DropBox syncing has become stuck after I reloaded Windows. It wouldn't budge after hours. Also the system icon kept disappearing, perhaps due to some unreported error. It continually reports it's uploading only 392 file but there's actually one million files to sync (re-index actually). I tried all the solutions on DropBox website and DropBoxForum such as erasing cache, propagating permissions, unlink/relink, reinstalling DropBox, filesystem check/repair, etc. Other computers are syncing properly after a similar reload of Windows. How do I fix sync?
11 Answer
I was able to resolve the issue by recopying the DropBox folder from another known working computer. I believe the process worked because it repaired broken files or permissions. Here's the exact steps that I used.
- Uninstalling DropBox.
- Reboot.
- Temporarily disable any backup services such as CrashPlan, Carbonite.
- Erase DropBox folder.
- Reboot, keep backup service disabled.
- Copy contents of DropBox folder from another, properly synced computer.
- Re-install DropBox.
- Enable backup service.
- Wait. On my fast system and internet connection, reindexing performs at a rate of 100,000 files per hour.
Update: I totally gave up on DropBox. It wasn't stable on most of my PCs. I replaced DropBox with an Office 365 subscription (up to six PCs) that included 1TB of OneDrive cloud sync. If you only need Windows cloud sync, OneDrive is a far more robust, and performant. I had no idea how bad DropBox was until I started using OneDrive. OneDrive doesn't chew through CPU and I/O like DropBox.
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