Forum Discussion

alan78's avatar
alan78
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

all 'FILE EXPLORER' FILE icons flashing whenever dropbox is running

As of today drop box is causing the file icons in ANY/ALL open explorer windows to flash constantly between the correct icon image and the default windows 'no icon' icon. if i KILL the dropbox proc...
desktop
Setting up the apps
robertcz's avatar
robertcz
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago

Same issue here, but with well over a million files in my Dropbox, I am not particularly keen to reinstall and wait a week or two for a reindex. Will monitor this thread. Am interested in whether a solution comes up.

My situation is the same: Windows 7, 64bit. Haven't tried killing dropbox yet, so am not sure whether it is a dropbox issue like the other posters, but will once it finishes syncing if I really have to.

Robert

  • DB_Is_Broken's avatar
    DB_Is_Broken
    Helpful | Level 5
    6 years ago

    I have the same problem.  ALL of the desktop icons flash between what they are supposed to look like, and the blank - windows default, white icon - when windows can't find the icon file.  This flashing stops once dropbox stops synching.  But it will happen if I keep dropbox running and any files change and the app does its background synching.

    The problem is definitely due to Dropbox.  I do not have Dropbox set to startup when the computer boots.  I activate it, and shut it down as needed.  The problem only happens when dropbox runs.

    As you can see, dropbox support is useless.

    This issue has gotten worse over time, but it seems to be benign.

  • DB_Is_Broken's avatar
    DB_Is_Broken
    Helpful | Level 5
    6 years ago

    I have had other issues with syncing of mobile Apple devices, and Dropbox support has been useless about that issue as well.

    Google Drive just works, and I am working to migrate over to that.

  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    6 years ago

    Hey DB_Is_Broken, thanks for nudging us on this thread and sorry to hear that you're having trouble with icons flashing when the desktop app is running. 

    As a first step, could you try a simple reinstallation of the desktop app? Maybe that will do the trick. 

    First, make sure that you save and quit all programs that access files in the Dropbox folder and stop the desktop app from running. 

    To do this, click on the Dropbox icon next to your computer's clock, select your avatar, go to "Quit Dropbox" from the drop-down menu. 

    Once you do that and if you're on a Mac OS:
    1. Delete the Dropbox app from the Applications folder. 
    2. Reinstall the desktop app.
    • Open the Dropbox .dmg file and double click the Dropbox icon.
    • Dropbox should appear in your menu bar.
    If you're on a Windows OS, instead:
    1. Uninstall Dropbox.
    2. Reboot your computer to make sure the uninstall is complete.
    3. Download and install the newest version of the desktop app.

    Let me know how it goes!

About Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!