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Bert M.'s avatar
Bert M.
New member | Level 1
10 years ago

Desktop app is stuck 'Starting' when it loads up and doesn't sync

I am a paying customer and very frustrated with Dropbox. I am ready to drop DropBox and look for other alternatives. Since Friday of last week it has been trying to sync 100Gb in files and it is ta...
Desktop
Mac
Sync
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    7 years ago
    Reading through this thread, everyone seems to be experiencing similar and yet slightly different issues, so I’ll go through the general troubleshooting steps to fix all of them. 
     
    Feel free to stop whenever your app begins to sync normally, not all steps are needed.
     
    Install the stable version:

    The first thing we need is to be sure you’re running the stable version of the Dropbox desktop application, and not the beta.
     
    To do so uncheck the box next to "Early releases" here. Then, do an advanced reinstall to ensure that all beta functions are removed fully. 
     
    Instead of the download link on that page, I recommend using the offline installers for this purpose:

     

    Confirm there are no symlinks

     
    Secondly, if your app is fine, but it’s still starting, then it could be stuck in a loop trying to parse your symlinks. 
     
    What are these? Long story short for those not in the know, these are files or folder that refer to another file or folder in your Dropbox account, or even outside the Dropbox folder.
     
    This can include, but is not limited to, iPhoto/Photos library on Mac, system folders such as Documents/Pictures/Music/Downloads, databases, programming code, and many more.
     
    Removing these symlinks is vital since they can cause these issues, high CPU usage, and permissions problems.
     
    Follow step 7 on this article in order to detect the symlinks in your computer and remove any from your Dropbox folder. Generally, moving the specific files or folders to another location should remove the links.
     
    Check your internet connection

    Hilariously, this is more common than you think. You have a stable WiFi/ethernet connection to the web, other sites work, and yet the app isn’t connecting.
     
    If multiple users are having this problem on the same network, there is a possibility that a proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router issues that could be restricting traffic to the Dropbox domains. 
     
    We can’t really narrow things down for you, since you need to check this out yourself as there are so many programs out there.
     
    We’ve had cases more often than not about built in security software on routers for home internet users, meant to protect users and children, but in doing so preventing the Dropbox desktop application from loading.
     
    Using a remote login

    Getting a black or white screen on the Dropbox app when you’re trying to sign in is a different issue.
     
    This usually occurs when using a remote login or even a virtual machine to another device. The graphics for remote logins are usually reduced in quality, and since the Dropbox desktop application connects to the Dropbox site to sign you in, it won’t render the login page in the app while on a remote login.
     
    Best thing to do would be to access the machine directly to login from there.
     
     
    ---
     
    Overall, there are many reasons for this cause, however hopefully this post should help in resolving most of the issues!
     
     

     

     

    [This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
Hey Leon E, sorry to hear you’re experiencing an issue with the Dropbox desktop app. 
 
As I’d like to work on that with you, let me just do some basic troubleshooting, so as to narrow down the possible causes.  
 
  • Firstly, are you running the latest Beta or a Stable Dropbox client? 
  • Have you checked whether there  are any external locations Symlinked to your Dropbox folder? 
  • I’d appreciate a screenshot (omitting personal info) of what you’re seeing in your next post here as well, so as to get a better insight of what’s happening. 
 
Once I have this info, I’ll do my best to analyze the case with you. 
I’ll be awaiting your next reply here! 
boazs's avatar
boazs
Explorer | Level 3
7 years ago

i have the same problem too. it is only on one computer. it is so frustrating, especially since i am a paying customer. is there any solution?

  • Tom H.'s avatar
    Tom H.
    Icon for Super User rankSuper User
    7 years ago

    Unforuntaly, simply saying I have the same issue, doesnt give us much to go on. Can you please tell us what steps you have taken ?  if any ? Results of said troubleshooting steps ?  The thread is 5 pages long and there is already some great advice in it. 

     

    Further more what OS are you using? Not all of us helping out here use the same OS. So I may not be the perfect fit to answer your questions  where as anohter user may be better at your OS. 

    • boazs's avatar
      boazs
      Explorer | Level 3
      7 years ago

      my dropbox stays on "starting" for about 45min - over an hour , then it stays on indexing for another 30min at least and only then starts to syncronize.

      it happens only on one of my computers.

      i tried to unlink and relink but with no improvement.

      tried to temporary turn off the macaffe antivirus, but no improvment.

      any suggestions?

      • Sir_B's avatar
        Sir_B
        Explorer | Level 4
        7 years ago

        Don't know if this is relevant, but I had a similar problem. I'm using Windows 10, and on booting, the Dropbox-Icon was grey and said "Starting", but seemed to be frozen as nothing further happened. Furthermore, on right-clicking on the icon, a Dropbox Window appeared, but never vanished until I ended Dropbox in Task Manager. This happened quite regularly for the past couple of days.

         

        For my particular case, this turned out to be a Windows Problem. I noticed a strange message on shutting the computer down, originating from Task Host Window. Apparently, the Windows Task Host keept some background tasks, including Dropbox, from running properly. If this is something that might fit your situation, have a look at this video. In the top comment there, you will find a solution that works fine for me. YMMV, obviously.


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