Forum Discussion

New member | Level 1

10 years ago

Desktop app is stuck 'Starting' when it loads up and doesn't sync

I am a paying customer and very frustrated with Dropbox. I am ready to drop DropBox and look for other alternatives.

Since Friday of last week it has been trying to sync 100Gb in files and it is taking an eternity. Now is stuck in "Starting."
I have rebooted the Mac (10.6.8). I am using Dropbox 3.0.3. I have tried going to Preferences, holding the option key and "Fixing Permission." I also read in the Internet about deleting the hidden cache folder but I have not done it yet since I don't know what to expect.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Desktop

Mac

Sync

Jay
7 years ago
Reading through this thread, everyone seems to be experiencing similar and yet slightly different issues, so I’ll go through the general troubleshooting steps to fix all of them.

Feel free to stop whenever your app begins to sync normally, not all steps are needed.

Install the stable version:

The first thing we need is to be sure you’re running the stable version of the Dropbox desktop application, and not the beta.

To do so uncheck the box next to "Early releases" here. Then, do an advanced reinstall to ensure that all beta functions are removed fully.

Instead of the download link on that page, I recommend using the offline installers for this purpose:

Windows

Mac

Confirm there are no symlinks

Secondly, if your app is fine, but it’s still starting, then it could be stuck in a loop trying to parse your symlinks.

What are these? Long story short for those not in the know, these are files or folder that refer to another file or folder in your Dropbox account, or even outside the Dropbox folder.

This can include, but is not limited to, iPhoto/Photos library on Mac, system folders such as Documents/Pictures/Music/Downloads, databases, programming code, and many more.

Removing these symlinks is vital since they can cause these issues, high CPU usage, and permissions problems.

Follow step 7 on this article in order to detect the symlinks in your computer and remove any from your Dropbox folder. Generally, moving the specific files or folders to another location should remove the links.

Check your internet connection

Hilariously, this is more common than you think. You have a stable WiFi/ethernet connection to the web, other sites work, and yet the app isn’t connecting.

If multiple users are having this problem on the same network, there is a possibility that a proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router issues that could be restricting traffic to the Dropbox domains.

We can’t really narrow things down for you, since you need to check this out yourself as there are so many programs out there.

We’ve had cases more often than not about built in security software on routers for home internet users, meant to protect users and children, but in doing so preventing the Dropbox desktop application from loading.

Using a remote login

Getting a black or white screen on the Dropbox app when you’re trying to sign in is a different issue.

This usually occurs when using a remote login or even a virtual machine to another device. The graphics for remote logins are usually reduced in quality, and since the Dropbox desktop application connects to the Dropbox site to sign you in, it won’t render the login page in the app while on a remote login.

Best thing to do would be to access the machine directly to login from there.

---

Overall, there are many reasons for this cause, however hopefully this post should help in resolving most of the issues!

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]

Jason P.22
New member | Level 1
9 years ago
I am having the same problem on my desktop Mac running OS X El Capitan 10.11.3. Dropbox *is* running fine on my Mac laptop, but since I can't sync my desktop I'm now missing a lot of files on my laptop. I am NOT satisfied with answers from Dropbox that suggest I "write into customer service and expect a response within 24-48 hours". That is absurd when we're talking about business critical files in my account that I will need access to on a flight tonight. Plus I've been a paying customer for years. I expect more from you Dropbox. At a minimum I expect a phone number I can call to talk with someone in real time. Even if you charge me for it, you should offer that capability.
Laureline
Community Manager
10 years ago
Hey Bert, I'm really sorry you're experiencing issues with Dropbox.

Could you try to relink your software? It might help if your app is stuck.

Instructions here: https://help.dropbox.com/mobile/unlink-relink-computer-mobile

If it doesn't work, a complete reinstall might do the trick: https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/uninstall-dropbox

(You have advanced instructions at the bottom)
Laureline
Community Manager
10 years ago
Hi Sean!

This issue can have maaany cause: security software on your computer, proxy configuration, firewall, problem when the program was installed, too many files (more than 300k as a soft limit or more than 1 million), operational disk error...

If you have less than 50 000 files, you might try to relink your Dropbox app (cf my previous message).
It might solve your problem.

