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Forum Discussion

Sol Lee's avatar
Sol Lee
New member | Level 1
2 years ago

"Dropbox is running in compatibility mode" error on Windows 10

I am a user currently running Windows 10 Pro, x64 system. Until yesterday, the Dropbox desktop app was working perfectly fine. However, today, the app suddenly stopped working, and I encountered an...
desktop
Error Messages
windows
Sol Lee's avatar
Sol Lee
New member | Level 1
2 years ago

Please, help me.😭

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
2 years ago

Hi there, Sol Lee, thanks for letting us know about this error.

Did you recently install or started using any security programs, like an antivirus, VPN, firewall etc?

If so, can you temporarily disable them, to see if that helps?

Let me know how it goes.

  • CydweliMez's avatar
    CydweliMez
    New member | Level 1
    2 years ago

    Have a look at the properties of the Dropbox.exe and change the compatibility mode there. I had a similar problem yesterday and RoCol suggested that fix.

    https://www.dropboxforum.com/discussions/101001016/dropbox-desktop-app-213-4-4597-thinks-i-have-win8-and-wont-start/811855/replies/812097

    • Sol Lee's avatar
      Sol Lee
      New member | Level 1
      2 years ago

      Hi, CydweliMez

      I followed the reply you suggested from RoCol and changed the compatibility mode to Windows 7, but the same issue occurred with the compatibility mode error window.
      Still, thank you so much for giving me your opinion and trying to help resolve the issue.

      • CydweliMez's avatar
        CydweliMez
        New member | Level 1
        12 months ago

        Can you remove running it without any compatibility mode completely and try that?  I had to click on the "Change settings for all users" at the bottom of the compatibility tab for it to allow me to do that.  I think what is happening is Dropbox is checking that to see how it is running on the computer and if it sees Win7 or 8 it just puts up the message and won't start. 

  • Sol Lee's avatar
    Sol Lee
    New member | Level 1
    2 years ago

    Hi Hannah,
    The security programs have been in use as usual, and there haven’t been any recent installations.
    Just in case, I tried disabling the security programs I’m using and rerunning it, but the issue persists.

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
      12 months ago

      Thanks for the update, Sol Lee.

      Do you currently see the small Dropbox icon in your system tray by any chance?

      If so, what do you see when you hover your mouse over it?

      • Sol Lee's avatar
        Sol Lee
        New member | Level 1
        12 months ago

        Hi Hannah,

        Previously, there used to be a small Dropbox icon in the system tray, but since the day the compatibility mode warning appeared, the small icon is no longer visible.

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