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witek-27400
2 years agoNew member | Level 2
I have a problem downloading movie file to my Android
I needed to move a large file (1GB) from Dropbox to my local folder on Android. The file downloaded for a while, then out of the sudden the app disappeared. When I navigated to the file location - there was a local copy, but the size of the file was 0B. Any hints how to fix this? I'm on OnePlus 6T Android, Dropbox Plus plan.
This sounds exactly like my issue. Things are slow because Dropbox is totally thrashing the registry. Right-clicking on the desktop (or opening the Start Menu) requires checking a few dozen registry entries, but Dropbox's indexing causes a kind of denial-of-service attack on the Windows registry.
Dropbox support was pretty cool when we started talking offline and we were able to track it down to Windows being the real troublemaker. When Dropbox checks a file during re-sync, it sends out a request to Windows to update the little icon in the corner (green checkmark, etc.).
Historically, this was fine. Maybe(?) after the latest Windows 10 update (that's my guess; the Dropbox team reported they haven't been able to reproduce the behavior), that exact same "hey, Windows, update that file's icon" request now involves checking the registry for four values, which ends up closer to thirty actual registry operations. Who knows why. Windows doesn't seem to cache the values, so it repeats the check for every file. And Dropbox seems to update the whole folder hierarchy's icons each time (despite alleged "deduplicating logic"), so you end up with something close to 150 registry calls per file in your Dropbox!
No known workaround.
All we'd need is an "I don't want icon overlays" option in Dropbox and this problem would disappear. Alternatively: Windows could fix its broken code.
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- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi witek-27400, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Could you try marking the file as offline first in the Dropbox mobile app?
Afterwards, try downloading or exporting the file to your device.
Keep me updated with any progress!
- witek-27400New member | Level 2
I think I have tried and failed. Finally I have found a workaround for the problem... but I can test it for you if you want. Tag me, so I know it is important - I will try to recreate the problem.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey witek-27400 - sorry to jump in here, but would you mind sharing your workaround?
Also, did you get the chance to try what Jay mentioned?
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