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Platinumaa's avatar
Platinumaa
Helpful | Level 5
5 years ago

Files open very slow

recently i have had issues with dropbox (db) opening files extemely slow. i figured it was my computer so i bought/installed a new 1tb solid state drive, reformatted, re-installed everything.. and it...
Desktop
Organize
sort
Sync
Windows
  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    5 years ago

    Thanks for getting back to me so swiftly Platinumaa.

    Fixing permissions won't change anything to the permissions the app was granted upon installing; the fix within the app's preferences I mentioned above is fixing the different permissions the files within your Dropbox folder have.

    Quoting from the relevant resource, this is how to install the Dropbox desktop app with admin privileges:

    1. If you already have Dropbox installed, uninstall the application.
    2. Download the Dropbox application.
    3. Open the installer.
      • Do not right-click, and do not command-click Run as an Administrator
    4. Follow the instructions in the install wizard.
      • If you’re asked for an administrative username and password, enter them or contact your administrator to sign in.
      • If you’re not asked for an administrative username and password, you’re already an admin on your computer.
    5. Complete the installation and sign in to Dropbox.

    And, yes, the 'Fix Permissions' and/or the 'Fix Hardlinks' buttons will force your files to sync anew when applied. 

    In any case, please take as much time as you need and report back with your findings. 

    Until we speak again, take care! 

Walter's avatar
Walter
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
5 years ago

Hi Platinumaa; welcome to our Community and happy Monday!

Can you please let me know if you have installed the desktop app with admin privileges on the affected computer?

If this is not too much to ask, could you follow the steps below and let me know if they improve matters at all?

1. Make sure the Dropbox desktop application is running

2. Click on the Dropbox icon in your system tray and then click on the gear in the Notifications panel

3. Select 'Preferences'

4. Click on the 'Account' tab, and then click in the window under the tab (just anywhere will do)

5. Hold down the 'Space' key

6. Click on the 'Fix Hardlinks' button

7. You may be prompted for your a username and password, this is your computer login credentials, not your Dropbox account ones

8. Please wait about ten minutes to see if Dropbox resumes syncing.

If the above steps don’t resolve your issue, please repeat steps 1→5, but at step 6, this time click on the “Fix Permissions” button. 

Please note that if you use “Fix Permissions” syncing will start back over. If you need to use this step, please allow for a few hours to pass and let me know the results.

Thanks a bunch! 

  • Platinumaa's avatar
    Platinumaa
    Helpful | Level 5
    5 years ago

    thanks for the reply, i tried the "hard links" method and it didnt work. i did check and it seems dropbox was not insalled with admin priveleges. i assume the "fix permissions" is the method to change that to admin permissions level? also, this will re-load the entire dropbox index back onto this computer correct?

    since i live in the woods and use satellite, my bandwidth amount is limited. i will have to do that method closer to the end of my plan date which is this friday. i will reply here probably sunday with the results

    thank you

    • Walter's avatar
      Walter
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      5 years ago

      Thanks for getting back to me so swiftly Platinumaa.

      Fixing permissions won't change anything to the permissions the app was granted upon installing; the fix within the app's preferences I mentioned above is fixing the different permissions the files within your Dropbox folder have.

      Quoting from the relevant resource, this is how to install the Dropbox desktop app with admin privileges:

      1. If you already have Dropbox installed, uninstall the application.
      2. Download the Dropbox application.
      3. Open the installer.
        • Do not right-click, and do not command-click Run as an Administrator
      4. Follow the instructions in the install wizard.
        • If you’re asked for an administrative username and password, enter them or contact your administrator to sign in.
        • If you’re not asked for an administrative username and password, you’re already an admin on your computer.
      5. Complete the installation and sign in to Dropbox.

      And, yes, the 'Fix Permissions' and/or the 'Fix Hardlinks' buttons will force your files to sync anew when applied. 

      In any case, please take as much time as you need and report back with your findings. 

      Until we speak again, take care! 

      • Platinumaa's avatar
        Platinumaa
        Helpful | Level 5
        5 years ago

        Mr walter, i uninstralled DB last night, re-installed as admin, it took all night to download all data. Woke up this morning, opened an autocad file from a dropbox folder path.. it flew open! your solution worked. thank you

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