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Stuck on "starting"

Desktop app is stuck 'Starting' when it loads up and doesn't sync

Bert M.
New member | Level 1
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I am a paying customer and very frustrated with Dropbox. I am ready to drop DropBox and look for other alternatives.

Since Friday of last week it has been trying to sync 100Gb in files and it is taking an eternity. Now is stuck in "Starting."
I have rebooted the Mac (10.6.8). I am using Dropbox 3.0.3. I have tried going to Preferences, holding the option key and "Fixing Permission." I also read in the Internet about deleting the hidden cache folder but I have not done it yet since I don't know what to expect.

Any assistance is appreciated.

96 Replies 96

spicydog
New member | Level 2
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I changed the proxy setting from "auto-detect" to "no proxy" then Dropbox back to work immediately.

Declan Z.
New member | Level 2
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Same issue.

 

A message informs me Dropbox is "updating automatically."

 

So the choice to keep my working software is not mine anymore. It has been "automatically" replaced with software that is much slower to launch and sync.

 

I really wish companies would not force "automatic" updates. I'm sure they think they work. But my system, stable and working yesterday, then doesn't work today.

 

Not good.

mark c.56
New member | Level 2
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They take a week to respond! terrible customer service ! I had to result to posting on their facebook page to get an answer!

Jane
Dropbox Staff
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Hey mark c.56

 

Thanks for getting in touch on Community, sorry to hear about the delayed response. 

 

Just to clarify, has this issue been resolved? Also, it would be really helpful if you could give a ticket ID to reference in your reply, so that I see whether I could expedite resolution. 

 

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

 

Kind regards, 

JaneA

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

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DDCG
New member | Level 2
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If your Dropbox was Stuck on starting like mine was. Didn't matter if i Quit, or the Proxy, restart. Hopefully this helps someone.

 

SOLUTION:

UN-LINK your dropbox. Open dropbox, setup again to the same local folder. It will then re-sync everything again (this part sucks). 

Rich
Super User II
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DDCG wrote:

It will then re-sync everything again (this part sucks). 


It's actually not re-syncing. It's indexing all of the files in your folder and comparing them to the content of your account online. It may appear to be uploading and/or downloading, but it's only transferring comparison data and any data that has changed since the last sync.

DDCG
New member | Level 2
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By re-sync I meant that meanwhile the 3 hours its Indexing...I am also making changes between 2 computers and when thats all done, it will be re-syncing. Either way, takes way to long for us with Business Dropbox and are using 800GB+. The index is so long, I had to go to dropbox.com to Download a file I was working on between 2 computers because one computer is running the extremely long index process which honestly takes way to long. I have 200mps and this things going to bog down my computer for a long time. gg RIP

sjatkins
New member | Level 2
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@Laureline wrote:

Hi guys!

These issues are complex and require access to your personal information to be able to troubleshoot.

I would really recommend you to write in to our support team, who would be more than happy to help you!

Thanks


I am not buying it.  Plain first install on Ubuntu 17.04.  No firewall or proxies.  Home desktop that worked fine with Dropbox on 16.04.  Not working since upgrade to 17.04 and reinstall of dropbox. 

mlaw
New member | Level 2
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I just got a new computer issued at work today. first thing I did at 11:15 this morning was install dropbox. It's been "starting" now for about 4 hours. I intentionally disabled selective sync for everything but a few folders with lightweight txt files in it so there's no reason for it to be taking this long. My work dropbox has about 40+ Tb worth of data in it but I'm only trying to get at a couple megs of it. What can I do to speed this up?

Rich
Super User II
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Even though you're not syncing it all, Dropbox likely still needs to build its database which will contain information about all the files in your account, and not just those that you're syncing. With 40TB of data, that process will take a while.

There's no way to speed up any of Dropbox's processes. All you can do is just let it work.
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