Dropbox freezes Windows

[roegje]

My name is Michael and I am experiencing a problem with the Dropbox software that is installed on my desktop PC. I removed the software and did a new installation but that did not resolve the problem. My PC runs Windows 10 Home version 20H2, with 16GB DRAM, and an Intel Core i5 CPU. I have about 3,500 files in my Dropbox folder, which adds up to circa 4GB of storage.

When in Windows Explorer, right click on the mouse makes the cursor spin around for 10 seconds. This has been the case for a couple of days now. Once I disable the Dropbox software on my PC, I no longer have this problem. Hence, I believe that there is a bug in the Dropbox software that slows down Windows Explorer.

[Walter]

Hey there @roegje; welcome to the Community and sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please let me know if you've recently reinstalled our desktop app on your computer?

If you did and this persists, you can also try an advanced reinstall.

Let us know how it goes, Michael!

[roegje]

Hello Walter.

I indeed reinstalled the software but that did not solve the problem. I will look into an advanced installation to see if that works.

[Walter]

Just let me know of any updates @roegje!

[roegje]

Hello Walter,
I just performed an advanced reinstall and the problem still persists. Right-click on the mouse in windows explorer and the cursor starts spinning for about 10 seconds. Quitting Dropbox solves the problem. Very strange.  I wonder whether it could be related to recent updates to Windows (see photos below).

Regards,

Michael Roeg

[Walter]

Thanks for the screenshot and the additional details, Michael!

I'm not sure if this is caused by the recent updates on your computer, but, just to cover all bases, could you try these steps to fix your hardlinks and permissions? 

Let me know if they helped improve matters at all!

[roegje]

Helllo Walter,

I tried the Fix Hardlinks solution (via Alt+H), after which I restarted the computer, but that did not fix the problem.

I noticed that the problem does not occur on the following locations:

* On the C drive, which is where all the software is installed.

* In the Dropbox folder and the subfolders (which are on my D drive).

Everywhere else, the cursor is spinning.

Regards,

Michael Roeg

[Lusil]

Hey @roegje, does the same issue occur if you stop the desktop app from running?

Give it a try and let us know how it goes, thanks!

[roegje]

Hello Lusil,

Terminating the Dropbox app indeed stops the problem of slowing down my PC, as highlighted in my initial comment. However, that solution leaves me without Dropbox unless I manually start it every time I need it (which is what I do now). Dropbox used to work properly without any slowdown until a few days ago. I was hoping I could find a solution to make that happen again.

Regards,

Michael Roeg

[Lusil]

At this point, I'd recommend continuing via email to have a better look into this together. 

I've sent you a ticket, so whenever you have a moment, check your inbox and we'll go from there.