBox, get your act together and push out another update that fixes this update mess.

usascholar

Ok, here is a powershell script I had to create to take out everything dropbox related that was preventing a new install to happen. Use this only after you already uninstalled dropbox, and find that the darn thing wont reinstall... (this happened to me)

Mark this as the solution

<# 
Dropbox Deep-Clean Script (PowerShell)
- Removes stray Dropbox processes, services, scheduled tasks
- Uninstalls registered MSI entries bearing "Dropbox"
- Deletes leftover folders (ProgramData, Program Files (x86), LocalAppData)
- Removes stale Event Log source (DbxSvc) that spams errors
- Produces a summary at the end

Run as Administrator. Tested on Windows 10/11 PowerShell 5/7.
#>

# region: guardrails
$ErrorActionPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
$ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'

function Write-Info($msg){ Write-Host "[*] $msg" -ForegroundColor Cyan }
function Write-OK($msg){ Write-Host "[+] $msg" -ForegroundColor Green }
function Write-Warn($msg){ Write-Host "[!] $msg" -ForegroundColor Yellow }
function Write-Err($msg){ Write-Host "[x] $msg" -ForegroundColor Red }

# Admin check
$principal = New-Object Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal([Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent())
if (-not $principal.IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)) {
  Write-Err "Please run this script as Administrator."
  exit 1
}

# endregion

# region: tracking
$did = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]

# endregion

# region: kill processes
Write-Info "Stopping Dropbox-related processes (if any)..."
$procs = Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Name -match '^(Dropbox|DropboxUpdate|Dbx|DbxSvc|DropboxUpdater)' }
if ($procs) {
  $procs | ForEach-Object {
    try { Stop-Process -Id $_.Id -Force -ErrorAction Stop; $did.Add("Stopped process: $($_.Name) [$($_.Id)]") } catch {}
  }
} else {
  Write-Info "No Dropbox-related processes found."
}
# endregion

# region: services
Write-Info "Removing Dropbox-related services..."
# Known names + heuristic match
$svcNames = @(
  'dbupdate','dbupdatem',
  'DropboxUpdate','DropboxUpdater','DropboxUpdaterService',
  'DbxSvc'
)

# Add any service whose Name or DisplayName contains 'dropbox' or 'dbx'
$discover = Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Name -match 'dropbox|dbx' -or $_.DisplayName -match 'dropbox|dbx' }
$targets = @()
$targets += $svcNames | ForEach-Object { Get-Service -Name $_ -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
$targets += $discover
$targets = $targets | Sort-Object Name -Unique | Where-Object { $_ }

foreach ($svc in $targets) {
  try {
    if ($svc.Status -ne 'Stopped') {
      Write-Info "Stopping service: $($svc.Name) ..."
      Stop-Service -Name $svc.Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
      Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 300
    }
  } catch {}
  try {
    $out = sc.exe delete $svc.Name | Out-String
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { $did.Add("Deleted service: $($svc.Name)") }
  } catch {}
}
# endregion

# region: scheduled tasks
Write-Info "Removing Dropbox scheduled tasks..."
# Known task names
$taskNames = @('\DropboxUpdateTaskMachineCore','\DropboxUpdateTaskMachineUA')

foreach ($tn in $taskNames) {
  try {
    schtasks.exe /Delete /TN $tn /F | Out-Null
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { $did.Add("Deleted scheduled task: $tn") }
  } catch {}
}

# Heuristic: delete any task whose name contains "Dropbox"
# Parse CSV output to safely get paths
$tasksCsv = schtasks.exe /Query /V /FO CSV 2>$null
if ($tasksCsv) {
  $parsed = $tasksCsv | ConvertFrom-Csv
  $dropTasks = $parsed | Where-Object { $_.'TaskName' -match 'Dropbox' }
  foreach ($row in $dropTasks) {
    $name = $row.'TaskName'
    try {
      schtasks.exe /Delete /TN $name /F | Out-Null
      if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { $did.Add("Deleted scheduled task: $name") }
    } catch {}
  }
}
# endregion

# region: uninstall MSI-registered Dropbox entries
Write-Info "Checking for installed Dropbox entries (MSI/uninstall keys)..."
$uninstallRoots = @(
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall',
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall'
)
$toUninstall = @()
foreach ($root in $uninstallRoots) {
  try {
    $toUninstall += Get-ItemProperty "$root\*" | Where-Object {
      $_.DisplayName -and ($_.DisplayName -match 'Dropbox')
    }
  } catch {}
}
$toUninstall = $toUninstall | Sort-Object DisplayName -Unique

if ($toUninstall.Count -gt 0) {
  foreach ($app in $toUninstall) {
    $name = $app.DisplayName
    $uninst = $app.UninstallString
    if (-not $uninst) { continue }

