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Dropbox sync is freezing my computer

Dropbox sync is freezing my computer

tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
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Hi,

I am a paying user of Dropbox. I am using Windows 10. A few weeks back I have upgraded to v 76.4.126. I have enabled smart sync for all files except a few with default settings as online only. Before the upgrade, my files would sync fast. But now at any point in time, the status is shown as "Downloading 178,885 files".

Whenever Dropbox is syncing (not paused) it freezes my computer every 7-10 mins making it unresponsive for almost 3-5 mins before it begins to respond again. Some times even the cursor stops responding. The longer it runs the more frequently it freezes my computer. After referring to another similar thread: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Installs-integrations/Syncing-causes-system-freeze/td-p/280194 , I even carried out memory tests using memtest64 and a few other software but found no error with my hardware memory. The freezing problem happens only when Dropbox is syncing.

I would be really grateful for any help in this regard.

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
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Hi Lusil,
In my case Dropbox's smart sync + a large number of files might be causing trouble with my explorer. Dropbox was always stuck in downloading mode. By limiting the download speed to 100kbps I could improve the situation. But I still faced freezing a couple of times daily even after a fresh install of OS. At present I am using a new laptop, and things are working fine on that.
I would suggest you uninstall Dropbox and then reinstall it. Then progressively sync small number of files at a time. Hopefully this would work. That's what I did on the new laptop and it's working fine.

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10 Replies 10

JamieTebay
New member | Level 2
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May sound stupid and simple but have you tried re-installing DropBox completely? 

Walter
Dropbox Staff
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Hey there @tuhinpaul - sorry to hear that. 

Since you are experiencing high CPU usage from the Dropbox application, you may want to review the following article first which covers the most common causes of high CPU usage and the steps to resolve these:

https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/high-cpu-usage

I hope this helps and please keep me posted!


Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
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@JamieTebay Thanks for the suggestion. I will try that as a last resort.

tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
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Thanks @Walter! Let me try changing permissions as mentioned here: https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/move-dropbox-folder#permissions

Walter
Dropbox Staff
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Take as much time as you need to check things out on your end Paul.

Just keep us posted!


Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
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@Walter the problem is still persisting even after I have changed the permissions as mentioned in the link provided by you. 

I have also gone through all the other checklists:

The desktop app is syncing a large number of files
Current status: Downloading 179346 files @ 288kbps even though I have set the download bandwidth to 100 KB/s

External factors (or third-party apps) are conflicting with Dropbox
Computer freezes even when Avast antivirus is disabled. No other app seems to be interfering.

Files in the Dropbox folder have incorrect file permissions
Already performed the operations outlined in this step

There are a large number of files in your Dropbox folder
It's true that I have a large number of files (179000+) but nothing extraordinarily large number.

The Dropbox folder is installed on a NAS device
No it is not.

Your file system doesn’t support extended attributes
Earlier things were working fine so I guess this is not an issue at all

Symlinks are causing issues
There are no symlinks

Walter
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Thanks for going through all these steps for me @tuhinpaul - most appreciated.

As I wanted to get a more concrete view of your setup and account's specifics, I just sent you a brief message to your Dropbox associated email address.

At your earliest convenience, please take a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there. 

Thanks again and until we speak again, enjoy the rest of your day!


Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Lusil
Dropbox Staff
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Hey @tuhinpaul

Just wanted to follow up on this thread and check if you were able to resolve your concern in the end. If so, what steps did you follow? 

Thanks in advance! :laughing:


Lusil
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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tuhinpaul
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution
Hi Lusil,
In my case Dropbox's smart sync + a large number of files might be causing trouble with my explorer. Dropbox was always stuck in downloading mode. By limiting the download speed to 100kbps I could improve the situation. But I still faced freezing a couple of times daily even after a fresh install of OS. At present I am using a new laptop, and things are working fine on that.
I would suggest you uninstall Dropbox and then reinstall it. Then progressively sync small number of files at a time. Hopefully this would work. That's what I did on the new laptop and it's working fine.
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