Child Item

Can't choose my Dropbox folder and cannot see the advanced settings after reinstall

Application Affected
Dropbox / Windows 11

Device
ASUS Vivobook

Question or Issue
The main issue is that Dropbox/Windows made a serious change and did not inform us. I keep ALL my files on my desktop at all times EXCEPT one "Online" folder. I was managing this fine with per folder sync behavior. The update changed that WITHOUT asking me. So I saw new icons in Windows and realized that a lot of files were missing (only in the could). A random mix. Chaos.

I set the preferences back to Offline. Then proceded to the folders but hell broke loose. All folder went into a sync mode and thousands of files were being processed. Tried a reinstall in the hope to re-index. Tried many Clean re-install w fresh installer including 237.4.5655 Offline. Cleared AppData, etc. But I never can choose my existing 300Gig C:\Dropbox folder. I never get to the advanced option. I really need help !

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Comments

Hannah

Hey @Alain_P, thanks for your post and sorry to see you're having trouble with the Dropbox desktop app.

The reinstall of the app at that point wasn't going to help the situation, but I understand that because of it you now have a different issue, so let's see what we can find.

Can you let me know what state the app is at the moment? At which step of the process are you?

And can you send us some screenshots of what you see on your end, so we can have a visual and guide you better?

Thanks in advance!

Alain_P

Hello Hannah, thanks for your quick reply.

My understanding at the time was that Dropbox communication with Win11 was confused/corrupted following the recent update. That's why I tried the fresh installs.

I have again uninstalled. So nothing installed at the moment. Just so you know I have two users on that computer: Administrator and Power User. I'm usually logged in as the Power User. I tried reinstalls under every possible combinations of Logged in as Power User w Admin rights, then without, then logged in as Admin, etc. With the online installer and with the offline installer. I cleaned up everything each time between install. (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Dropbox, etc.) I can never get to the Advanced "Pick your Dropbox folder location" step. I have spent numerous hours on this. Best part of a day.

My files are in a confusing state at the moment. Usually I keep all my files physically on drive. Now since the latest DB/Win update that changed the behavior and added the green circle icons, I have 15 main sub-folders with 141 GB of physical data remaining over 153 GB total. So 10GB of random files missing in there !!

On the other hand, I have one "ONLINE" Folder where I usually put stuff I want online. Usually there's a few gigs of offline in there day in day out according to the need of the moment but that drive currently weights 55 GB physically on drive !!! (over a total of 242 GB online). It's absolute Chaos !

Jay

Hi @Alain_P, thanks for the details. In order to look into this matter in more detail, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate further.

Alain_P

Hi Hannah,

The current status is Dropbox fully uninstalled. Here a detailed sum up of the situation:

Clean reinstall attempts failed

I tried multiple complete clean reinstalls:

Using the offline installer 237.4.5655
Using the online installer
Removing all Dropbox folders in AppData (Local and Roaming) and other leftover files between attempts
Testing under both Windows accounts:
Power User (my usual account)
Administrator
Testing with and without admin elevation

Problem:
During every reinstall, I never get access to the Advanced option that allows choosing an existing folder location (C:\Dropbox).
Dropbox never reaches the “Pick your Dropbox folder” screen. It goes directly into a sync state or a setup loop.

Note:
The only discrepancy I notice about the reinstall process when reading the "How to run an advanced reinstall" article is that at steps 8 to 10 I deleted all the complete "Dropbox" folders (not just "Client" folders) from %APPDATA%, %LOCADATA%, ETC. between clean reinstalls.

Current status

Dropbox is fully uninstalled at the moment. There appear to be no trace of Dropbox app on my computer.

I need help restoring:

The ability to select my existing C:\Dropbox folder during setup
Correct local/cloud file states
Reliable selective sync behavior
A way to reverse the unexpected forced changes made by the update

I have spent two entire days trying to recover from this situation.

Thanks for your help.

PS. I contacted support but Chat crashed two times on my and email support only referred to the above mentioned "advanced-reinstall" article

Jay

As you mentioned you're already in contact with the support team via email, it would be worth continuing the troubleshooting process with them directly as there might be more device-specific steps they will offer.

Alain_P

Here's the explanation: https://help.dropbox.com/installs/windows-support-for-expected-changes

It took me four days to pass the first line support and finally get this link. Now I need to figure out how to re-install while opting out (apparently an option) and eventually clean up the mess this left my drive into. Hopefully support will now guide me through it.

I never got any form of warning that this major update was coming. It's ridiculous.

Alain_P

I’m trying to determine how many people had the new Windows-Integrated Dropbox update forced on them and then experienced issues.

In my case, the update changed my sync behavior without asking, switched many folders to cloud-only, created inconsistent local/cloud states, and blocked the ability to choose my existing Dropbox folder during reinstall.

If you had similar problems after the recent update — especially missing local files, unexpected online-only changes, or trouble reinstalling — could you please reply here?

I’d like to understand whether this is an isolated case or a wider issue.

Thanks!

Alain_P

I am still at this point stuck with Level 1 support (after four days) and no helpful solution was offered yet. They won't move me to level 2. It's becoming very upsetting. I have an open ticket (#25762911) but it's not going anywhere.

None of these clearly stated arguments seem to be understood by the watchdogs !

The Dropbox desktop app never completes installation, so I cannot access onboarding, Preferences, or Advanced settings.

I cannot reach the “Opt out of Windows update” checkbox, so I’m stuck in the forced Windows-Integrated Dropbox mode.

The installer skips the folder-selection step entirely and goes straight into a broken sync state.

Multiple full clean reinstalls (online/offline installers, both Windows accounts, with and without admin rights) never fix the issue.

This is clearly a system-level integration problem involving Windows Cloud Files API, not a normal user configuration issue.

"I’ve been waiting four days for proper assistance, and this issue is now affecting my work and costing me time and money. My Dropbox installation is currently unusable, and I need this resolved urgently. Please escalate this case to a Tier-2 Technical Specialist immediately."

I don't know what more to say !

Hannah

Hi again, @Alain_P.

Thanks for taking the time to post updates on your issue.

I understand issues like this can get frustrating to resolve, but from what I can see, you're already in contact with our specialists.

The best way to get a resolution for your issue, is to continue communicating with the agent working on it through your ticket.

They'll be able to provide the next steps and updates on how to proceed.

Hopefully, it will get resolved really soon, so you can go back to using the Dropbox app as normal.

Alain_P

Hi Hannah,

Thank you for your good words.

At this point it's far beyond frustrating and unfortunately, I am not in contact with any specialist. Just entry level support agents. They send me one pre-formated irrelevant procedure every 24h. I've been asking for the next step for five days now.

Alain_P

Hi Hannah,

Thank you for your kind words but the communication with support is beyond frustrating.

My main issue is that since the latest unwanted and unasked for update (Cloud Files API) that deleted thousands of files on my drive and left syncing in an unstable state: multiple Advance Reinstalls tries have never given me access to Advanced Settings. That is why I am here at the very first place.

After six days of snail email exchanges with entry level support agents, here's the answer I get this morning: "Since the set up fails to reach "Advanced settings", I suggest performing an advanced reinstall of the Dropbox application."

This is an insult to my intelligence !

Where do I need to go from here ? Is there a way to pay for real support ?
Or should I download my files. Cancel the service. And leave Dropbox with a disgusting taste in my mouth ?

Nancy

I’m sorry to hear your experience so far, Alain. I’ve forwarded your feedback to our team and I’ve also left an internal note with your comments in your support ticket.

Our advanced team is currently handling your case and I can see that they’ve sent you a new email couple of hours ago. Can you please check it and provide them with the info they requested?