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Forum Discussion
Heather G.6
10 years agoNew member | Level 1
How do I remove Dropbox from my Mac if I get an error message when attempting to uninstall?
I am trying to delete the Dropbox app from my Mac, but it gives me an error message saying 'The item “Dropbox” can’t be moved to the Trash because some of its plugins are in use', even after closing all other open applications. What could these plugins be and how can I stop them from being in use?
Thanks
I had the same problem:
Open Activity Monitor (search for it with spotlight) and force quit the Dropbox process (I used the searchbox on the right to find it)
After that I could delete the application
- Piet Hein C.New member | Level 1
I had the same problem:
Open Activity Monitor (search for it with spotlight) and force quit the Dropbox process (I used the searchbox on the right to find it)
After that I could delete the application- Elie1245New member | Level 2
Thanks for this! I was able to close out the app within Activity Monitor but when I try to delete it now I get the message "The item “Dropbox” can’t be moved to the Trash because some of its extensions are in use." Can you help with how to fix this?
- ginginginaNew member | Level 2
I did a search for "activity monitor" and there were not results. does everyone have activity monitor?
- RichSuper User II
It's not an application that someone will have. It's a utility on Mac computers, found in the Utilities folder under Applications.
This is an old thread and likely no longer relevant. Please start a new thread and describe the problem that you're having. This thread is being closed.[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Ask a Question section here.]
- Rajat G.1New member | Level 1
I am using Yosemite. I first quit Dropbox from the Menubar but could not Trash Dropbox from my Applications folder as certain plug ins were functioning. So, I opened Activity monitor and found that Dropbox Finder Integration was still working.I could not force quit it from Activity Monitor. So I opened Dropbox again and clicked on the Dropbox Icon on the menubar and opened Preferences to disable Dropbox Finder integration and two other plug ins. After that I could trash Dropbox from Applications seamlessly.
- Glen Y.New member | Level 1
I'm having the same problem...
- Ivan L.4New member | Level 1
The answer from Piet Hein C. worked perfectly. Thanks! :)
- Joshua A.6New member | Level 1
Piet Hein C.,
I love you with my whole heart. - Peter B.169New member | Level 1
I followed all of the directions listed above but still received the error message and was unable to delete dropbox folder from my applications folder.
I was finally successful when I opened the dropbox folder within the applications folder and deleted all of the contents from within that folder.
Then I deleted the empty dropbox folder from the applications folder and removed all of the contents from the trash.
Mission complete.
Hope this is helpful to someone.
- Prateek T.New member | Level 1
same issue here
- Glen Y.New member | Level 1
Piet Hein C. Your solution worked perfectly! Thanks!
- Caryn R.1New member | Level 1
Thank Goddess!! I was getting really frustrated with this. I will not be reinstalling Dropbox - ever! OneDrive is better anyway
- Claire G.10New member | Level 1
Hi everyone!
Thanks Rajat and Piet Hein for your solutions!
Dropbox integrates with Finder in order to help you share files easily or display the sync status on the overlaying icons :)
Indeed, in your activity monitor, you should be able to look for every Dropbox instances and Quit/Force Quit them.
If you can't force quit "Dropbox Finder Integration" and you're running Yosemite 10.10.0, you can disable it manually.
Click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, then click on the gear icon and go to Preferences.
On the General tab of this preferences panel, you'll be able to untick and disable the integration.You can read more about this here:https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/finder-integration-yosemite
I hope this helps!
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