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Client startup on Windows has stopped working for me
I use Dropbox only rarely - to access a shared folder - and shut down the client when I'm done. In the past I would start the client by clicking on a desktop client point to (as far as I know) the local copy of the shared folder. A week or 2 ago that stopped working. Now licking that icon just opens the local unsynced copy of the folder. I can still start the client from the Windows Start menu but I'd rather do it the old way. Was there a change a change to Dropbox that changed this behavior? If so, is there a way to get the old behavior back?
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More information: I just looked at the Dropbox shortcut on another computer where Dropbox has not been used for at least 2 weeks. The shortcut does not point to the Dropbox folder; it points to
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Client\Dropbox.exe" /homewhich explains why it starts the Dropbox client. Dropbox then rewrites the shortcut to point to the folder when the client is brought up and logged in. I assume Dropbox used to reset the shortcut back to the client's .exe file when the client is stopped, but now it does not. How do I get that old behavior back?
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi pokeefe0001, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
You could first try reinstalling the Dropbox desktop application, without uninstalling it first, by clicking this link to see if this helps.
Keep me updated with any progress!
I did that before posting my question. I thought it didn't work, but now it appears the problem is intermittent - sometimes working; sometimes not. I don't know if reinstalling the client software helped or not.
This morning after reading your posting I tried clicking on the shortcut and it did start the client. The PC had been asleep for 10 hours or so but had not been rebooted since I reinstalled the Dropbox code. I then issued a Quit - stopping the client - and again clicked on the shortcut. This time it just opened the local folder; it did not restart the client. I'm not willing to put the PC to sleep right now - I've got hours of backups running - but I did try logging off and back on. That did not help.
I notice there are a couple Dropbox-related scheduled tasks. Do either of them reset the shortcut?
