2025 sparked some incredible conversations across our community 👩💻. Discover the highlights and see what’s ahead in 2026.
Forum Discussion
Geoff S.10
10 months agoHelpful | Level 7
Dropbox desktop installation fails on Windows 11.
The installer ran (twice), but nothing results afterwards. The Desktop program is nowhere to be found. No error codes.
Geoff S.10
10 months agoHelpful | Level 7
It ran but nothing resulted from the process. Identical to the standard install. If it was affected by the firewall or Windows Defender, I'd see a message.
Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
10 months agoHey Geoff S.10, it might sound unimportant, but can you restart your computer to see if that helps?
- Geoff S.1010 months agoHelpful | Level 7
I restarted. Still nothing. There is, and has been for a long time, a Dropbox icon in my Start menu. But all it does is open Win Explorer to the Dropbox folder. It's just acting like a shortcut to the folder. It doesn't run anything like a desktop version of Dropbox.
What is the executable and where is it stored? Maybe the Install just isn't creating a shortcut to the EXE file. If you can tell me where t it ius I'll just try to run it directly from WIn Explorer.
It's odd that the installation runs for about 30 seconds and then just disappears with no completion or error message. Bizarre.....don't you test these things before you release them?
- Megan10 months ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Geoff S.10, let me jump in here too!
You should have two Dropbox icons. The bigger one which works like a shortcut to your Dropbox folder, and the little Dropbox icon on your taskbar, which should open up the app.
Out of curiosity, have you tried accessing your Windows application management, to see if the app shows up there?
When you open your resource monitor does it look like the app is running? If I were you, I'd try uninstalling the app first, and then reinstalling it.
I'll be waiting for your updates!
- Geoff S.1010 months agoHelpful | Level 7
Megan,
Deinstalled Dropbox Capture, since it's redundant with many competing apps and is going away.
Deinstalled Dropbox.
Restarted.
Ran the Desktop install again.
Still nothing at completion.
Is "the app" (little icon in the taskbar, which has been there literally FOR YEARS, the desktop version? I expected a real window to open up with Dropbox menus and functionality. Maybe my expectations are incorrect..is "Dropbox Desktop" really only the little popup that shows when I click on the taskbar icon, and then goes away if I click anywhere else on my screen? If so, all the blurbs you're putting out are misleading and I've wasted a lot of time.
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!