Updating Dropbox every time I login after upgrading to Ubuntu 20.10

[David M.201]

I've been running Dropbox on my Ubuntu desktop for many years, however, when I upgraded to Ubuntu 20.10 I had to do a new installation and hence a new Dropbox application. Every time I log in, Dropbox starts an update. I have checked the versions of the old and new versions, they are the same version. Any idea why this is occurring? I have no issues otherwise of this application. 

[Walter]

Hi there @David M.201; thanks for using Dropbox and happy Friday!

Could you let me know the exact version of the app you're using and confirm you've used these steps upon setting this up? From what I gather you must be using a headless installation, but please let me know if you happen to use one of our supported desktop environments. 

Any additional information is more than welcome. 

[David M.201]

Walter,

Thank you for your response. I initially installed Dropbox as outlined in the link you sent me. I didn't like the mechanism by which one had to initiate Dropbox on login. I then installed the Dropbox application directly from Ubuntu Software, which is how I wanted the setup to work. The version which is installed and upgrades to Dropbox v108.4.453. 

Maybe I should wipe up the installation and re-install.

David

[Здравко]

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@David M.201 wrote:

... Every time I log in, Dropbox starts an update. I have checked the versions of the old and new versions, they are the same version. Any idea why this is occurring? ...

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Hi @David M.201,

You are meeting with a very old Dropbox application bug (most probably), which is completely ignored from Dropbox side. Have you noticed "double" activity (unsuccessfull try two or more application instances get running), as an one possible symptom, or is that happens only on login time, but not when you run application after you have logged in already, as another symptom? If you have meet at least one of symptoms mentioned (even only from time to time, not all the time) then you are in a situation I was a time ago. 😉 The workaround I have mentioned there is more like a example (idea) and you can extend it to be more convenient for you, if needed. Described by you isn't related to some Linux distribution or version of the distribution. Most probably you have changed configuration in such a way that more application and/or services are getting run at login time, which triggers the bug. Don't rely on Dropbox' fix; It will never happen! 🤷

Hope this gives idea.

[Walter]

That could do the trick, David.

Let me know in case it didn't!

[David M.201]

Walter,

I reinstalled Dropbox from the deb file on said site. Prior to this, I deleted all Dropbox files to ensure a clean installation. When installing from the installation deb file, there was a library missing, which I duly installed, it appears to be working ok. 

However, whenever I log in, I get the following message:

Whenever I click "OK" a new Dropbox starts, "cancel" does cancel, however when I click "Don't show this again" it doesn't work. Any idea's how to stop this message?

[Walter]

Thanks for the follow up here, David. 

If you're still having this issue, could you reboot your machine and let me know if this persists? 

[David M.201]

Walter,

A reboot makes no difference. Any time I log in, via power on or restart, the dialogue box appears. I've clicked with various combinations, "cancel" and "ok" with the "don't show again" box ticked, no effect. When I do click on "ok", the resultant update is the same as the version one is using.

I've used "dropbox autostart y", to start the dropbox whenever I log in, the dialogue box then appears. However, if I turn off the autostart and manually start dropbox from a terminal window, no dialogue appears.

David

[Jay]

Hi @David M.201, it sounds like there is some issue with the configuration on your machine when it boots. Perhaps it is defaulting to an older version of the app, or isn't recognizing that it was updated, or could be loading too soon in the boot order if not all the dependencies were loaded first.

As you've discovered, loading the app manually doesn't cause an issue, so it doesn't sound like this is Dropbox-related. I'd recommend checking over your startup procedures to see if there could be any potential issues there.

[Здравко]

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@Jay wrote:

..., it sounds like there is some issue with the configuration on your machine when it boots. ...

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@Jay, make difference between boot and login! That's not related to any update and such a supposion from your side just shows you have no idea what you're talkin about. 🤷

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@Jay wrote:
...

As you've discovered, loading the app manually doesn't cause an issue, so it doesn't sound like this is Dropbox-related. ...

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🧐 Just opposite!!! It's exactly Dropbox application bug, I have described long time ago. If you are patient and knowledgeable enough take a look on the description I have posted or better forward this to your developers for fix. 😉