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Forum Discussion
Dropbox stopped executing, restarted it and I can't specify my Dropbox folder
For some unknown reason, Dropbox stopped running on my laptop. I restarted it and it behaved like it had just been freshly installed - it had me sign in, but when I checked the location of the drop...
Hey rossmcm, thanks for updating us on the issue.
Just before we send you an email about this, can you try these steps and let me know if they work for you or if you're having an issue?
1. Uninstall the Dropbox app, if it's installed.
2. Rename your original Dropbox folder to "Dropbox (old)" or similar.
3. Reinstall Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder.
4. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync, so pause syncing or exit the Dropbox app.
5. Move only the contents of "Dropbox (old)" into the newly created Dropbox folder.6. When the move is complete, and not before, resume syncing or re-launch Dropbox.
Thanks Jay. I found a post from Rich that details a sequence that doesn't involve all those registry tweaks. Also I was using Ninite to re-install and I wasn't offered the advanced reinstallation, so maybe I'll start again using the Dropbox.com install.
I'm sort of in a half-way no-mans land now.
- I uninstalled Dropbox
- Renamed C:\Dropbox to Dropbox-old
- Installed it with Ninite
- Paused Sync
- Went into Settings and moved it from C:\users\Ross to C:\
That's when I read your reply, so currently, I have:
- Dropbox sync is paused
- my original files are still at C:\Dropbox-Old
- My newly moved folder at C:\Dropbox
By the time I paused sync Dropbox had created a few of the folders in the root, but no files apart from a few desktop.ini's.
Before I saw your post I was poised to move the contents of c:\Dropbox-old to c:\Dropbox and stand well clear. Are those registry mods necessary in my case? If they are, then Rich's post is a little incomplete.
So what is the suggestion at this point? Uninstall again and follow the advanced install instructions?
Many thanks for the assistance.
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi there rossmcm - sorry to jump in here.
At this point, I'd suggest following Jay's suggestion for an advanced reinstall as this would be the safest way to go.
If you stumble upon an issue during that process, please let us know and we'll take it from there.
Thanks, Walter - I shall. I'm still unsure about the registry tweaks - whether they are part of this install process?
- Hannah
Hey rossmcm, if you'd like to make sure you're following the correct steps for the advanced reinstall, you can find them below and please make sure to follow them exactly as they are:
Hi Hannah,
I've followed the instructions as detailed three times now, and the end result is the same. I uninstall dropbox, restart the PC, nuke the registry entries and folders, download the installer, open it (I don't "run as administrator" as the directions say not to, I just click on the installer exe, but it still asks if I want to run it. It downloads the app, then spends ages installing it, but I never get to see anything that looks remotely like "Advanced settings during the download prompts" - it just goes away and installs it in the wrong place.
Did anyone ever think of something along the lines of "Oh, I see you already seem to have a dropbox folder. shall I resume your installation with that one?"
Well, after 20 minutes of "Installing" it just finished with this:
So the next rabbit hole is the offline installer. No, that seems to have decided to download something as well, despite being billed as not needing the internet.
We are now back to the:
which is looking more like a cruel joke. If it were going to give me the opportunity to influence the installation in some way it should have done so by now, I'm not prepared to wait another 20 minutes to be disappointed.
Look, I appreciate the help, I really do, but you folks need to know that this must be happening to other people as well.
A quick trawl of the forums shows plenty of customers reporting the "I tried to move my dropbox folder to where it was and it wouldn't let me" problem. That's where you need to start. And the solution shouldn't involve any registry modifications, deletion of folders that might or might not be present (update - I just received this again:
)
It's a simple enough issue. The fix might be complex, but you shouldn't load that complexity onto your customers - only you know how to carry it out safely and reliably.
It is 2:40am. I've spent hours on this over the last 3 days.
