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Forum Discussion
Dropbox freezes and crashes my file explorer.
Hello,
I am having trouble with dropbox working through my Windows file explorer. For some reason, within the last week every time I try to navigate to one of my dropbox files the file explorer crashes and I have to force close the program. I can open files from the specific application. For instance, if I open Word and then open a file from word it will open, but if I try to open the same file from the windows file explorer it freezes. I have tried to uninstall and reinstall. Any other suggestions/solutions?
A couple weeks ago I noticed that when I'm in the Dropbox folders on my Windows Explorer, the folder open very slowly and navigation has a huge lag. This is problematic as going through a folder system takes ~10 times longer than it needs to.
I've searched some other solutions online and the main solution that many forums are suggesting is an issue with Apple iCloud on their computers; however, I do not have iCloud on my computer and have just uninstalled all Apple related Apps that I had on my computer, which were few. There has been no change in how quickly I can load the folders after uninstalling them.
Some potentially relevant information:
Windows 10 Pro
Dropbox App installed on my Computer (v190.4.6383)
Connected to my work Dropbox (Dropbox Standard)
Connected also to my personal Dropbox (Dropbox Basic)
Google Drive installed on my Computer; however, I'm only syncing my Documents folder
I tried to update my computer but I'm having issues with a security update (see below). Not sure if that's causing the issue with the Dropbox folders or not. I've restarted my computer twice and still get the same error message.
I have the exact same problem. Navigating my local Dropbox folders on Windows 10 is painfully slow (using arrow keys to scroll through files, etc). It is as though I'm navigating an online cloud interface, not a local directory. This started just a couple of weeks ago and has really degraded the usability of Dropbox.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hi there William F.5 - sorry to hear about this.
Can you please clarify you're device's exact OS version and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your system tray?
Did you reboot your computer since you first noticed this?
Same here. A few weeks ago we where asked by dropbox to completely reinstall. Before my dropbox always slowed my Windows 10 Explorer, like when I try to access a folder or save a file it took Minutes before I could save the file because the "Save as" Window was "hanging/lagging out". Same with renaming folders. After the re-install Dropbox worked fine for a few weeks until last Friday. Now again, everything is slow and you often can't work with it efficiently. We also work as a team on Terabytes of shared files.
- Nancy
Robert 098, can you send me any ticket numbers you may have from your support convo? I can take a look, and guide you from there.
- Nancy
Thanks for reporting this here, @dhannah! Let’s have a look.
First off, I’d like to check how many files are syncing locally within your Dropbox folder. From your post, I get that your personal and Business Dropbox accounts are paired. Are you having this issue with both Dropbox folders or just with one?
Besides that, what’s the current syncing status of the Dropbox app?
Are you noticing the same behavior if you quit the app, as well?
Keep me posted for any updates.
1. Q. How many files am I syncing? A. Many files (~ 1.6 TB); however, these files are mostly "Online-Only". Only a few folders are actually on my drive based on when I use them.
2. Q. Are you having problems with both folders? A. Yes, I'm having issues with both my Business files and my Personal files on Dropbox. The same lagging issue is happening with both. Both accounts are linked to my account and synced to my computer. My personal Dropbox files are all on my computer but my Business files are "Online-Only".
3. Q. What’s the current syncing status of the Dropbox app? A. "Up to date"
4. Q. Are you noticing the same behavior if you quit the app, as well? A. Yes, I tried quitting Dropbox and I'm experiencing the same issues.
Thanks for your help!
- Walter
Hey currentj, sorry to hear about this.
Could you please let us know your computer's exact OS version and the version of the desktop app installed there as well?
Are you running any 3rd party apps when you notice the crashes you mentioned by the way?
Let us know more and we'll take it from there.
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045
Dropbox
No 3rd party apps that I am aware of. It seems to happen when I try to open, move, or rename any of the dropbox content.
- Calvin2DBX
Mine is doing something similar since the last update of Dropbox (Sept 8, 2023) and the latest Windows 10 Update a couple of day later.
Mine will reset the file explorer when selecting the file explorer with the mouse. It also will do that if I select a file folder on the computer or try to rename a file. It will happen every other pick. If I use Win-E or the hot button on my computer keyboard, it will work fine.
I uninstalled Dropbox completely and the issue disappeared. When I re-installed Dropbox, it came back. It does not mater if Dropbox is running or not.
It does it as long as it is just installed.
- Walter
Hi there Chris_Petersen, sorry to hear about this.
Could you please clarify the exact OS version of your computer and the version of the Dropbox desktop app installed there as well?Any additional information or even screenshots (better yet, a short recording of you reproducing the issue) are more than welcome.
I'm also experiencing random crashes no matter what browser I am using
I can't open the Dropbox folder through Windows Explorer. It freezes after double clicking, and nothing happen afterwards. I have tried:
1. Reinstalling Dropbox
2. Advanced reinstallation of Dropbox
3. Uninstalling anti virus software
Nothing seems to work. I have tried using System Restore, which solved the issue temporarily. But the issue now reoccurs again.
- Megan
Hey there doubleezat, thanks for posting here today!
Does this happen with your Dropbox folder, or any other folder on your device?
As a test, would you mind quitting the app, and then -before opening it again- checking to see if the same thing happens while the app isn't running?
Let me know what you find, and we'll take it from there!
Hi Megan, it happens only on Dropbox folder. Folder from other cloud storage provider is not affected, as are local storage folders.
I have tried quitting the app, and the folder still freezes. However, if I uninstall the app, the folder can be opened with no issue. After reinstalling the app, the issue reoccurs.
