Dropbox folder in File Explorer in Windows 11 is painfully slow

[jaymeetee]

I recently 'upgraded' to Windows 11 and the new File Explorer is now painfully slow when navigating the Dropbox folder. Simply navigating the hierarchy takes seconds and the Windows busy ring appears twice for each click.

I have tried:

- reinstalling Dropbox (currently 139.3.4798)

- enabling Smart Sync (this will likely save me disk space but seems not to affect performance)

- uninstalling any other software that interacts with the Windows context menu (WinZip etc)

- restoring the Windows 10 File Explorer (which changed the GUI) but not the speed

- running Windows File explorer full screen (F11) a common recommendation that does not improve performance

I am running Win 11 Pro on a decent enough 8th gen Core i7 with 16GB RAM that coped just fine under Windows 10, I have 346443 files on my DB. the issue is limited to the Dropbox folder which is why I'm here and not on the MS forum.

Any help gratefully received!

[PJFLEROUX]

Hello all,

For information after removing iCloud from my computer dropbox seem to work properly again.

[JR76]

Thank you for this! Removing iCloud for Windows resolved the issue for me.

[imaginaestudio]

Removing iCloud App worked for me

[Bruno MC]

I have the same issue but I have not ICloud installed on my computer (not in my service for example).

I have found some threads that explain how to remove the dropbox icon displayed in the explorer and then I have better performances, but the icon come back after some days (even with permissions unset in the registry !).

I'm about to change to another provider to be able to work on my directories, but I would prefer to solve this issue. So if someone has any clue, I'm interessting !

My bandwith is high, so no network issues. And yes, just working in a "non dropbox" directory is fine.

Using commands in CMD works well also, it's really Windows Explorer that is not fine.

[Walter]

Hey @Bruno MC, sorry to hear about this.

Could you clarify the OS version of your computer and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app installed there as well? 

Also, approximately how many files are you syncing locally to your computer? 

Do you happen to be running any other 3rd party apps that could be causing issues, like antivirus programs, backup or cloud services etc.?

[Bruno MC]

Hi Walter.

My OS is Windows 11, Dropbox application is v184.4.6543

I have Windows Defender installed and I do no use any cloud app (like ICloud or One Drive). One Drive is installed but for many years already.

I have about 250 000 files sync (and more offline)

The issue is only with the Windows File Explorer, not with a tool like XYExplorer, nor with CMD commands.

The issue is only when Dropbox is running.

So probably there are some hooks, directory change notifications or something else that take a lot of CPU when I just create a directory (2s !).

[Megan]

Hi @Bruno MC, could you try to right click on your Dropbox folder, and send me a screenshot, please? 

[Bruno MC]

This way (sorry, I'm french so my menu is in french also 😅 ) ?

And this screenshot if it can helps :

Indexation could also been an issue with too much files ?

Thanks !

[Walter]

Hey @Bruno MC, are those screenshots the info you get when you right click on your Dropbox folder? 

Have you tried using selective sync to lessen the desktop app's load by un-syncing some folders from your computer perhaps?

[Bruno MC]

Hi. Yes and yes. I have only one third of my files on my desktop, the remaining is not synchronized.

Furthermore, these slow-downs are clearly an issue between dropbox and Windows file explorer. If Dropbox is shutdown, there is no more slow-down. More I rename and add/move files, more the slow-downs are long, sometimes crashing File Explorer. I'm also pretty sure that it's far slower if I have more than one file explorer opened. But as soon as I used another tool than File Explorer to rename or add files, there is no slow-down anymore.