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Forum Discussion

Heather G.6's avatar
Heather G.6
New member | Level 1
10 years ago

How do I remove Dropbox from my Mac if I get an error message when attempting to uninstall?

I am trying to delete the Dropbox app from my Mac, but it gives me an error message saying 'The item “Dropbox” can’t be moved to the Trash because some of its plugins are in use', even after closing all other open applications. What could these plugins be and how can I stop them from being in use?

Thanks

Desktop
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Mac
Setting up the apps
Uninstall
  • Piet Hein C.'s avatar
    Piet Hein C.
    10 years ago

    I had the same problem:
    Open Activity Monitor (search for it with spotlight) and force quit the Dropbox process (I used the searchbox on the right to find it)
    After that I could delete the application

  • Duff W.'s avatar
    Duff W.
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago

    ^ SAME problem, got support involved, but they wouldn't help me. So annoying...someone, anyone help. I have tried all of the above; Dropbox doesn't show on Activity Monitor. Unlinked, 

  • Eric S.62's avatar
    Eric S.62
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago

    I don't even recall installing Dropbox on an old 2007 MacBook, but the way I deleted it was to change a setting in Finder Preferences.  I set it to Empty Trash Securely.  Emptying then warned me that everything would be permanently erased, and the app went away peacefully.

  • AdolfoKnows's avatar
    AdolfoKnows
    New member | Level 2
    9 years ago

    I also was getting an error message saying that Dropbox could not be deleted because a plugin or extension was still running. I solved it by going to SYSTEM PREFERENCES --> EXTENSIONS --> ALL. I was able to find the dropbox extension there, unmark it to disable it, and then delete the Dropbox App without any problems. 

     

    Short answer: Go to your mac's SYSTEM PREFERENCES --> EXTENSIONS --> ALL --> Unmark the Dropbox extension & then go to your mac's Finder --> right click Dropbox App--> Move to Trash

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