If it doesn't work, then it might be something more complex, that might require to check your account.
You can contact Dropbox support here:
https://www.dropbox.com/support

Have a great day :)
kristaps b.
New member | Level 1
9 years ago
Same here, stuck on "Starting..."!. But that's only the case on my work desktop which is running win7. Tried reinstalling (and thus going from 3.10.7 to 3.10.11) to no avail.

At home on Linux Debian, everything is fine.

This is upsetting because I work from home and from the office and Dropbox is the means of sharing documents across machines.
Ralf L.1
New member | Level 2
9 years ago
Same problem on Linux (two PCs running Ubuntu 15.06, 64 bit). Stuck on "starting" and account is effectively useless. I did however notice that my android app is up to date without problems. So this seems to be a problem with the Linux software/daemon.

Any known issues for the Ubuntu amd64 or amd64 in general

I may try to install and older version and 32bit.
f b.
New member | Level 1
9 years ago
Same problem here...

I am also paying Dropbox, but for the last two weeks I didn't get any syncing done because of the "Starting..." problem.

It seems that this was the update on Feb. 9 (to 3.14.x), because when I download the previous version it says "Downloading file list" and then upgrades to the new one, which is stuck.

Dropbox: fix this issue, please.
Jason P.22
New member | Level 1
9 years ago
I had the "starting" issue and was able to get it resolved through email exchanges with customer support. In the end the crux of the problem was that I had put a copy of my iPhoto file into my dropbox folder as a backup. Apparently files like that, which are kind of "meta" files that hold all kinds of specialty files to support the use within their specific applications, give dropbox a hard time. I shut down Dropbox, moved that iPhoto file out of my Dropbox folder, then started Dropbox again. It took a while to re-index but now it is working great.

If you try my basic fix and it doesn't work just email customer support. It took one or two rounds of emails but it got done and it worked.
spicydog
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
I changed the proxy setting from "auto-detect" to "no proxy" then Dropbox back to work immediately.
- Declan Z.
  New member | Level 2
  8 years ago
  Same issue.
  
  A message informs me Dropbox is "updating automatically."
  
  So the choice to keep my working software is not mine anymore. It has been "automatically" replaced with software that is much slower to launch and sync.
  
  I really wish companies would not force "automatic" updates. I'm sure they think they work. But my system, stable and working yesterday, then doesn't work today.
  
  Not good.
Laureline
Community Manager
10 years ago
Hi everyone!

You can of course contact support here:
https://www.dropbox.com/support

Support will have access to information about your account that can help troubleshoot your issues :)
- Matt A.12
  New member | Level 2
  6 years ago
  Do you have any idea how many times people like us have contacted Dropbox support, and received NO acknowledgement of our contact, let alone a reply?
  - Bissquitt
    New member | Level 2
    6 years ago
    I just migrated over to my own nextcloud server. You can set one up on as little as a raspberry pi 3. It's telling that I have gotten almost imediate responses from the community when theres no financial stake, yet Dropbox just doesn't seem to care. The recent limit on number of devices was the nail in the coffin. It's not like I have 10 devices syncing, but I'm not gonna sign out and in every time I pick up my old tablet.
    
    Lookup nextcloudPi.
Laureline
Community Manager
10 years ago
Hi guys!

These issues are complex and require access to your personal information to be able to troubleshoot.

I would really recommend you to write in to our support team, who would be more than happy to help you!

Thanks
- mark c.56
  New member | Level 2
  8 years ago
  They take a week to respond! terrible customer service ! I had to result to posting on their facebook page to get an answer!
  - Jane
    Dropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Hey mark c.56,
    
    Thanks for getting in touch on Community, sorry to hear about the delayed response.
    
    Just to clarify, has this issue been resolved? Also, it would be really helpful if you could give a ticket ID to reference in your reply, so that I see whether I could expedite resolution.
    
    Looking forward to hearing back from you!
    
    Kind regards,
    
    JaneA
- sjatkins
  New member | Level 2
  8 years ago
  Laureline wrote:
  Hi guys!
  These issues are complex and require access to your personal information to be able to troubleshoot.
  I would really recommend you to write in to our support team, who would be more than happy to help you!
  Thanks
  I am not buying it. Plain first install on Ubuntu 17.04. No firewall or proxies. Home desktop that worked fine with Dropbox on 16.04. Not working since upgrade to 17.04 and reinstall of dropbox.