Won't stop indexing on Mac

[msheppard]

I installed the mac dropbox update and the application began indexing my files. It has now been stuck for the last few days. I can only access some files. Many are now only available through dropbox.com and not in my app. If I add files to dropbox.com they are added to the indexing queue of the desktop app, but no progress is made regarding indexing. I've tried signing out, quitting, uninstalling, and reinstalling. I've seen similar threads, but no solutions have worked for me. Any help is much appreciated.

[Jay]

Could you try activating the File Provider migration with all other open apps closed (to prevent any conflicts) and let it run to see how it progresses this time?

[Lionade]

Hi Jay,

I had to find a time slot to do what you suggested which was yesterday. After less than a minute a dialogue was shown which informed me that the transfer was completed, but checking is in progress now in the background. However, since then nothing has changed and the status below the Activity tab still shows "Indexing".

When I open the Dropbox folder on my mac with Finder, every single file and folder shows the cloud icon, giving me the text "Uploading" when I hover my mouse over them. Online, all the files I had in the Dropbox before the migration are there. Newly added files do not appear online.

Is there any place on my mac where I can see in more detail if the dropbox app is actually doing something or if it's just stuck in some loop or hanging due to a corrupt file or so?

Thanks a lot for your help and kind regards!

Lionade

[Lionade]

Hi Jay,

I think I have solved the issue.

Thanks to this article: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Create-upload-and-share/Having-problems-syncing-with-File-Provider-o...

I checked all network filters (also nicely described here: https://help.dropbox.com/de-de/sync/files-not-syncing#:~:text=Check%20that%20the%20file%20isn,proper....  )

I had to create a new allowing rule for DropboxFileProvider in LittleSnitch (see screenshot, it's a network filter software). Now everything works fine.

Somehow I must have missed the popup notification by LittleSnitch to ask for this new process to allow outgoing connections.

My apologies for not checking earlier!

Kind regards,

Lionade

[jpglutting]

I am unable to contact support on a Basic plan. Is there any solution for this?

Thanks

[Nancy]

Sorry to hear you’re having the same issue, @jpglutting. What’s the current app version you’re running? 

Does the Dropbox app mention how many files it’s currently indexing, and if yes, does the number change at all?

[jpglutting]

Thanks Nancy,

I have version 205.4.5765 - I am on Sonoma 14.6.1. The menu bar icon says it is indexing 17,077 files, and this has not changed for at least a week. 

More concerning, most of the files in my Dropbox directories are not there - I can only get to them online. I have to admit I don't know how long this has been happening. The files I use more often are on my computer, but most of my directories are empty - the files are visible in the online interface. I tried right-clicking folders and choosing "Make Available Offline", but that doesn't seem to help. 

The oldest folder in my Dropbox folder was modified in 2016. But it is empty. 

The oldest files I can find on the online interface are from 2008 (I do need to clean up my Dropbox a bit). 

[Megan]

Hey @jpglutting, let me also jump in here!

Did you recently get any notification about an update of the Dropbox app to the version for File Provider? Where is your Dropbox folder currently located?

If it's still stuck at the exact same number of files, could you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions and let us know how it goes?

[jpglutting]

Thanks Megan,

No, I didn't get any notifications, I was just looking for some old files. My Dropbox is located at ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

I have looked in Preferences, and all notifications are active. I don't see any options for "Fix Hardlinks" or "Fix Permissions" in any part of the preferences panel in the Dropbox App. Has that been deprecated? I believe I am using the latest version, although it is hard to find clear information online. I looked under "Accounts", as instructed in the link you sent, but that just gives me the option to sign out or add a new account. I could not find a "Fix Hardlinks" function in any other section of Preferences. As an aside, "View Sync Issues" shows no issues with sync.

[Megan]

Hey @jpglutting, you should be able to find the app's version by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi.

As for fixing permissions, have you tried holding Option/Alt key (Mac), and then clicking "Fix Hardlinks"? 

What about signing out of the app, and then back in? 

[jpglutting]

I know what version I have, I posted it two responses ago. "I have version 205.4.5765 - I am on Sonoma 14.6.1. The menu bar icon says it is indexing 17,077 files, and this has not changed for at least a week. "

I was wondering what the latest is.

I did finally figure out the "press option to change the interface" trick. That is an incredibly obscure way to hide functionality, I must say.

I tried both fixing permissions and hardlinks, without any change. Earlier I did search all the files in my Dropbox folder for the characters that block indexing (?, \ / *, etc.). I did find one file with a "?" in it, and edited the name. It now says it is indexing 17,076 files, for what that is worth, but it has said that for 4-5 hours. Also, I looked at "Sync Issues" and it doesn't show any.