Dropbox stuck on sync or index

[idanfo]

hi all,
my dropbox in my all computers just stop syncing or stuck on indexing a few days ago.

i notice that if i use old version (114.4.426) of the app everything is back to normal but the app keep updateing by her self.

this is a bug that have to be fix ASAP.

[LukeL_MMS]

Not sure; over the past couple months we went through a week or so where the issue didn't occur because we weren't stressing the system; if we can go several weeks without it happening, or proceed through a few high bandwith timeframes where it doesn't occur, then I'll be able to more confidently say it's fixed.

That said - yesterday we discovered another potential cause of the issue - a (very) hidden system file that Windows 10 generates inside our Dropbox due to the fact that we're mounting one of our Dropbox folders as a system drive letter. The file ("System Volume Information") has several layers of heavy permissions protections, so DB tries to sync it but can't - and that might be causing the hangups. If we bypass the permissions and delete the file, Windows will eventually replace it. If we bypass the permissions and let it sync, then we get some 'Conflicted Copy' bugs. 

At the moment the file is deleted on those machines... so if we have success in the short run, it might be because of that, or it might be because of the Dropbox update... only time will tell. 

[VibDAS DSI]

Thanks for the heads up.  We don't mount any of the folders as a drive.  I can certainly see how that might mess up Dropbox.

The "System Volume Information" is like you say, very much "hidden" and has "protective permissions" on it.

[LukeL_MMS]

Mounting the folder is definitely not an ideal solution by any standard, but we're between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the workflow requirements of our software and the hardware configurations we have available. It worked for almost a full year, so we're hopeful this last patch remedied things and can get us back to "normal". 

[Leen K.]

Hi all,

Have had the sync problem for several days now and upon trying to solve the issue, I quit OneDrive, basically the solution to my problem. Machine is peaceful now, no more heating of the laptop, no more 6000+rpm fans. I guess Onedrive and Dropbox continuously sync the same files, as the other program "changes" something in the file, although it is nothing of the sort. 

When using multiple cloud sync storage programs, do not store the same file in a folder you sync with the other program, that could be a solution.

Cheers!

Leen

[Andrew S.2]

Interesting, @Leen K. I do actually also have OneDrive running, nobody had suggested that before.  I am going to try this right away.  Maybe this will solve the problem.

[LukeL_MMS]

On our end, the past week and a half has been clean - no instances of this particular bug as far as I'm aware. Dropbox is our only cloud storage solution, so I guess there are multiple triggers to the same generic issue. 

[ache75]

Hi there,

I started having this issue today as well. Dropbox is stuck syncing 2 files and it's driving me nuts. I'm on an iMac Pro running Big Sur 11.2.1. I restarted the machine, restarted Dropbox, fixed hardlinks, fixed permissions, but nothing. It's still stuck, and I'm unable to upload anything. We use this for work, and have thousands of files on there. Never encountered this problem until today. Not sure what else to do?

[Walter]

Hey there @ache75; I'm sorry to jump in here and sorry to hear you're having issues with this. 

Since you've done some troubleshooting already, can you perform a clean, advanced reinstall and let us know how it goes?

If syncing gets stuck again, please let me know here and I'll reach out via email to investigate further. 

[Katy W.3]

My desktop app is stuck syncing now.  It just started a few days ago.  I have tried everything.  It says Dropbox 117.4.378 Syncing....

[Walter]

Sorry to hear that @Katy W.3; how long has it been stuck at syncing the exact same number of files? 

Could you send us a screenshot of the app's status as shown in your system tray/menu bar?