Windows 7 Event Viewer Error "Failed to connect to the driver: (-2147024894)"

Maybe driver dbx and service dbxsvc are key functions needed for strategic "Project Infinite"?

See Dropbox filesystem integration: an overview and Going deeper with Project Infinite.

If so, when not using Infinite, can service DbxSvc simply be stopped and deactivated in Service Manager without any negative impact on standard sync behaviour between web store and local copy?

Hi All,

I contacted Dropbox Technical Services via the webform to get confirmation of Dropbox's policy on this bug but just got the standard automated response containing a link to FAQs - useless and pointless regarding this particular issue. 

Mat-Glock reflects many users' opinion of Dropbox if this is their attitude.  I may be only a free version user, Mat paid for his and certainly deserves a better standard of customer care, but free version users also deserve better service and are potential paying customers when they like what they get.  Any software developer who is prepared to leave a bug does not deserve to be trusted, what other bugs might they leave unaddressed in the future?

It is also telling that very little interest has been shown in this thread by Dropbox personnel who might have injected some useful input.

Maybe they'll listen if more people submit help requests to Dropbox Technical Services .  This forum just serves as a black hole for support requests, Dropbox employees don't browse it or just don't care.

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Loopback wrote:

Maybe driver dbx and service dbxsvc are key functions needed for strategic "Project Infinite"?

 

See Dropbox filesystem integration: an overview and Going deeper with Project Infinite.

 

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That would be my best guess, too. They need this service present in the installation package because they're still developing it, even though it just fails for now. And they'd rather spend more time in the service's development than in removing it from "production" deployments.

Otherwise, this whole mess would be totally outrageous. It still is very unprofessional, they're installing a service that doesn't work and a file system driver that doesn't load at all, there's no doubting it by now.

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vkapartzianis wrote:

That would be my best guess, too. They need this service present in the installation package because they're still developing it, even though it just fails for now. And they'd rather spend more time in the service's development than in removing it from "production" deployments.

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... since service DbxSvc seems to be useless, and Dropbox runs perfectly without it, I stopped it and set its state to DISABLED. No Event Viewer errors any more :slight_smile:

Since any update of Dropbox client software will probably re-establish DbxSvc service to be started automatically, here is my solution to put it back to and keep it in disabled state automatically:

Create some folder (e.g. "C:\DbxSvcWatchDog"). Inside this folder create a batch file named "dbxsvcdisable.cmd" with the following contents:

@echo off
sc stop DbxSvc
sc config DbxSvc start= disabled

Right click file "dbxsvcdisable.cmd" and create a link to it inside the same folder. Rename this link to "dbxsvcdisable" (this is the link's name as shown within Windows Explorer; a "DIR" command at the command prompt will show the link's name to be "dbxsvcdisable.lnk").

Edit the properties of the link, set its execution mode to "minimized" and activate the "run as administrator" feature via the Advanced... button. The last step is important, because you need administrative rights to execute the script (which provokes an UAC message you have to confirm in order to allow execution).

Inside the folder create a second batch file (a watchdog that constitutes a wrapper around the stop script) named "dbxsvcwd.cmd" with the following contents:

@echo off
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
for /f "tokens=3" %%i in ('sc qc DbxSvc ^| find "START_TYPE"') do (
	if NOT "%%i"=="4" (
		call dbxsvcdisable.lnk
	)
)

Right click file "dbxsvcwd.cmd" and create a link to it inside the same folder. Rename this link to "dbxsvcwd". Edit the properties of the link and set its execution mode to "minimized". Move this link file to the startup folder for all users (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup).

Now every time Windows starts the wrapper is executed. It checks if the state of service DbxSvc is still set to disabled. If so nothing else happens. Only in the case that the service's state has changed from disabled to some other state (e.g. via an update of the dropbox client software), the stop script is run. You notice this via the UAC window you have to confirm for execution.

It's stupid as problem persists and users need to figure solution themselves, shame on Dropbox.

I will probably use loopback's solution as this **bleep**ty service keeps hanging my PC once a week

I tried Loopback's get around - manually disabling the dbxsvc service works until the next program update as he explained but I tried the batch file approach to avoid having to disable the dbxsvc service again after a program update but, unfortunately, it did not work for me so I had to disable the service again.  Perhaps I made an error somewhere along the line so I will have to check back.

Hi,

the "wrapper" script doesn't run permanently but only once after Windows Login (Startup). Hence, if the DB client software is updated, DbxSvc service is started again (start type is set to automatic) and doesn't stop until you at least logoff and logon again (e.g. via Windows (Re-)boot).

Loopback