Won't stop indexing on Mac

[msheppard]

I installed the mac dropbox update and the application began indexing my files. It has now been stuck for the last few days. I can only access some files. Many are now only available through dropbox.com and not in my app. If I add files to dropbox.com they are added to the indexing queue of the desktop app, but no progress is made regarding indexing. I've tried signing out, quitting, uninstalling, and reinstalling. I've seen similar threads, but no solutions have worked for me. Any help is much appreciated.

[Konigi]

Thank you @OceanSunrise, you may be right. In fact I just received an update from a technician telling me that this is basically what I have to do. The app is keeping the old folders somewhere before making sure it uses the latest version of each file. I really hope it will sort itself out, with my limited hard drive...

I will keep you posted 🙂

[OceanSunrise]

@Konigi   Anytime just make sure you do advanced reinstall to make sure you do the complete process and removal of the old one and its settings/preferences here is the link:  https://help.dropbox.com/installs/advanced-reinstall

[Teddy73]

Hello again fellow sufferers,

Has anyone had any success doing an "advanced reinstall" like @OceanSunrise has ?

Are there any new tips/tricks that have worked for someone getting around this "stuck indexing" problem?

Lastly, has anyone asked about compensation for the long length of time we havent been able to use Dropbox? I'm at about 6 weeks of not being able to use it, plus technical support are now taking a long time to get back to me, consequently, that fondness I have had for Dropbox over the last 11 years is diminishing 😔

[JoeyChords]

Has anyone canceled Dropbox yet? Maybe that will make them fix it. I'm about at my wits end with my CPU being out of control due to Dropbox, syncing not working at all, and with being told various versions of turn it on and off again. I have been a customer for at least 10 years, and I don't want to do it, but I'm about to go to Google Drive which works just fine on Sonoma. Billion dollar companies that I've been paying for a decade shouldn't be making me do things over and over that aren't going to help.

Hey Dropbox - there is NO POINT in turning things off and on again if YOU haven't fixed the problem first. Kindly let us know when you have fixed things and stopped putting our files at risk.

[Foxapet]

Hi everyone

I quick "successful" update !!

I've followed the procedure https://help.dropbox.com/fr-fr/installs/advanced-reinstall

(thanks @OceanSunrise  😉 )

After "complete uninstall and reinstall" :

- first the system created a new Dropbox folder with today's date suffix

- then synchro was KO, indicating that "my folder has been removed ... "

- I've renamed it to "Dropbox" (as it ever was) and retried sync

- It worked .... until it stays stuck on "6 files syncing" for a long time ... 

So I've tried another way. I've re-done the complete uninstall and reinstall following the same procedure

Then during the installation setup, i've unchecked all folders, so the application won't begin sync as soon as the installation ends.

Then I updated (from the Dropbox preference menu) to Dropbox for File Provider (suggested by Dropbox).

After upgrading to Dropbox for File Provider -> I've check some folders to sync -> HOURRAYY it works !!

I have now again (...) a working Dropbox application.

Hope i will deserve you all.

[cloudres]

I truly appreciate the goodwill of those trying to solve the problem in rather creative ways, with the help of Dropbox itself. But hey, some of us are paying not to have any hassles. How can we ask people to carry out partially complex operations with not insignificant risks?

I'll repeat, we're talking about our documents here. Some people use Dropbox to store their holiday photos, which are undoubtedly precious, but there are also those who keep banking documents and other economically significant items here. What are we even talking about?

I'm expecting a conclusive update that truly and definitively resolves the issue. I don't want to fiddle around with my computer searching for a half-baked solution, as if I were still 13 and a computer-savvy nerd.

And if it's not possible, if you can't do it for any reason, please tell me right away. At least, I'll consider having to switch to the competition. Just be honest about it. It'll make you look better.

Got it, Dropbox?

[Roberto B.9]

In my case I resolved without unlink.

First I moved from a folder called "master" to another folder called "master" in another root. But I noted that the first master folder that I deleted via Web, was not removed in my Mac. So I waste a lot of time waiting the sync to terminate. Nothing.

Then I deleted the first folder "master" in my local Mac and all it worked.

I think there is a bug in Dropbox File Provider that is related to Mac File Provider. Dropbox and Apple must solve this bug.

[cloudres]

With pleasure, I announce that I have finally resolved the issue.

After postponing it for weeks and weeks, I ultimately decided to follow the procedure that was recommended to me (to be honest) from the very first day through Dropbox support, and that, after about a month, was suggested to me again, also through Dropbox support. With some of you having tested it, not without complications at times, I finally decided to attempt a solution to the problem.

I will now explain step by step what I did, complete with screenshots, hoping this can be a genuine guide for those who, like I was, are still hesitant.

To begin, I logged out of my Dropbox account through the application preferences. In essence, I performed a logout. At the end of which, a few seconds later, Dropbox itself prompts you to log back in. So far, nothing could be simpler.

Right after logging in, I experienced several moments of uncertainty because I quickly realized that Dropbox had reverted to the old mode, the one for which "online-only" viewing hadn't worked on MacOS Ventura for several months. This surprised and even worried me, but in the meantime, I noticed that Dropbox had already begun indexing the files and synchronizing them.

At a certain point, Dropbox asks you which folders you want to synchronize. Since I remembered that Dropbox could download all the online content, I chose not to synchronize any folders. This made the process very quick. In reality, no files were downloaded, but only the paths were synchronized.

At the same time, Dropbox already starts asking if you want to switch to the new version with File Provider (compatible from a certain version of MacOS Ventura onwards, and also Sonoma). I didn't accept it immediately but waited for the synchronization with the old method to finish. Then I initiated the transition.

Having done this, the indexing and synchronization process started from the beginning. For the second time. I should note that in this second case, the duration was longer than the first time, and I haven't quite figured out why yet. Perhaps because Dropbox remembered which folders I had chosen to view as "online-only" and which as "offline." To be honest, I'm not sure, and I haven't figured it out yet.

So far, about an hour and a half has passed, considering that I have approximately 1.5 TB and 130,000 files on my Dropbox. Finally, the synchronization was completed, and the problem was resolved.

At this point, I began to check the folders, and while doing so, I couldn't help but notice 29 conflict copies. Fortunately, only 29. I will delete them one by one soon. Nothing serious.

However, I realized something not good at all. The files I had added to Dropbox in the last 30 days, which were not synchronized, have disappeared. Apparently lost. Of course, I had backed up all the files. Nevertheless, I noticed that the "previous" Dropbox remains available on the hard disk, but with a different folder name, like "DropBox (date)." So the "lost" files can potentially be recovered from there.

I'm not entirely clear whether I will have to delete this folder manually or if it will delete itself. I'll try to understand by asking Dropbox support again. In any case, it's good to know what happens to avoid "heart attacks" during the process.

As a confirmation of the functionality, I tried adding the "new" files to the newly synchronized Dropbox, and finally, they are added online as well. Everything seems to have returned to normal.

What can I say... it seems to be everything. I'm attaching some useful screenshots. If you have any questions, I'm, of course, available.

Last but not least, I carried out the entire procedure with MacOS Sonoma 14.1.1 and Dropbox 186.4.6207 installed.

[OceanSunrise]

Hey everyone sorry to say but the problem started up again today.    The stuck on syncing problem is happening again.    After one full week of no issues or problems and everything working fine now the stuck on sync problem happening again.     Makes me think now its a Dropbox server or system issue on their end.   

[astraglamboy]

This is it. This is the solution that works. I tried everything up to this point. Please foreground this workaround. It will save people time and headaches.