Can't reinstall on Windows 7

[lr2]

My Windows 7 desktop version does not run. There is no icon in the notification area. I tried uninstalling then reinstalling and nothing happens... no messages or errors. I can access my account via the my browser as well as on my iPhone. I've tried running as administrator but still nothing. I've looked through posts but as I'm not overly tech savy most of what I see regarding registries is over my head. Can you please advise how I can troubleshoot this? Thank you.

[Jane]

Hey @lr2, 

Welcome to the Dropbox Community, let’s have this installation sorted!

Based on your description, seems that the application on your computer hasn’t been installed properly or isn’t updating. A possible cause may be that your Antivirus or some security software is creating a conflict preventing the installation. As a first troubleshooting step, please follow these steps:

Temporarily disable any antivirus or security programs on your computer. Reinstall the Dropbox application from either of these links below: 

https://www.dropbox.com/downloading?plat=win&type=full (Windows)

Please let me know if the above steps help you fix this issue!

Warm regards, 

JaneA

[dbeato]

I would recommend uninstalling Dropbox using the following tool:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed...

Then Reinstall Dropbox as above, if that does not work use another user profile to make sure is not a corrupted profile.

[lr2]

Jane,

Thank you for the suggestion. I disabled MS Security Essentials, however it did not solve the problem. If you have any other suggestions it would be apprectiated.

Thank you.

LR

[lr2]

dbeato,

I used the link to uninstall Dropbox then reinstalled with the anti virus disabled. I'm sorry to say it did not solve the problem. 

Thank you for your suggestion.

LR

[Jane]

Hey @lr2, 

Thanks for your prompt reply, I’d be glad to send you some more steps to follow! 

It appears that something is blocking Dropbox, so I’d suggest proceeding with a fresh re-installation. Before that, I’d like to ask you whether you’re using an application called “Boxifier”. If you do, please let me know in your reply, since it may be the cause of the issue.

If this is not the case, please follow the steps below: 

#1. Quit Dropbox by clicking on the Dropbox icon on your system tray, then click on the gear icon and select "Quit Dropbox".

#2. Uninstall Dropbox:

#3. When the uninstall finishes, please restart your computer to ensure that the uninstall is complete.

#4. After this, please proceed to delete remaining registry entries:

a) Click the Start button. Type REGEDIT in the search box and press Enter.

b) In the Registry Editor, navigate into the following locations until you find the keys for "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate", they will be in either or both of the following two locations:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\

c) In both or either of these folders, please delete only the "Dropbox" and "DropboxUpdate" folders by right-clicking on the individual folders and selecting "Delete".

#5. Then, please delete the Dropbox remaining folders:

a) Open a Windows File Explorer (not Internet Explorer). 

b) Type %LOCALAPPDATA% into the address bar (include the % percent signs) and press enter. 

c) Delete the folder "Dropbox" from the resulting window. 

d) Please repeat these steps with the following folders as well (it's OK if you don't find a Dropbox folder in any of those locations): 

%APPDATA% 

%PROGRAMFILES% 

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)% 

e) Then restart your system.

Please note that deleting any of these folders will not delete the files in your Dropbox folder.

#6. Download the newest version of Dropbox and double click on the downloaded file 

#7. During the initial setup and sign in process apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall and select the Dropbox folder location (if not in the default location).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this process removes the previous settings and configuration, if you wish to avoid re-downloading your Dropbox content you will need to manually choose the location for Dropbox to sync to, otherwise you will create a new Dropbox folder and start to download your content again.

At the end of this process, after clicking "Open my Dropbox folder", it might take some time to re-index the files and sync any pending changes. Please note that any changes made to the files in the Dropbox folder, the web interface or other linked devices while the folder was "off-line" may generate conflicted copies.

Please keep me updated on the results in your reply here! 

Warm regards, 

JaneA

[lr2]

Jane,

Thank you for all your hard work on trying to help solve this problem.

Let me list out the current situation.

1.  My computer does not have Boxifier.

2. I never needed to quit Dropbox in the system tray as it never installed. It never started up.

3. I did uninstall it through the control panel

4. I never found a Dropbox or DropboxUpdate folder in the REGEDIT locations

5. I never found any folders in the Window Explorer locations you had suggested

Thank you for your patience.

Reagrds,

LR

[Jane · Accepted solution]

Hey @lr2, 

Thanks for your swift reply and the additional details, much appreciated!

At this point, I’d suggest taking a step back. It seems that something has been blocking the application from updating or installing. To better determine the case, please follow this link to the latest stable Dropbox version and let me know what happens when you try downloading the installer from the website. Does the .exe file download down on your pc? What happens there? 

If the application is downloaded (listed on your downloaded items), though can’t run, please let me know! To get past that, provided that the application has been downloaded, I’d suggest trying to run the .exe file in Safe Mode. 

If the application isn’t downloaded from the website, please let me know in your reply! 

Warm regards, 

JaneA

[lr2]

Hi Jane,

Good news .... the installation in safe mode seems to have done the trick. The app is now installed on my PC!!! 

Thank you for your perseverance, it is very much appreciated.

Have a great week-end.

Thank you and regards,

LR

[Jane]

Hey @lr2, 

So happy to hear that the magic trick got this installation sorted! 

If it's not too much trouble for you, would you mind taking a minute of your time to fill out a survey sharing your experience using the Dropbox Community? You can access it here: http://bit.ly/2lNKIxT .

[This thread is now closed. If you experience further issues, feel free to get back in touch on the Dropbox Community, we'd be glad to follow-up. ]

Warm regards, 

JaneA