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Bert M.'s avatar
Bert M.
New member | Level 1
11 years ago
Solved

Desktop app is stuck 'Starting' when it loads up and doesn't sync

I am a paying customer and very frustrated with Dropbox. I am ready to drop DropBox and look for other alternatives.

Since Friday of last week it has been trying to sync 100Gb in files and it is taking an eternity. Now is stuck in "Starting."
I have rebooted the Mac (10.6.8). I am using Dropbox 3.0.3. I have tried going to Preferences, holding the option key and "Fixing Permission." I also read in the Internet about deleting the hidden cache folder but I have not done it yet since I don't know what to expect.

Any assistance is appreciated.

desktop
Mac
sync
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    8 years ago
    Reading through this thread, everyone seems to be experiencing similar and yet slightly different issues, so I’ll go through the general troubleshooting steps to fix all of them. 
     
    Feel free to stop whenever your app begins to sync normally, not all steps are needed.
     
    Install the stable version:

    The first thing we need is to be sure you’re running the stable version of the Dropbox desktop application, and not the beta.
     
    To do so uncheck the box next to "Early releases" here. Then, do an advanced reinstall to ensure that all beta functions are removed fully. 
     
    Instead of the download link on that page, I recommend using the offline installers for this purpose:

     

    Confirm there are no symlinks

     
    Secondly, if your app is fine, but it’s still starting, then it could be stuck in a loop trying to parse your symlinks. 
     
    What are these? Long story short for those not in the know, these are files or folder that refer to another file or folder in your Dropbox account, or even outside the Dropbox folder.
     
    This can include, but is not limited to, iPhoto/Photos library on Mac, system folders such as Documents/Pictures/Music/Downloads, databases, programming code, and many more.
     
    Removing these symlinks is vital since they can cause these issues, high CPU usage, and permissions problems.
     
    Follow step 7 on this article in order to detect the symlinks in your computer and remove any from your Dropbox folder. Generally, moving the specific files or folders to another location should remove the links.
     
    Check your internet connection

    Hilariously, this is more common than you think. You have a stable WiFi/ethernet connection to the web, other sites work, and yet the app isn’t connecting.
     
    If multiple users are having this problem on the same network, there is a possibility that a proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router issues that could be restricting traffic to the Dropbox domains. 
     
    We can’t really narrow things down for you, since you need to check this out yourself as there are so many programs out there.
     
    We’ve had cases more often than not about built in security software on routers for home internet users, meant to protect users and children, but in doing so preventing the Dropbox desktop application from loading.
     
    Using a remote login

    Getting a black or white screen on the Dropbox app when you’re trying to sign in is a different issue.
     
    This usually occurs when using a remote login or even a virtual machine to another device. The graphics for remote logins are usually reduced in quality, and since the Dropbox desktop application connects to the Dropbox site to sign you in, it won’t render the login page in the app while on a remote login.
     
    Best thing to do would be to access the machine directly to login from there.
     
     
    ---
     
    Overall, there are many reasons for this cause, however hopefully this post should help in resolving most of the issues!
     
     

     

     

    [This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]

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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey tj0011, I’m here to help if I can!  
     
    Can you elaborate a bit on that for me please? Are you primarily concerned because your clients are complaining about a syncing issue or are you also facing an issue yourself/yourselves? If so, could you include a bit more detail regarding the source of your concern in your next message? 
     
    Thanks!
  • spike1968's avatar
    spike1968
    Helpful | Level 6
    7 years ago

    Hi tj0011,

    I did the same thing a few years ago now, moved to Google Drive/One and I no longer have any issue and use it everyday as a backup service for my clients. You have made a good decision. This issue has been around for too long and the only answer they can give is the "accepted solution" (the solved link above) above which does not resolve that issue if you are syncing data larger than 500gb.

    That cap is not per file save but the combined size of your dropbox folder, so if you have more than 500gb of photos it will stop syncing. It has been confirmed to me by  dropbox support that the syncing issue cannot be resolved for large data folders.

    Your post yesterday confimrs this again.

  • Earwolf M.'s avatar
    Earwolf M.
    Explorer | Level 4
    7 years ago

    Having very similar issues to this, more than ever, in 2019

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey Earwolf M., I’m here to help, thanks for pinging me on this discussion!
     
    If that’s not too much trouble for you, could you elaborate a bit on what you’re experiencing? 
  • Shailen S.'s avatar
    Shailen S.
    Explorer | Level 4
    7 years ago

    I keep getting the notifications for this issue after so many years and I am stunned that this issue is still not resolved on Dropbox side (!!!) I am very sorry for all you guys having this problem. 

    I have long moved to Google Drive and can't be bothered by the slow execution of Dropbox to solve such sync issues. Also, Dropbox is no more attractive to free users who want to just test the storage solution, especially with the 3-devices limitations. 

  • mr c.1's avatar
    mr c.1
    Helpful | Level 7
    6 years ago

    I find it hard to accept that there is a file limit - i.e. that I need to start selectively syncing folders if I start to actually utilise my dropbox space.  It is strange that you are forcing users onto a 2TB plan, when your system obviously cannot  handle large file collections.

    As with other users I completely fed up with this after many years; I actually changed my dropbox habits due to this -but now that you are forcing the new features and 2TB pricing tier onto me = I may as well leave. 

    Dropbox has become a joke.  

     

    This thread is closed due to inactivity. Please feel free to create a new topic here. 

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