Desktop App is not opening or running - files from 3rd party app are not syncing

[TGD-Inc]

5 Months ago I downloaded the desktop app for my PC.

It downloaded and has never actually opened when I tried. I see Dropbox in the files and can open some files that way, but I need the files I sync daily from a third party website to be accessible locally on my desktop for compliance. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app a million times, I even tried to upgrade to a paid plan to get support, no one seems to have the solution. If ya'll have any experience with this and a solution, it would be much appreciated.

[TGD-Inc]

Andrew,

Thank you for showing me that. Here is what I get when I open the sync tab.

I poked around a bit in selective sync and it appears that all the folders are checked to live on this PC. Unfortunately either they are not syncing to this PC or I just don't know how to access them.

[DBoxTips]

That's great! You are now seeing the Dropbox desktop app and it is great that you got to the "Selective sync" configuration window.

What is the name of the subfolder of the "Apps" folder in Dropbox that contains the third-party files and that is accessible using the Dropbox website and the mobile app, but not on your computer? Is that subfolder visible in the "Selective sync" settings under the "Apps" folder? Could you send a screenshot of that?

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

[TGD-Inc]

Hi again,

The subfolder of "apps" is eBound Backup.

It is visible in Selective sync & selected

The subfolder of that is TGDInc, which is also visible in selective sync and selected.

When I go to dropbox on my PC (not the app) eBound Backup is there. The subfolder of it is "desktop.ini" and it opens notepad w/ file location text

[DBoxTips]

Thank you for the details. When you browse the “eBound Backup” using the Dropbox website or the mobile app, does it contain any file/subfolders? Are there any subfolders listed for “eBound Backup” inside the selective sync settings window? If so, could please show screenshots of how that folder (“eBound Backup”) looks when browsed through the Dropbox website versus the Selective Sync settings?

Andrew (DBoxTips)

[TGD-Inc]

eBound Backup

   sub - TGD Inc

      sub - dated files

They are the same viewed in selective sync and on the drobox website.

[DBoxTips]

Thank you for the details.

1. Could you please also send a screenshot of the contents of the “Apps” folder as seen on the PC when you navigate to it using the Windows File Explorer?

2. If you try to create a folder inside the “Apps” folder using the Dropbox website or mobile app, does it show on the PC? Does it show up in selective sync settings?

Thanks,
Andrew (DBoxTips)

[TGD-Inc]

Thank you,

When I navigate to apps on file explorer is shows the "eBound Backup" folder. Opening that leads to desktop.ini

Adding a "Test Folder" from the website was successful and it populated into the mobile app, the file explorer and to selective sync.

- the 2 files I added to the test folder are available on all instances of Dropbox including file explorer.

Selective Sync screenshot

[Nancy]

Hey @TGD-Inc! Sorry for chiming in. 

If you open your backup on www.dropbox.com and then open one of the subfolders (for example, “06-29-2024”), what do you see inside? I just want to make sure that there are no files with these characters, which can potentially prevent them from syncing locally.

Feel free to send one more screenshot, if there’s no private info showing.

[DBoxTips]

My guess is this not caused by invalid characters in file names, because based on the screenshots sent by @TGD-Inc the subfolders (which don't contain any restricted characters in their names) are not synced at all to the local folder, regardless of the files inside them.

One last thing to try, @TGD-Inc: if you go on the Dropbox website inside the "eBound Backup" folder and create a test folder, does it get synced to the PC inside the "eBound Backup" and/or is visible in the selective sync settings under the "eBound Backup" folder?

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

[TGD-Inc]

@Nancy  - Thank you for the response. The file names are regular characters and do not contain any of the prohibited characters in the link, but they are .ZIP files if that may be an issue?