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Re: Dropbox won't start

Dropbox won't start on my Windows 10 computer

nielsvb
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

I noticed that the dropbox icon was not in my apps tray, so I tried to start it manually, clicking the icon on my desktop. Nothing happens - win 10 task manager shows that it starts, but the program disappears from the list again.

Restarting my pc doesn't do the trick, clicking on the dropbox.exe file doesn't do the trick. I checked the start up settings, nothing strange there (task manager again). I just cannot start Dropbox - it seems to be blocked or something. Dropbox updater is running though....

 

Is there any way I can repair this without having to go through a de- and re-install and re-sync for 2 days?

 

 

35 Replies 35

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey @VetSvet & @Christine G., do you see the Dropbox icon on your system tray? Have you tried re-installing our app by any chance? Please do let me know of what you’re seeing exactly, as long as any steps you’ve followed so far, in order to guide you & further advise.
 
Thanks in advance for your time & efforts & I'm looking forward to hearing back from you on this discussion! 

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

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Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

dantalbl
New member | Level 2
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I have the same problem. Dropbox is not reliable on my Windows 10 Pro PC when using a secondary internal drive. Dropbox is reliable on all my other devices including Mac Mojave.

Problem: Smart sync leaving files in the cloud (even selective folders) on the secondary drive is much slower compared to smart sync on the primary drive. When I select a certain large folder, Dropbox goes into Start mode for several minutes and then an error dialog pops up for a few seconds (too fast to read any detail but something about a network permissions) and then Dropbox closes and exits.

I have installed and uninstalled Dropbox multiple times. It seems to be something to do with the secondary drive configuration but I can't find relevant information on the Dropbox support pages.

My primary disk is not large enought to hold all my Dropbox folder other than in cloud-only mode which is not useful for me.

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Version 1803 (OS Build 17134.376)

Dropbox 61.4.95

 

 

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey @dantalbl, I appreciate your detailed description! As you’ve tried some troubleshooting on your end, let me have a closer look on your setup through our Official Support channel. In order to investigate having all our tools available, I’ve made sure to reach out to you directly via email. 
 
Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap. Thanks for reaching out on our Community & I’ll be awaiting your next reply!

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

Heart Did this post help you? If so please give it a Like below. 
:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Best Answer' button to help others find it.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question! (
Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

dantalbl
New member | Level 2
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Thanks Jane. I've responded directly to your email.

mkin
Explorer | Level 4
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I have had all the issues as the persons above, Dropbox won't run, no log in is prompted after installation. I have attempted 5 system restores, shutting down the firewall, uninstalled drivers for Wacom Device, offline installation, Beta-version installation.

Dropbox still won't show in the system tray nor start at all.

Help plz

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hey there (@mkin), sorry to hear about any inconvenience this has caused you. To further investigate, I’ve sent you a brief message on the email connected to your Forum profile. You may have a look at your inbox at your earliest convenience if you’d like us to work on that together. Thanks & I’m looking forward to hearing back from you! 

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

Heart Did this post help you? If so please give it a Like below. 
:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Best Answer' button to help others find it.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question! (
Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

ARCWuLF
Explorer | Level 3
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The problem isn't Dropbox: It's Windows 10. I am having  the same issue, but it now extends to my Logitech Webcam software, Evernote, and possibly some other programs. It is entirely possible that there is another program interfering with these ones, but so far I can't isolate it.

I tried running these programs (as an admin) under different compatibility modes, but no dice; everything is still broken and my files aren't syncing.

Side note: It only seems to do it on the computer that has an nVidia graphics card, the problem started just after I installed it, and I'm HIGHLY dubious of the nVidia software, but I can't say for certain if this is the issue yet.

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey there (@ARCWuLF), I appreciate the detailed description of what this looks like on your end! 
 
As it’s highly likely that the issue pertains to your account setup, I’ve sent you a brief message on the email connected to your Forum profile (i.e. that'd because I’ll need to have direct access to your account specifics to further address this) gathering all of the info you’ve included here. 
 
You may have a look at your inbox at your earliest convenience if you’d like us to work on that together. Thanks in advance & I’ll be awaiting your next reply! 

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

Heart Did this post help you? If so please give it a Like below. 
:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Best Answer' button to help others find it.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question! (
Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

cvbdfb
Explorer | Level 3
Go to solution

Hi @Jane,

You seem to have some background on this issue so I am reaching out here in hopes of help. We are having the same issue with DB not starting on my Win 10 laptop. We've gone back and forth with support for 2 months and they offer the same advice - reinstall, open firewall, etc. We've even reinstalled Windows twice. We've been dissapointed with the lack of tech support escallation. We have 12 business licenses and I am really considering switching over to another solution as I am unable to use my laptop for work. This is obviously a big problem for us. Can you help?  Thanks, JHP

ARCWuLF
Explorer | Level 3
Go to solution

 This worked for me, maybe it will work for other people as well. The original post in the Microsoft forums is here:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-10-apps-wont-launch-after-anniversary/...

Here's a breakdown of what "Rolando Vil" told the users there to try. After running these instructions, things started miraculously working for me again. Mind you, I did not have to run the last instruction (6) for it to start working. Now Dropbox and all of my other apps are working fine. I have always mantained that this is a Windows issue, not a Dropbox issue per se. I hope that this helps someone else.

Here's the breakdown:

To repair the damaged Windows files. Do the following steps:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) OR hit the "Windows" key, type "Command prompt" and when it shows up in the search, right-click on it and select "Run as administrator."

2. At the prompt, type Dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

    If you're not familiar with DOS commands, please note the spaces before the "slash" ( / ) on each command. There is no space after.

3. If the DISM command reports problems that cannot be fixed, stop here. There may be a memory or hard drive issue. Windows needs to be Reset to repair the damage.

4. At the Command prompt, run this command next:

Sfc /scannow

5. Again, if problems are reported that cannot be fixed, stop here. There may be a memory or hard drive issue. Windows needs to be Reset to repair the damage.

6. Run these two commands next:

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

and

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*SystemApps*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

 

Watch out for red errors, this could indicate a problem which cannot be repaired. If you see errors. Windows needs to be reset to repair it.

Need more support?