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Beennn's avatar
Beennn
Explorer | Level 3
7 years ago
Solved

Dropbox stuck indexing, then silently shuts down

I'm having some trouble getting dropbox to sync.

I recently reset my windows 10 installation, after which I reinstalled dropbox, and since have been unable to use it. 

My dropbox directory is stored on another drive, so when re-installing, i am selecting the original intact drive with all of my dropbox files on. Dropbox then prompts me with a message saying 'indexing 170 files...", which it remains stuck on for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes or so, the application then just closes and nothing happens. Relaunching the application repeats the above process.

Any idea what's going on? and how i can fix it? 

desktop
sync
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    7 years ago
    Hey there (Beennn), did you point the new installation to your existing folder-structure using the Advanced Settings on the setup window? Any detail in regards to how you went about with the migration would be very helpful. 
     
    From there, as it looks like you may have some files in your folder that have their permissions incorrectly set, the first step is to try resetting the permissions to see if that helps Dropbox interact with your files. Those are the instructions in Part I. If that doesn't work, I'd like you to try the advanced reinstall steps outlined in Part II. Please only go to Part II after restarting your computer and making sure that Part I didn't solve the problem.
     
    Part I: Permissions: 
     
    Spoiler
    You can fix your permissions settings with the following steps: 

    #1. If Dropbox is running:
    - Click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray
    - Choose "Exit"

    #2. Press the Windows Key + R (at the same time) then type "cmd" and press enter to open the Command prompt.

    #3. Copy and paste the following lines into the Command Prompt, one at a time, and press RETURN after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands(don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. Also, you can only paste them by right clicking and selecting “Paste”. Don't worry if one of the instructions below fail or you can't find the folder in one of these locations. This is normal.
     
    icacls "%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    icacls "%APPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    If you have any questions before you do this, or if you see an error after running one of these commands, please let us know!
     
    #4. Restart Dropbox from Start -> All Programs. Please also restart your computer.
    Part II: Advanced Reinstall
     
    Following, please follow these instructions to perform an advanced reinstall. 
     
    Please do let me know of the outcome whenever you have some spare time & I’ll do my best to follow-up with you. Enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!

19 Replies

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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey there (Beennn), did you point the new installation to your existing folder-structure using the Advanced Settings on the setup window? Any detail in regards to how you went about with the migration would be very helpful. 
     
    From there, as it looks like you may have some files in your folder that have their permissions incorrectly set, the first step is to try resetting the permissions to see if that helps Dropbox interact with your files. Those are the instructions in Part I. If that doesn't work, I'd like you to try the advanced reinstall steps outlined in Part II. Please only go to Part II after restarting your computer and making sure that Part I didn't solve the problem.
     
    Part I: Permissions: 
     
    Spoiler
    You can fix your permissions settings with the following steps: 

    #1. If Dropbox is running:
    - Click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray
    - Choose "Exit"

    #2. Press the Windows Key + R (at the same time) then type "cmd" and press enter to open the Command prompt.

    #3. Copy and paste the following lines into the Command Prompt, one at a time, and press RETURN after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands(don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. Also, you can only paste them by right clicking and selecting “Paste”. Don't worry if one of the instructions below fail or you can't find the folder in one of these locations. This is normal.
     
    icacls "%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    icacls "%APPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T
     
    If you have any questions before you do this, or if you see an error after running one of these commands, please let us know!
     
    #4. Restart Dropbox from Start -> All Programs. Please also restart your computer.
    Part II: Advanced Reinstall
     
    Following, please follow these instructions to perform an advanced reinstall. 
     
    Please do let me know of the outcome whenever you have some spare time & I’ll do my best to follow-up with you. Enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!
  • Beennn's avatar
    Beennn
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hi Jane,

    Thanks for your reply,

    did you point the new installation to your existing folder-structure using the Advanced Settings on the setup window?  I did yep; i have dropbox on its own dedicated HDD, my windows instalation is on its own dedicated SSD; i also use the windows SSD for program installations (including dropbox); i then set the location for dropbox to use under the advanced settings during installation to use the HDD (the HDD already holds all of my dropbox files pre-installation).

    Unfortunately part 1 didn't work - will be trying part 2 today. Will keep you updated, thanks!

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Sure @Beennn, let’s leave this discussion open as a point of contact; please take your time to try my suggestions & keep me posted on the outcome whenever you get a chance! 
  • Beennn's avatar
    Beennn
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Jane sorry for the long delay - unfortunately i'm still having trouble after following part 2 of your instructions. Can you advise anything else? 

    Thanks,

    Ben

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Thanks for sticking with me on this discussion Ben (Beennn); I appreciate the update & I’d happily further investigate the cause of this discrepancy with you! As I’d like to dig a bit deeper & have a closer look on your setup through our Official Support channel having all our tools available, I’ve made sure to reach out to you directly via email. 
     
    Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap!
  • danielarce's avatar
    danielarce
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Hi Jane.

     

    Do you know perhaps what are the Pt I permissions instructions for mac? (mac Os Monterrey 12.6.3)

     

    Thanks a lot.

    Daniel

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi danielarce, these are old instructions specifically for Windows devices due to how permissions work on those devices.

     

    Could you clarify what issue you're experiencing on your Mac device?

  • danielarce's avatar
    danielarce
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Hi Jay.

    My dropbox seems to be stuck at indexing, it shows to be syncing. But nothing happens. It doesn't sync any file.

    Every day I must force quit and reboot several times the dropbox app, then pause/resume sync until it starts syncing files.

     

    I have followed all instructions related to this issue. Configured all systems permissions. Reinstalled the app etc.

     

    I’m using a Mac Studio M1 max Chip but had the same issue with an iMac pro.

     

    Thanks.

    Daniel

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi there danielarce, sorry to jump in here, but could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version as shown in your menu bar at the moment? 

  • danielarce's avatar
    danielarce
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Hi Walter 

     

     

    any other info you might need, please let me know.

    And thanks for helping.

    Daniel

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