Truly stop Dropbox client from starting automatically on Windows 10.

[Garret W.]

This is happening to me on Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. When I first installed Dropbox 3.14.7 I thought it it was well-behaved, because it offered an option to disabled "Start Dropbox on system startup". But that doesn't work.

I have certain drives that aren't mounted when the system starts. I have moved the Dropbox configuration files (via an NTFS symbolic link) to that drive, but I make sure that I mount the drive before starting the Dropbox desktop application. I have disabled "Start Dropbox on system startup".

Yet still when I boot Windows 10, Dropbox throws up a dialog informing me that it has failed to start. *I had told it not to start automatically! Of course it will have a problem---I haven't mounted its settings drive yet. *But I told it not to start!*

If Dropbox has a "Start Dropbox on system startup" option, it should honor that options. Don't control my system while pretending to give me options to disable the software. Please tell me how to *really* stop Dropbox from starting automatically, even the secret whatever-it-does-to muck-around-with-my-system, or I am removing the software from my computer. Thanks.

[MamaOsa]

Forget it.  I uninstalled it.  If I want to use it again I will reinstall.

[bcvekic]

For all the users of the newer Dropbox app having this issue, here is the "normal" way to do it (without editing registry, etc.):

1. Go to Preferences

2. Go to Import tab

3. Under "Camera upload" section click on Change Autoplay Settings

or

4. Go to Control Panel -> AutoPlay

5. Check if any of the autoplay entries uses "Import photos and videos (Dropbox)" and change it.

Chances are some of drives or devices have Dropbox assigned as AutoPlay response, and whenever those drives or devices are mounted, the Dropbox starts.

Hope it helps.