    # Normalize MSI uninstalls to a quiet form
    if ($uninst -match 'MsiExec(\.exe)?\s+/I|/X\s+({[^}]+})') {
      $guid = ($uninst | Select-String -Pattern '{[0-9A-Fa-f-]+' -AllMatches).Matches.Value | Select-Object -First 1
      if ($guid) {
        Write-Info "Uninstalling MSI product $name ($guid) quietly..."
        Start-Process -FilePath "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList "/x $guid /qn /norestart" -Wait
        if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { $did.Add("Uninstalled MSI product: $name ($guid)") }
        continue
      }
    }

    # Non-MSI uninstallers: attempt with common silent switches
    Write-Info "Uninstalling non-MSI product $name ..."
    $exe = $uninst
    $args = ""
    if ($uninst.StartsWith('"')) {
      $exe = ($uninst -split '"')[1]
      $args = $uninst.Substring($exe.Length + 2).Trim()
    } else {
      if ($uninst -match '^\S+\s') {
        $exe = $uninst.Split(' ')[0]
        $args = $uninst.Substring($exe.Length).Trim()
      }
    }
    $silentSwitches = @('/quiet','/s','/S','/VERYSILENT','/silent')
    $tried = $false
    foreach ($sw in $silentSwitches) {
      try {
        Start-Process -FilePath $exe -ArgumentList ($args + " " + $sw) -Wait -WindowStyle Hidden
        $did.Add("Attempted uninstall (silent) for: $name")
        $tried = $true
        break
      } catch {}
    }
    if (-not $tried) {
      try {
        Start-Process -FilePath $exe -ArgumentList $args -Wait
        $did.Add("Attempted uninstall (interactive) for: $name")
      } catch {}
    }
  }
} else {
  Write-Info "No uninstall entries with 'Dropbox' found."
}
# endregion

# region: remove stale Event Log source for DbxSvc
Write-Info "Removing stale Event Log source (DbxSvc) if present..."
$evtKey = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application\DbxSvc'
if (Test-Path $evtKey) {
  try {
    Remove-Item -LiteralPath $evtKey -Recurse -Force
    $did.Add("Removed Event Log source key: $evtKey")
  } catch {
    Write-Warn "Could not remove Event Log source key (will try to adjust ACL)."
    try {
      $null = takeown.exe /f ($evtKey -replace 'HKLM:\\','HKLM\') /r /d y
      $null = icacls ($evtKey -replace 'HKLM:\\','HKLM\') /grant administrators:F /t
      Remove-Item -LiteralPath $evtKey -Recurse -Force
      $did.Add("Removed Event Log source key after ACL fix: $evtKey")
    } catch {}
  }
} else {
  Write-Info "DbxSvc Event Log source not found (good)."
}
# endregion

# region: delete folders (with ownership fix)
Write-Info "Deleting Dropbox folders..."
$paths = @(
  "C:\ProgramData\Dropbox",
  "C:\ProgramData\DropboxUpdate",
  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox",
  "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Dropbox",
  "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\DropboxUpdate",
  "$env:APPDATA\Dropbox"
) | Select-Object -Unique

foreach ($p in $paths) {
  if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $p) {
    try {
      takeown.exe /f "$p" /r /d y | Out-Null
      icacls "$p" /grant administrators:F /t | Out-Null
      Remove-Item -LiteralPath $p -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
      if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $p)) { $did.Add("Deleted folder: $p") }
    } catch {
      Write-Warn "Failed to delete $p. It may be in use."
    }
  }
}
# endregion

# region: optional perf counter tidy (no-op if you don't want it)
$rebuildPerf = $false  # set $true if you want to rebuild counters
if ($rebuildPerf) {
  Write-Info "Rebuilding perf counters (optional step)..."
  try { lodctr /r | Out-Null; winmgmt /resyncperf | Out-Null; $did.Add("Rebuilt perf counters") } catch {}
}
# endregion

# region: summary
Write-Host ""
Write-OK "Cleanup complete."
if ($did.Count -gt 0) {
  Write-Host "Actions taken:" -ForegroundColor Green
  $did | Sort-Object | Get-Unique | ForEach-Object { "  - $_" } | Write-Host
} else {
  Write-Host "No Dropbox remnants were found to remove." -ForegroundColor Green
}

Write-Host ""
Write-Info "Recommended next steps:"
Write-Host "  1) Reboot your PC." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "  2) Install Dropbox using the OFFLINE installer (Run as Administrator)." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "     URL: https://www.dropbox.com/download?full=1" -ForegroundColor Cyan
# endregion

kbmsg

This has been going on for a few months now. What do we pay for if the updates, and presumably security, are at risk?
Download installer doesn't work, on your marks and stops.
since 227.4.4774

RZ65

Hi mz5

What did you move to? I am having the same probelm with DropBox. Have used it for years but maybe I need to start looking at another solution.

Walter

Hey @RZ65 - sorry to jump in here, but could you let us know your computer's OS version and send us a screenshot of the last screen (or error) you can get to so that we can have a visual too?