Hello,
Since Dropbox updated to the latest build 202.4.5551, my Windows 10 has been freezing as soon as Dropbox is launched. I have installed all Windows updates. I know it is Dropbox that is causing the issue because as soon as I uninstalled Dropbox, the problem goes away. I tried to re-installed Dropbox but the problem shows up again.
Hope Dropbox team can address this as soon as possible. If there is a temporary fix, I would love to hear.
Thank you and best regards,
YFong
Since the automatic update to version 202.4.5551 - none of our five computers at work will sync. All running Windows 11. We have just rolled one of the computers back to version 197.4.7629 and it is now syncing fine again.
- Walter
Hi there Y Fong & Melman - thanks for your reports.
Can you please let us know approximately how many files you're syncing locally on the affected device(s)?
Also, are you running any 3rd party apps that are monitoring, syncing or backing up your files?
Any additional information or screenshots are more than welcome!
Hi Walter, I have around 7TB of data that's set to online-only. I sync very little to my computer. I've been working from Dropbox like this for many years with no issues. This latest update has killed all syncing. No 3rd party apps running. I did all the suggested troubleshooting and the only thing that worked was reverting back to version 197.4.7629. Which subsequently Dropbox just auto-updated again to 202.4.5551 and killed my syncing again 🤦:male_sign:
I started having the same issue 3 days ago. I read this entire thread and uninstalled and did the advance reinstall deleted the registry folders and the dropbox folders from the 3 locations. Even if I quit the Dropbox app (bottom right corner and quit) the folder just loads forever within windows explorer. I can, in fact, open files from within programs.
Any other suggestions to solve this issue?
BenDBXCommunity Manager
Hi Everybody,
Thank you for reporting this. I've notified our Engineering team who is currently investigating. We'll post an update here when we have more information to share.
Thanks,
ben
Hi,
Hi
We're issues on all our PCs and dropbox. A mixture of windows 10 & 11.
On boot Dropbox and Explorer work fine. Once you start working/syncing files issues start:
1 - Explorer slow. Right click on a file/folder takes ages to load menu, and sometimes dropbox menu items dont appear. Means you cant create links dropbox links to files.
2 - Explorer icons - Dropbox ticks/cloud icons dissappear from files/folders as though Dropbox isnt running
3 - Dropbox - desktop app shows Dropbox 'syncing' a random file as though its stuck. Doesnt show recent files that have been uploaded to make you think the app isnt working, but on the web browser files are up to date
4 - Restart and everything works again, but once Dropbox has synced a few new files it all breaks again.
Dropbox 202.4.5551
Thanks
- BenDBX
Hi Everybody,
Thanks again to everyone who reported this. Our Engineering team has implemented a fix. These sync issues should resolve automatically, or if you restart the Dropbox application.
If you're still experiencing sync problems on Windows after restarting Dropbox, let me know here and I'll pass it along for further investigation.
Ben
From initial testing, seems to be sorted (no restart). Thank you!
Beta v203.3.4740
NOpe.. i still have it!! can't use Dropbox in Explorer! so annoying
Few days ago i started to fell that my Windows explorer began to work slow, like i need to wait while it is loading quick menu, when i press right click on file to rar it, i need to wait 5 seconds before menu opens, after a restart, all fine for random time, 10-20 mins then again, all stuck. (PC is half year old, work pc, i7-12700k, 32 ram, win 10, 2 SSD 2 tb each(MSI + ADATA), i thought maybe a virus, bought kasperskiy antivirus, it didnt help, nothing was found. So i thought maybe ssd is failing, i checked all ssd as possible, all fine. So i made an update to win 11....... Something that i didnt want to do, but i did, i thought maybe some windows fail. But it didnt help too. Then suddenly i saw my dropbox app was syncing something and for too long time, so i made it pause syncing, it didnt say to to me that sync is paused till some time like usual, just stuck on writing pausing. So i turned off dropbox and Win Explorer started to run fine. So i tested it a little more and this is what i have now, after every first dropbox sync, nvm what it is, win explorer stuck(i tried to delete 400 gb, the speed of delete is 1 FILE PER SECOND!!!!!!! when normal speed is close to 2000), i pause dropbox and then turn it off and all fine again. I tried to reisntall dropbox app, nothing. I have 200 gb of 2 tb space on it. And i have it isntalled on few laptops too and all fine there. What do u think about it?
- Nancy
Thanks for your post, dglarseniy.
What’s the app version you see running on your Dropbox app? Also, what’s the syncing status it shows now, when syncing isn’t paused? Feel free to send a screenshot of it, as well.
Did you notice this behavior after a specific OS/Dropbox update?
Let me know, and we can take a closer look.
- So, all three my pcs runing on same dropbox version, 1 laptop on windows 10, one lap on win11 and the pc we r talking about is a big and new one and not laptop, started on win10 and on win11 now. All dropbox versions are the same and i really never seen dropbox updating, so i dont know when it happened, i started to feel it like a week ago. About a status, if i let dropbox to slowdown explorer for 10+ minutes nvm what it is syncing, it never ends, just write syncing and it never ends. If i press pause syncing for 10 minutes, it changes its status to "Pausing" and it never changes to "paused till (time)", so i just turn it off, all start to run great, then i turn it on again, it finishes the syncing, status is "All synced" or something and all fine till next sync.... it successes to sync, but explorer starts to slowdown... In this situation i am starting to have feeling that i cant ignore dying ssd version since i have this issue only on one pc out of three and on same conditions.... But how to understand the real reason if when i turn of dropbox everything works great....
