Dropbox in linux syncing for days

[Ap987]

I have been having issues with linux dropbox for a couple of weeks.  My server ran a copy of crunch bang ++ for the last year or so to back up files.  My desktop and an old netbook had the same.  Then desktop and server went into "syncing" mode and stuck.  As dropbox said this was a none supported os both have been rebuilt several times with Ubuntu LTS.  Checks on a clean copy work until a reboot or the preferences are changed to a larger folder in which case "syncing" is all you get.  Netbook is then the only working copy.

Any ideas please.

[Daphne]

Hey there @Ap987, I hope you're well today!

Just to clarify, are you seeing the desktop app's sync status stuck on "Syncing"? Do you see any other info reported in the status (eg. syncing [X number] files)?

If you check the local Dropbox folder, can you let me know currently around how many files you have within the folder?

Let me know - thanks!

[Ap987]

Only the word syncing with no indication of the number of files or time to complete.  Most folders are about 10000 files most small files.

[Daphne]

Thanks for getting back to me here @Ap987!

Just to rule out the possibility, can you check if you have any symlinks within your Dropbox folder with the steps outlined in point 7 here?

If you don't have any within the local Dropbox folder, can you check if your local folder contains more than 300,000 files? You can check out a more info on why this can affect the desktop app syncing from here.

Since this occurs when trying to add more folders to sync to your desktop through the selective sync settings, can you try adding a few subfolders at a time (instead of the whole folder if it's large) to see if that helps?

Keep me posted!

[Ap987]

Thank you I have run the code listed under 7 in termianl and no data was returned so I assume that this means that there are no sym links.

Any other thoughts gratefully received.

[Daphne]

Thanks for checking that @Ap987!

Sometimes syncing can't progress if it's trying to sync files that have incorrect permissions. Can you try the following to see if that helps?

1. Stop the desktop app from running on the device.

2. Open the Terminal app.

3. Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal app, pressing "Return" after each command. Please make sure to copy the command as typing them wrong could do some harm.

sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"

sudo chown -R "$USER" ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox

sudo chattr -R -i ~/Dropbox

sudo chmod -R u+rw ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox

Once the prompt displays, the instruction is complete and ready for the next command.

4. Restart the Dropbox app.

Please allow the desktop app some time to apply the changes, and check to see if the sync status starts to progress and sync your files.

I hope this helps!