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Forum Discussion
Dropbox is stuck syncing 60K files or 118GB and taking ~200% CPU
Device
iMac 2019 27-inch Retina 5K
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Sequoia 15.7.2
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
v238.4.6075
Syncing Status
"Syncing 60,850 files "
Question or Issue
I recently updated my mac OS to Sequoia 15.7.2. Since that update my dropbox has been stuck at syncing thousands of files and has severely slowed my computer to the point that I can't use it (painfully slow and chugging along for a simple task). As you can see in the screenshots, it's no wonder since it is taking up so much CPU power (180-200%). For the first few days I've tried to let it run but the number of files had jumped up to double what it is with nothing actually going down.
Important things to note:
1. new files are getting synched despite it syncing all these other files. I can see the updates in my other computer.
2. at around the same time I updated I attempted to have dropbox backup my photos as well which is the largest files and it could also be related to this slowing. I did this right after I updated my OS. As a result, I changed the dropbox settings and turned photo backup and syncing off (I had never synced my photos to Dropbox before). I also deleted any previous backups just to be sure and paused backups entirely.
Please help!! My iMac is unusable and I need it for work.
I almost attempted to delete everything and do a fresh sync but I'm worried it will just aggravate the issue and cause a full file sync even larger than what it is now. I can't tell if this is in some stuck problematic state or if it is in fact synching so many files because of some recent change (FYI I did not update that many files on dropbox that would warrant that large sync)
.
5 Replies
- Theresa
Community Manager
Hi there ilakn , and welcome to the Dropbox Community! 😊
I'm so glad to see your issue is resolved - being stuck syncing that many files while using a high amount of CPU can be incredibly frustrating, so it’s great to hear things have finally settled down. Thanks so much for coming back to update the thread too.. it really helps others who might run into similar sync slowdowns.
By the way, I’m Theresa 👩💻, one of the community managers here at Dropbox HQ. Since you’re working with a large amount of data, I’d love to know… what do you usually use Dropbox for? Whether it’s work projects, large media libraries, backups, or something else entirely, I’m always curious how people fit Dropbox into their day-to-day workflows.
Looking forward to hearing more,
T 😺 (Dropbox Community Manager)
Hi Megan - after a couple of days of keeping my computer unlocked with no screen saver or screen lock, the sync has stopped and everything seems to be up-to-date. I'm not sure what combination of what I did worked this time around vs the other times I tried to keep my computer running and waiting. But the issue resolved itself.
FYI I did set bandwidth settings of 150 KB/s for both upload and download. I do not have any proxy settings and set LAN Sync on. Also as mentioned I deleted and turned off backups on Dropbox.- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey ilakn, let's jump right into this!
Could you confirm where your Dropbox folder is currently located on your machine? Also, has the number of files syncing changed at all?
Does the issue go away after rebooting your device or quitting or even signing out and back in?
Let me know if you have any proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router settings that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains. If you do, try temporarily disabling those, to see if that helps.
While we're at it, have you tried adjusting your bandwidth settings to see if that helps improve matters for you?
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
