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In a "mdworker quit unexpectedly" loop after turning on Smart Sync
Ever since turning on Dropbox Smart Sync, Spotlight has been going nuts and using tons of CPU. The helper app "mdworker" is constantly crashing. Will report back after Dropbox finishes indexing all the Smart Sync files.
PS. Funny you can't link Dropbox photos to the image uploader in this forum.
Hi everyone,
I wanted to give you an update on the issue of mdworker crashing when reading a mismatch in the expected logical vs physical size of PDFs on Mac.
Firstly we've not forgotten about this, a lot of work has been going on in the background to resolve the issue. It has required extensive code re-writing. For those not familiar with the issue, users may see within the logs mdworker crashing. This crash is fairly silent, though will appear in logs. There's no risk to data, but for those who like to inspect clean logs this can cause a lot of noise and may be viewed as sub-optimal.
Based on the feedback raised by yourselves on this forum we've spent considerable time working toward a fix. We've changed the way we write Smart Sync placeholders (ie the files that look like files, but take up 0kb until recalled) for those on 10.13.5 and later. The new sparse format will not trigger an mdworker crash.
We've tested within the beta to validate the code and at this point have now rolled the fix / changed behavior out to 100%.
This is a forward fix, so from now on all and any placeholders created will not suffer this issue. For those who have the placeholders (the empty files with the grey cloud symbol on them) already on their machines there are a few options:
- Unlink and relink your Dropbox. Note: this will trigger a reindex of content that may take minutes to a few hours depending on your filecount.
- Remove the content, via Selective Sync, then return it. Similarly, but perhaps preferably, this will remove the placeholders then re-add them quickly and non-destructively.
There are a few other options, but those keen to avoid this error being highlighted in logs can take these steps.
Many thanks for your feedback on this issue here, it's driven a clear change in product. We pay close attention to the feedback surfaced via this channel so if you have other wishes please either add to existing threads, up-vote ideas, or create your own thread to spark discussion or development.
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- Cross My fingers... Reinstalled the application. So far no crash...😊👍🏼
Crashed again... mdworker...
- Same here. I reinstalled the OS (High Sierra), but the error messages came back. So I uninstalled Dropbox --> No more crashes.
I then tried reinstalling Dropbox but the error messages are now back. What finally worked for me was a complete reinstall.
0. prep for reimage: move all 'data' files you care about into a dropbox folder (or other off-client storage)
0a: I didn't do this, but one might consider also making a backup to a cloud that can be restored as insurance.
0b: now might be the time to get that password manager you've been thinking about...
1. Boot mac into recovery mode CMD+R.
2. Run First-Aid on HD
3. Erase HD
4. Run First-Aid on HD (just for good measure)
5. Reinstall High Sierra
6. Create new profile (no restoring from backup or migrating or the issue will persist - at least it persisted for me)
7. Reconfigure your favorite changes to the OS preferences and settings
8. Download and Re-install desired applications
9. Set dropbox preferences / smartsync etc
K
Crash also on my side with latest High Sierra. Now I managed to solve the issue forcing Spotlight do not scan files within the "Dropbox" Folder. Once I let him scan, the system crashes with mdworker issues.
I got is solved by reindexing Spotlight.
And for stubburn files that would not Smart Sync, duplicate the file, delete the old one, rename the copy – works fine √
Ross_SDropbox Staff
Hi everyone,
I wanted to give you an update on the issue of mdworker crashing when reading a mismatch in the expected logical vs physical size of PDFs on Mac.
Firstly we've not forgotten about this, a lot of work has been going on in the background to resolve the issue. It has required extensive code re-writing. For those not familiar with the issue, users may see within the logs mdworker crashing. This crash is fairly silent, though will appear in logs. There's no risk to data, but for those who like to inspect clean logs this can cause a lot of noise and may be viewed as sub-optimal.
Based on the feedback raised by yourselves on this forum we've spent considerable time working toward a fix. We've changed the way we write Smart Sync placeholders (ie the files that look like files, but take up 0kb until recalled) for those on 10.13.5 and later. The new sparse format will not trigger an mdworker crash.
We've tested within the beta to validate the code and at this point have now rolled the fix / changed behavior out to 100%.
This is a forward fix, so from now on all and any placeholders created will not suffer this issue. For those who have the placeholders (the empty files with the grey cloud symbol on them) already on their machines there are a few options:
- Unlink and relink your Dropbox. Note: this will trigger a reindex of content that may take minutes to a few hours depending on your filecount.
- Remove the content, via Selective Sync, then return it. Similarly, but perhaps preferably, this will remove the placeholders then re-add them quickly and non-destructively.
There are a few other options, but those keen to avoid this error being highlighted in logs can take these steps.
Many thanks for your feedback on this issue here, it's driven a clear change in product. We pay close attention to the feedback surfaced via this channel so if you have other wishes please either add to existing threads, up-vote ideas, or create your own thread to spark discussion or development.
- Thanks a lot guys! Is this available from the stable 55.4.171 or from the new beta?
- Ross_SBoth.... and you already have it!
We added the code a while ago, then have been slowly ramping it up with server-side gating. It has now reached 100%, so code already in the build is now live to everyone. I had the same problem and fixed it by going into System Preferences/Spotlight/Privacy. You can add an area that you do not want Spotlight to search. I added Dropbox and I have not had anymore mdworker system crashes and my system is much faster.
If you need to search in your Dropbox, there is third-party software for that.
Worked for me.
