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Forum Discussion

Explorer | Level 4

7 years ago

Mac slows down on starting with paid Dropbox.

I have to wait on my macs (27" and two 13" Macbook, three and four years old, newest systems) almost 10 to 15 Minutes until i can use other apps, as dropbox syncs so slow the list. After list is load...

Jane
7 years ago
To my mind, the most likely cause should be that files on one of your Macs are removed (i.e. using the Selective sync feature), therefore this has improved your overall syncing speed Josef (pmeier). That’s merely a guess of course, though would you mind checking back to see if this applies to your current setup on either of your devices?

Additionally, I’d suggest having a look here for some tips to adjust your bandwidth locally, which will help you speed up syncing a bit when it comes to your files uploaded/ downloaded via the client.

I hope that my advice is a bit more helpful. Let me know how you get on with these steps & we’ll take it from there Josef. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Explorer | Level 4

Dear Jane,

thanks for the informations!

I wonder, why this problems after >Restart< happen not on the Macbook Air, but on the same old 27" Mac? Both have similar systems.

Is there a Tip?

Best regards

Josef

Icon for Dropbox Staff rank

Dropbox Staff

7 years ago

To my mind, the most likely cause should be that files on one of your Macs are removed (i.e. using the Selective sync feature), therefore this has improved your overall syncing speed Josef (pmeier). That’s merely a guess of course, though would you mind checking back to see if this applies to your current setup on either of your devices?

Additionally, I’d suggest having a look here for some tips to adjust your bandwidth locally, which will help you speed up syncing a bit when it comes to your files uploaded/ downloaded via the client.

I hope that my advice is a bit more helpful. Let me know how you get on with these steps & we’ll take it from there Josef. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Nick_zz
Helpful | Level 6
6 years ago
I am sorry, I don't see how this answer solves anything.
I have the same problem. My desktop mac (older, but running High Sierra, 32G memory and decent disk space) becomes almost unusable for 10-15 minutes following startup.
I am pretty sure it is Dropbox, because the disk crunching and the slowing down goes away if I turn off Dropbox (or just the sync).
Just now, I know for a fact that *nothing* changed in my files between the time I logged out and then logged back in after ~1 hour. Yet, the whole sync circus started again.
It seems to me that Dropbox simply downloads and uploads every single file if it thinks something changed. Or at least, it does so with way more files than are actually in need of syncing.
Is there anything that can be done to improve this? (I use selective sync as much as possible. ) I do have a lot of files (300Gb), I use this for work. I pay something, I am not sure what level that is. I can't search my email because my computer is stuck with Dropbox syncing ...
(Also, the Dropbox icon has been stuck on "Starting ..." for about three years, but I gave up on that.)
- Jane
  Dropbox Staff
  6 years ago
  Hey there (Nick_zz), just to take it from where you’ve already left off on your end, I’ll try to follow-up on your description as closely as possible; thanks for checking back with me here on this matter!
  
  Now as you mentioned that you’ve already checked what’s happening within a specific timeframe, I’d suspect that there’s an underlying syncing issue that has manifested itself just recently from what I gather from your description:
  
  the disk crunching and the slowing down goes away if I turn off Dropbox (or just the sync)
  
  Have you monitored the Dropbox performance on your Activity Monitor perchance? What have you found there if you don’t mind me asking?
  
  From there, it would be worth mentioning that we recommend avoiding the use of Symlinks &/ or storing a large number of files in your Dropbox folder as a rule of thumb, since it can affect your syncing speed. I’m also wondering whether the amount of files you’ve currently synced on your Mac (despite utilizing Selective Sync) is surpassing the recommended 300,000 files soft limit.
  
  Please include as much info as possible on this discussion here & I’ll make sure to check back with you & send you the best next steps to tackle this behavior. Thanks for posting us on the Dropbox Community & enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!
  - Shaun S.10
    Collaborator | Level 8
    6 years ago
    I also have the same issue with the MAC being unusable at startup and anytime dropbox is doing some heavy work actually. I ran and installed BlackMagic for MAC and saw that the average read/write speeds on teh HDD were 25/35 mb/s with dropbox running and 50/60 mb/s without dropbox running. Support provided all of the basic things that have already been mentioned to look at and I have less than 20,000 files selectively syned and the system stalls so frequently. After a week or more of waiting for more 'try this and try that', I decided to upgrade to the latest Macbook Pro. I'll find out soon on this new clean install wether dropbox performs well on SSD as compared to the old HDD it was on.
pmeier
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago
Thank you for the tips. Meanwhile the 27 Mac had 10th birthday. The books do fine with loading. Only the 27 takes about an hour to load. The Dropbox is 260 GB with lots of photos. The system is refreshed - since then it is 15 minutes more. For this I do not expect a solution anymore. That's computer life. In earlier days, it was much more complicated.

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