all 'FILE EXPLORER' FILE icons flashing whenever dropbox is running

[alan78]

As of today drop box is causing the file icons in ANY/ALL open explorer windows to flash constantly between the correct icon image and the default windows 'no icon' icon.

if i KILL the dropbox process magically all the icon switching stops, thi sis constant and doesnt seem to stop!

What can i do?

I also seem to have 3 DropBoxThumnbailGenerator.exe processes running?

Thanks

[Lusil]

Hey peeps, thanks for nudging us on the thread. 

@robertcz, since you've already given a reinstall a try - awesome work by the way - could you also check for me how many files you have in your Dropbox folder by right-clicking and selecting Properties?

If you find that you have more than 300,000 files, although this is a soft limit that greatly depends on the hardware specifications of the computer running the app, it can negatively affect the performance of the desktop app. 

If you've checked that and you're still having trouble, try the steps in this article to see if they help. 

Likewise, @RonAZ1, please try the same steps and let me know how it goes. 

Keep me posted, everyone!

[clevercrow1]

Replying to my earlier post after sending two other emails directly to Dropbox Support.

Here's another video...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n8ylwhahwf5ywbv/VID_20200106_222854.mp4?dl=0Ok...

I haven't heard back from you regarding the previously submitted videos and information, nonetheless, I am providing another video from yet another computer.

In fact, my ability to use Dropbox is significantly compromised by the slowness of the blinking video issue.  To recap, I have two OTHER computers that BOTH exhibit this problem and many people have reported this issue for a long time and it's really disappointing that no REAL fix for this issue has been provided to ANY of the users reporting this problem.

So because I was having such difficulty using my files, I BROUGHT a brand new Dell laptop (my other two machines are HPs) and with only the basic supplied files, I installed the latest Dropbox App and set everything to "Online Only". 

After the files completed syncing, I took a few of the Dropbox folders and changed them to "Local". 

From the 1 minute video above, you can see the behavior of the system (EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE VIDEOS SHOWING THE PROBLEM WHILE RENAMING OR MOVING FILES).

So folks, this is beyond acceptable.  I will be posting portions of this email to the Dropbox Community so that others who are having this problem can see the behavior and determine if it's the same problem they may be experiencing.I would also like to build a little fire under you guys.  I'm disappointed that none of my previous emails have been acknowledged despite being asked by Dropbox support to provide more information.Your reply would be most appreciated but YOUR SOLUTION would really be BETTER.

[clevercrow1]

Just a few other stray pieces of information (to help and to confuse...)

My Dropbox fold is 292G, with 89865 files and 3916 folders.  Most of this is NOT local on this machine (one of two I have this issue with.  On the other machine (both are HP laptops) all files are LOCAL.

The videos I provided is one of the denser locations on my file structure (more folders that are local because I am using this area for my eBay inventory.  That particular folder is 8.49G with 5134 files in 623 folders.

If I attempt to rename files that are NOT local, the "blinking icons" do not affect those items in that same NOT local folder, but ALL folders that ARE local and are more toward the root still REFRESH (although that refresh shouldn't be necessary).

Example:

Dropbox Folder

    Local Folder 1

    Local Folder 2

       Local File 1

       Local File 2

       Local File 3

   Online Folder 1

       Local File 1

       Local File 2

       Local File 3

That is... if I rename Local File 2 to Local File 2x, the File Explorer will still refresh the icons associated with Dropbox Folder, Local Folder 1 and Local Folder 2.

Hope that information helps.

[RonAZ1]

@Lusil, I tried the reinstall and selected fewer folders to selectively sync with the local folder.  Same issues. It's problematic and needs a solution.  I'll be cancelling my service soon if there isn't a fix. I can't work like this much longer.

[clevercrow1]

@Lusil, I'm in complete agreement.  I'm also considering cancelling my service soon if there isn't a fix.  Dropbox used to be reliable and convenient.  When it stops having those qualities and when Customer Support inanely keeps saying the same "update your desktop app and let us know what happens" it's time to consider other options.  Someplace I remember reading the words, "Oh how the mighty have fallen!"  Let's see, was it ToysRUs or Sears or KMart ???  Well, hope Dropbox wakes up from their deep sleep and gives us a solution soon.

