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Jerald E.'s avatar
Jerald E.
New member | Level 2
10 years ago
Solved

Dropbox has two entries in my PC Startup - Why?

Some of my computers have two startup entries for dropbox.  If you open Task Manager - Startup, there are two things using PC resources at startup.  The first one appears as "Dropbox (3)."  That is t...
desktop
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  • gaspeer's avatar
    gaspeer
    9 years ago

    I received this support response to my support ticket last month. I didn't think to post it here, although I think I alerted the support person who sent me this answer of this forum discussion and thought he might share this information. Short answer to these questions regarding multiple Dropbox instances -- it's normal. Longer answer, I will cut and paste this information from Dropbox support:

     

    Frank, Aug 8, 6:54 AM PDT:

    Hi Garold,

    Thank you for contacting Dropbox!

    I can confirm that it is expected to see multiple Dropbox processes in task manager when Dropbox is running. The Dropbox application needs these additional components to monitor that everything is running correctly and that the desktop application is always healthy and up to date. The additional processes should consume a negligible amount of CPU and memory resources. If they are causing any performance issues on your computer please let me know.

    Thank you for reaching out with this query, I hope this helps.

    Regards,
    Frank

     

    Hope that support info will be helpful to others finding this discussion!

    Gary

gaspeer's avatar
gaspeer
Helpful | Level 6
9 years ago
Hi JaneA,

I'm a longtime Dropbox user, and bought the "Pro" subscription a few months ago. I have about 120-140 gigs of data in my Dropbox.

I was first aware of this "Dropbox-three-times-in-my-Startup" issue just a couple of months ago. Only the first of the three instances is a bona fide startup, with a button to "Enable/Disable." The other two instances are just there.

I went carefully through your instructions above and after restarting my computer (an HP laptop -- a pretty low-end, bargain priced puter, but a new one nevertheless) it showed only the one instance in Startup.

So -- it seems to have worked.

BUT, alas, later this evening when I did a restart for some other software -- the three instances of Dropbox were right back!

Gary
Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
9 years ago
Hey @gaspeer, 
 
Welcome to the Dropbox Community! 
 
As per your description below: 
 
after restarting my computer it showed only the one instance in Startup.
 
So -- it seems to have worked.
 
BUT, alas, later this evening when I did a restart for some other software -- the three instances of Dropbox were right back!
 
Seems there was an update after rebooting, hence a new invalid registry key. :thinking:
 
Could you please let me know what you can see once you hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon on your system tray? If you’re seeing that you’re running the latest stable desktop version “30.4.22”, please let me know in your reply. 
 
Thanks in advance, 
JaneA
  • gaspeer's avatar
    gaspeer
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 years ago
    @JaneA wrote:
    Hey @gaspeer, 
     
    Welcome to the Dropbox Community! 
     
    As per your description below: 
     
    after restarting my computer it showed only the one instance in Startup.
     
    So -- it seems to have worked.
     
    BUT, alas, later this evening when I did a restart for some other software -- the three instances of Dropbox were right back!
     
    Seems there was an update after rebooting, hence a new invalid registry key. :thinking:
     
    Could you please let me know what you can see once you hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon on your system tray? If you’re seeing that you’re running the latest stable desktop version “30.4.22”, please let me know in your reply. 
     
    Thanks in advance, 
    JaneA

    Hey JaneA,

     

    I did the "icon hover" as per your instructions and it showed "31.3.23" as the version I'm running. I never sought out any version, simply downloaded the install file and installed Dropbox.

     

    1. Is there a way to get a particular version?

    2. Do I need to download and reinstall Dropbox using a particular version?

     

    Thanks. ("icon hover" sounds almost like some sort of new dance craze??)

     

    Gary

  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    Hey Gary (gaspeer), 

    It appears that you’re running a beta build (xx.3.xx instead of xx.4.xx). So, this is what I suggest you do: 

     

     

     

      • if this is checked, then you automatically get the betas as they are released
    • now, go to this page to get our current stable build 30.4.22
      • here, I suggest downloading the offline installer to your computer, and then installing it
    • you don’t need to uninstall the beta first 
    Your desktop app will still automatically update, but only to stable releases! 

    Let me know how this goes.
    Thanks
     
    “Icon hover”? I like it! Around here, we like to do “the sync” :wink:
     
  • gaspeer's avatar
    gaspeer
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 years ago
    Hey, Sanchez, thanks for your help!

    Yes, that "Include me on early releases" box was checked. I unchecked it.

    I just downloaded the offline installer for 30.4.22. I'll have time later this morning to make the change to that version and let you know how it goes.

    Indeed, "doin' the sync" is another all-time favorite. Where would we be without it!

    Gary
  • gaspeer's avatar
    gaspeer
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 years ago
    Me again! OK, I installed 30.4.22, using the offline installer -- and I still have 4 instances of Dropbox when I look at the startup panel in Task Manager. The first is "Dropbox(3)" as it is listed and it's the only one of the four that has an "Enable/Disable" switch. The other three simply list "Dropbox" with no "Enable/Disable" switch.

    Other suggestions, anyone? I know so very little about the whole "wonderful" Windows nuts-and-bolts workings that I don't really know what to try next.

    Heck, for all I know those three "phantom" Dropbox listings may mean nothing or do nothing to drain resources or have any effect on how my little laptop performs??

    Gary
  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    Hey gaspeer, thanks for the update. 

    If you’d like, write in to our support team here, and one of our agents can get this to the right specialist for some answers on these entries! 

    Cheers 
  • marsman82's avatar
    marsman82
    New member | Level 2
    9 years ago
    I have the same issue and would also like to know what the resolution is. I followed the above procedure with the same results. Do you keep this thread updated?
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    9 years ago
    Hey @marsman82, 
     
    We are closely following the thread with Sanchez, so we’re here for you in case you need assistance. 
     
    If you've followed the steps above and this still persists, please follow Sanchez 's advice and raise a ticket with our team sending in any details surrounding the case, such a screenshot of what you're seeing on your Task Manager, that would help us determine the cause, and let me know a ticket ID here once you have done so, so that I look it up on my end. This way, we’ll be able to access your account and investigate the configuration you’re using. 
     
    Thanks in advance for your cooperation, I'll be awaiting your reply here! 
      
    Warm regards, 
    JaneA 
  • gaspeer's avatar
    gaspeer
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 years ago
    Hi JaneA. I'm not marsman82, but I am still trying to resolve the same issues regarding the multiple "Dropbox" listings in my Startup in Task Manager.

    I actually tried to leave a support ticket using the link Sanchez left above. The link took me to a location that only had a narrow one-line text box to try to leave information. I must have done something wrong, because typing just a few characters into that one-line support form probably didn't do the trick for me.

    Any suggestions as to where and how I can try again to direct someone to this thread and to resolve the issue?

    Thanks.

    Gary

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