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Forum Discussion
Dropbox Log Files
While looking for something else on my 2 Windows 10 PC's, I noticed that there are several hundred log files located at the path:
C:\ProgramData\Dropbox\Update\Log
These range from 2018 dates to current, and sizes from 800K to 2K. As these are NOT normal text files, and I cannot see any options within the Dropbox program itself to read these, please explain what their function is. As see NO sync issues, I assume that I can get rid of them, as it seems pointless keeping them, unless of course there is some sort of "telemetry" that Dropbox is doing, that we, as users do NOT KNOW ABOUT?
It would be really useful if your product had an option to delete this "log history", say over 1, 3, 6 or 12 months old files, in a user setting, to stop this unnecessary clutter.
- Hi td47; thanks for posting in Community and happy Monday!
When you have the desktop app installed and running on your computer, the app updater service's logs are stored in the app's data folders; not within your Dropbox account or Dropbox Folder.
You should be safe to delete them without affecting the app's functionality at all.
As for your suggestion in the end of your post, I'd recommend posting it in the relevant section of our Community so other users who find it useful can up-vote it to show their interest,
Let me know if you have any other questions!
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hi td47; thanks for posting in Community and happy Monday!
When you have the desktop app installed and running on your computer, the app updater service's logs are stored in the app's data folders; not within your Dropbox account or Dropbox Folder.
You should be safe to delete them without affecting the app's functionality at all.
As for your suggestion in the end of your post, I'd recommend posting it in the relevant section of our Community so other users who find it useful can up-vote it to show their interest,
Let me know if you have any other questions!I've been doing searches for years trying to find out why Dropbox update logs in [c: ProgramData Dropbox Update Log] path contain regular log files , but also creates 2 folders containing Japanese or Chinese characters, and I'm not referring to the files names, but the file content. The 2 folders are named 01 and 02 and are in [{user} appData Local dropbox Logs] folder path. These Asian character files used to be about 450K in size. Lately, they are smaller, like 5K, but still appear. I often delete the regular log files and these strange ones, but over time, more appear. Searches for this issue yield zero results. Can anybody help? I can supply files or screen shots.
sodaspopThe reason the files have odd characters, is they are compressed or encoded in a proprietary format that ONLY the Dropbox app or its install routines understands. I see NO use for them, as they can be quite old unless you manually delete them. They are NOT readable for users, with any known app, and there is NO normal text (plain-text ) in them.
This isn't a solution to the relevant problem. The files can NOT be deleted by normal means. The Dropbox Updater is creating the log files with no owner data. I'm not sure why that's even possible, but windows. Before you can actually delete the files you have to go through a long Admin-only process to reset the security for each file. I was hoping takeown.exe would allow for resetting the owner but it can't fix missing security descriptors. I wouldn't care except the messed up security is causing issues with my backup software. It keeps getting stuck on the broken dropbox logs. Causing a backup to fail makes this a data loss issue for Dropbox developers. You'd think they might care about that.
For those of you who stumble across this in the future here's the super long winded only way I've found to fix it ... have fun.
You need a "pro" version of windows and Admin permissions.
1. Right click a log file > Properties
2. Security Tab
3. [Advanced] Button
4. On the Owner line click "Change"
5. Type in your user name in the owners box
6. [OK] On user selection
7. [OK] On Advanced Properties
8. Back on the Properties > Settings tab click [Advanced] again
9. [Change Permission] at the bottom of advance setting dialog
10. [Add] Button
11. On the Principal line click "Select a principal" (BTW this is the missing data. There is no principal and that's simply not allowed. Back to school Dropbox Devs)
12. Type in your user name
13. [OK] On User dialog
14. Check full control for you (the admin of course)
15. [OK]On premissions
16. [OK] on Advanced Security
17. [OK] on Properties
... and now you can finally delete the first log file. Rinse and repeat 600 times for the rest of the log files. Or I dunno switch to a competing product and curse your self for ever installing dropbox in the first place.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/svo1vh1vtnii5gk/Fix%20the%20Permissions.png?dl=0
Hello:
Actually I'd love to remove the log files from the Update\Log folder but they ask for admin authorization although I'm an administator. No way to clean them away. They weigh 20M, 615 files and increasing any time...
I have the same access issue - I could delete everything before mid-2020, but everything after is demanding admin authorization, even though I am the admin. Very irritating.
For years, after a DB update, I get in an ProgramData folder update log files and in an AppData Local, other log filed that contain either Chinese or Japanese characters. (NOT the file names, the file content) They used to be 400+K in size, loaded with these characters. Of recent time, they are about 5K. A search on line for info reveals NO returns about this. What are these files and why the Asian characters? Am I the only one getting these?
MeganIf you read this post from the begining, you will see what this isue is actually about. The issue with these repeated and unwanted log files is why OTHER users are complaining about the same thing. That is, log files building up, that become very old if not deleted, and the DropBox product does NOT do any cleanup. I would therefore guarrantee that the post you are askinf gor information about is EXACTLY the same issue that I originally reported, and these files will be at the path:
C:\ProgramData\Dropbox\Update\Log
You can go to ANY Windows 10 PC with Dropbox installed, and go to that path with File Explorer and see for yourself.