Any may I suggest, why do we need all these different versions of icons in the first place?  When Dropbox first came out, I don't think there were multiple icons to show the file status.  Can you put an option into the preferences to NOT USE ICON FILE STATUS?  

Also, the whole idea of "cloud only files" doesn't seem to be very well implemented.  Programs such as image viewers and Office products get very confused and generate error messages when encountering "offline" files.

[Lusil]

Sorry to hear that you’re still having trouble with this and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us, @RonAZ1 and @clevercrow1.

@RonAZ1, I’ve sent you a ticket to the email address connected to your Community profile so that we can have a better look into this together. When you have the chance, please check your inbox and we’ll take it from there.

@clevercrow1, I’m sorry to hear about your frustration and I do understand how important this is for you.

I was able to find your ticket that’s been forwarded to a specialized member of my team and have made sure to pass all your comments along to them.

I’d recommend continuing to troubleshoot with them as they have internal tools that will help the investigation towards the correct path.

As soon as they have more info on the matter, they’ll get back to you via email. Rest assured, they’ll do their best to assist you.

If there’s anything else I can help with, please don’t hesitate to get back to me. Thanks!

[RonAZ1]

Thanks, @Lusil.  I hope to get to the ticket today. 

[clevercrow1]

Hi all,

Thought I would let everyone having this problem (blinking icons) know of a solution that may save your sanity.  Here's the letter I shared with Jack of Support.

Hello again Jack,

I had a thought and have some new information for you.  As I said in my last email, there is something about the way File Explorer handles these updates and transactions that gets clumsy with Dropbox methods.  So I thought I would try a File Explorer replacement to see how it behaves.

I selected "FreeCommander XE" and in particular I downloaded the 32 bit version because you have to pay for the 64 bit.  I'll probably shell out the 5 euros to get the 64 bit version since it seems to work very well.

Ok... my observation... there is NO BLINKING while Dropbox is syncing in this software.  It uses the same icons that you supply (I think) and they properly reflect the status of the files.  Local, Online, or Syncing.  Whatever.

So at least for me, I can use this  software product until you get fixed how to play nice with File Explorer.

Hope that helps everyone.  Just use a different file manager instead of Windows File Explorer until Dropbox gets fixed.

Tim (clevercrow1)

[RonAZ1]

Thanks @clevercrow1  Tell me if you also have a problem with Windows File Explorer "losing" the drive where your Dropbox local folder resides.  That is the most frustrating part of the problem for me.  If it "disappears" while I'm working on a document, I can't be assured that my changes will be saved to the cloud.  It's the main problem I have.  I will try the other file manager and see if that helps.  Thanks for sharing!

@Lusil  I tried to start the ticket, but for some reason my password didn't work. Hope that's not the start of another problem...will dig into it later tonight.

[clevercrow1]

Hi Ron,

Fortunately for me, I have not experienced the disasterous problem you have also encountered.  I felt the blinking icons and slow return to normalcy were bad but if you lose track of your drive, that would be really bad.  In my case, it would be my C: drive and obviously disasterous.  Best of luck as we work to solve this.

At present, I'm experimenting with "the other white meat" since I'm sure this has nothing to do with any of the three computers I am having problems with.  Just moved a fairly big chunk of my files to THAT sharing program and going to give it a try.  Since I'm an Office 365 subscriber the first terabyte of storage is free.

Regarding my using a different file explorer, I'm already seeing this is far from a perfect solution since my Office products always use the same "explorer" as the Windows Explorer, so unless I'm just pushing files around, anything I do within Office (mainly Word and Excel) will be still blinking.

Final observation, while the files are syncing with Dropbox (until it reports "Up to Date") you can still see the Free Manager I'm using occasionally twitching... it's not as annoying as the BLINKING but until Dropbox is finished, there are hints of its transferring files.

Best, Tim