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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 l...
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorHey pokeefe0001, could you send us a screenshot of where you're spotting those tasks?
Also, could you try rebooting your computer when you get the chance and let us know if the matters have improved at all?
I interrupted a backup so I could reboot. The reboot did not fix the problem.
It occurs to me that maybe this was never supposed to work (even though it has worked for many years). The Dropbox doc talks about a Dropbox icon on the Task Bar but makes no mention of a shortcut on the desktop. I don't know how I originally created the shortcut, but yesterday I copied the Dropbox icon from the Windows Start menu onto my desktop. As I mentioned earlier, the shortcut initially had a target of
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Client\Dropbox.exe" /home
and would start the client when clicked. Dropbox would refresh the desktop and then the shortcut had a target of
C:\Users\***\Dropbox
In the past the Dropbox client would apparently reset shortcut's target to the original value when the client exited but does not longer do that. I've confirmed that new behavior on 3 computers.
I have never before put a Dropbox icon on my taskbars but I've now done that, and it acts just as the desktop shortcut used to. If the client is not running, clicking the icon starts the client. If the client is already running, clicking the icon brings up the Dropbox folder in File Explorer. After shutting down the client, the icon will again start the client. Incidentally, the client re-displays the desktop when it starts but does not re-display the desktop when it quits. Nevertheless, the behavior of taskbar icon gets reset. I believe that is the same behavior as when Dropbox user to reset the desktop shortcut; I don't remember a refresh of the desktop when the client was shut down.
- Megan
Is it safe to assume that you managed to find a solution to this pokeefe0001?
It sounds like your steps managed to make it work. If not, let me know and we'll look into this more.
I found a circumvention, not a solution. The taskbar icon works the way the desktop shortcut used to work. I assume it is a bug that desktop shortcut now long works to start the client. Either this bug should be fixed or it should be documented that we need to use the taskbar icon (or the start menu entry) to start the Dropbox client code.
