Child Item

Dropbox 237.4.5655 - syncing hangs on 30 files forever or '"waiting for download".

Device
PC
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 11
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
237.4.5655
Syncing Status
Syncing 30 files

Question or Issue
This weekend on all my pc's and laptops (all Windows11) the new dropbox update was installed automatically.

On my working laptop, this went as a charme, no problem.

My backup laptop started to index all files, then syncing and now it stays on "Werkruimte downloaden" (workspace?) - after a reboot, he starts syncing and then it goes to above and stays there. No progress. All files are synced, but Dropbox keeps on "busy".

My PC started to index first all files (more than 300k of number of files), then syncing, from 16 hours to 6-8 hours at least. Then it showed, that there were 2 files left to sync, 412KB , so this would be in a blink of an eye. It stayed there forever. Then i tried: clearing cache, unlink/link again and wait again for 6-8 hours. I also tried to deselect the files for syncing, but no solution there. Now it states it still wants to download/sync 30 files.... (waiting for download) and stays there.

So one out-of-three the update went smooth, but the other two are still trying to get the syncing finished.

Any ideas how to move forward on this update?

Kind regards, Jeroen

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Jeroenuttwello

Update: used chdksk /d f: where d: is my dropbox drive on all pc's and laptops.

No succes. The backup laptop syncs perfectly but stays on busy on syncing while there is nothing to sync anymore. If I hover the dropbox icon it states: "Workspace downloading..." and this will stay on forever.

The PC is still trying to find the 30 files it wants to sync (and download, or download for syncing, that's not clear to me). And the PC isn't very trustworthy in syncing all files real-time at this moment.

Megan

Hi there, @Jeroenuttwello, let's see what we can find about this together!

Let me point out that you did a great job troubleshooting this on your end. More specifically the thought to reduce the number of your local files using selective sync was spot on.

How long is the app stuck syncing files? Also, have you made sure that the internet bandwidth Dropbox is using is adjusted correctly when using the app?

If you could send me a screenshot of what you see when you hover over your Dropbox icon, it would be really helpful.

As a last step, and if none of that works, then I'd suggest that you try opting out of the Dropbox for Windows update using the steps here.

Let me know of any updates, and we'll go from there.

Jeroenuttwello

Hi Megan, wonderful to hear from you.

The app is already 2-3 days stuck on syncing files. The bandwith: the network screen under preferences has off-off-on, so no limitations on that part. Both troubled systems have wired network on a gigabit connection, fiberglass. The work laptop is on wifi and dropbox works fine on that one. So bandwith seems to be no problem. Disk space is also no issue. My work laptop has the least free disk space. The troubled systems have more than 300GB of free space.

How can I send you the screenshots in private mode....or otherwise I can edit the screenshots and black the privacy information.

Megan

Hey @Jeroenuttwello!

Yes, you can always omit any personal info shown in your screenshots. You can send them to me by clicking the camera-like icon when replying back to me, or pasting them directly in the reply box.

Also, did you try the steps I provided about opting out of the Windows update, by any chance?

I'll be waiting!

Jeroenuttwello

Hi Megan,

The backup laptop states syncing 1 file.
I changed the language to English, and to my surprise it stated: downloading "Werkruimte"....

So, I searched for "Werkruimte" and found a folder which was shared with other people, but without contents. The same folder was locked (by another user or process?) on my other PC. So, I deleted the folder on Dropbox Web and on the backup laptop and rebooted the laptop.

Now is says, syncing 2 files....

with no details. From 1 to 2, not really positive progress here.

The same happened on my PC. That was stuck on 2 files for 78kB with file details, so i deleted the old files (2016), rebooted and it came with 30 files syncing forever.

Jeroenuttwello

Hi Megan,

Also, did you try the steps I provided about opting out of the Windows update, by any chance?

Yes, but this really messes up my laptop and PC. After signing in again, the setup wants to have a new location for the dropbox, and I already have the dropbox (both personal and business) on my separate drive. I can not rename the root-map of the dropbox, because it is locked by anything else. So, I deleted the root-map and signed out personal and business, signed in with personal (the small dropbox, only 15GB) with opt-out checked and will sign in with business dropbox and let it download all 400.000 files again.....

On my PC the dropbox desktop app was signed out of personal and business, but is really in a bad state now, so I think I will reinstall the app and do everything again from scratch.

Megan

Hey @Jeroenuttwello, sorry to hear about that.

At that point I also think it might be wiser to start from scratch. If you notice that the syncing behavior remains the same, or if you're having trouble with this or anything else we'll be one post away.

If you're using a paid plan you can always reach out to our support team too. I'll be waiting for your updates!

Jeroen J.1

Hi Megan, the backup laptop works perfectly fine now.

What I did was:
1. sign out in the dropbox desktop app, both personal and business (paid plan)
2. quit the app
3. deleted all files from the drive where the dropboxes were on (that took a few hours)
4. reboot offcourse
5. started the dropbox desktop app
6. signed in as personal account, the smallest amount of files
7. in advanced settings, enabled opt out Windows Update Dropbox and let it sync all files from my personal account
8. after syncing personal dropbox, added business with opt-out enabled
9. let it sync and download voor 12 hours
10. reboot and done.

At this time I repeated the above process on my big PC with one big difference.
4a. remove the dropbox app
4b. chkdsk d: /f on my dropbox drive (commandscript)
4c. install the dropbox desktop app after new download from the dropbox website
7. I specifically did not enable the opt-out Windows Update, now I am curious what will happen

So, the PC is going to sync and download for another 12 hours and then we will see if the clean install and sync is enough to correct this "glitch" from 236.4.5655

Megan

Hey @Jeroen J.1, thanks for keeping me in the loop!

Happy to see that things worked out as they should. Definitely let me know of any updates.

If you need something else, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help every step of the way. 😇