Syncing issue - stuck at "Starting"

[yizhak b.]

I have the same problem, I stopped ESET antivirus and Malwarebytes from running, I stopped all applications, the icon says “Starting...” for few hours, I can see the drobox is using the CPU and Mem and after few hours when I put the mouse on the icon it disappears.

I installed the last version 53.4.67 from local. this is a picture from the task manager.

I am using a 5T account using only 1.5T with 3 computers connected.

it almost this a week from the date the problem starts, I try again and again every few hours but the same on all 3 computers.

I have around 1.1M files.

So now I am stacked without the ability to synchronize all computers.

How to solve the problem?

[yizhak b.]

I have the same problem, I stopped ESET antivirus and Malwarebytes from running, I stopped all applications, the icon says “Starting...” for few hours, I can see the drobox is using the CPU and Mem and after few hours when I put the mouse on the icon it disappears.

I installed the last version 53.4.67 from local. this is a picture from the task manager.

I am using a 5T account using only 1.5T with 3 computers connected.

it almost this a week from the date the problem starts, I try again and again every few hours but the same on all 3 computers.

I have around 1.1M files.

So now I am stacked without the ability to synchronize all computers.

How to solve the problem?

[Walter]

Hey there @yizhak b. - sorry for the tardy response. 

I can see that you're in direct communication with our support team so I would suggest that you continued troubleshooting this with them via email directly.

If there's anything I can help with, please let me know. Thanks!

[yizhak b.]

The support team didn't give any valuable information, just links to what I know and done already with a time delay of few days from question to answer.
it goes now worse, dropbox is running almost 2 weeks and can't recover and update files on the cloud.

May be I need to disconnect the computer from the cloud and connect again.
I am not sure how to do that.

option 1:
disconnect the computer from the account and then to reconnect.

Option 2:
disconnect the computer from the account, uninstall Dropbox and then install again using the exist folder with files to sync with the cloud, on the cloud I will rename the main folder so all files from the computer will go to the cloud without sync with the older files but with the new files on the computer

Which option is better and what are the issues I may face with.

Thank you for a prompt response.

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Hi there, since you’ve mentioned that you have 1.1 million files, most likely this is why the Dropbox desktop application is experiencing this issue, since it needs to track updates on so many files.

This information is mentioned on our site, and the effects to the desktop app, which would match what you’re seeing.

The first option you mentioned will just take the same amount of time to start, with no reduction in the time needed. The second option will sync the files, but with the huge number, might take even longer since it needs to check for the changes, and then sync them.

Overall, both options won’t make any difference in how the app works, since you’re not amending the number of files on your account.

However, you could technically uninstall and reinstall the app, and then choose only certain folders to sync down if you use selective sync. If the number of files in these folders are less than 300,000, then syncing should work fine and the app will fully start up.

If you’re interested in the above, you’ll need to do an advanced reinstall, which will forget the settings of your account on the machine. At the end of the installation, you can choose the folders you want to sync.

Hope this info helps!

[yizhak b.]

Dear Jay,

Many thanks for your answer, now its clear what I need to do.

I will use advanced reinstall,

I reduced the number of files from 1.1M to 460k on local Dropbox folder, by moving the rest to another folder.

My main set of files are now on a local computer; the web is not the last version.

so I want to rename the web folder from <folder_name> to <foder_name1>,

so when I will reconnect the local computer with the 460k files they will go to <folder_name> which should be a new empty folder.

Am I correct?

I still need to understand how to connect the exisit  "Dropbox (xxx)" local computer folder with the web.

Thank you very much

Yizhak

[Jay]

Just to check, if you removed the files from your local folder before unlinking your machine, they will also be deleted from the site (and any other syncing machine).

Let me know if you’ve done this intentionally, or that you’re planning to make that change after unlinking and before reinstalling, which won’t affect the site.

When the Dropbox desktop application is uninstalled, you can move or rename the local Dropbox folder to anything you want.

For instance if it was syncing to Cusers\jay\Dropbox (JayIsBest), once the app is gone, this is a normal folder, so I can name it as Cusers\jay\old Dropbox backup, so I have a local copy before relinking the computer to Dropbox.

The next time you install Dropbox, if the files have already been registered as deleted from the site, since you’ve already renamed the local folder, it will create a new empty folder itself at Cusers\jay\Dropbox (JayIsBest), assuming you want it at the default location, and download only the 460k files from the site.

If you have any questions, let me know!