Dropbox is stuck at indexing ever since I installed the app on my new MacBook Pro.

[Dan68]

I got a new MacBook Pro and installed Dropbox. It worked for a while but suddenly stopped working without me realizing. It seems to be stuck at "Indexing...". Now I have many files locally on the computer in my Dropbox folder that are not synced. I also tried to make a backup copy of the Dropbox folder's content but I get a message for some files that I do not have the permissions to do so. It does not even work with the admin account. I am a bit worried about loosing the files and need to get Dropbox to work again properly asap.

Any help much appreciated!

Daniel

[Nancy]

Thanks for posting about this here, @Dan68. 

Have you rebooted your device, since the indexing issue started, and the Dropbox app is still stuck? 

How did you try to back up your Dropbox files exactly?

Finally, can you clarify what you mean when saying it doesn’t even work with the admin account?

Let me know when you’ve got more info.

[Dan68]

Thanks for the prompt reply @Nancy .

1. Reboot: Yes, the computer was rebooted.

2. Backup: Just copy and paste in Finder.

3. Admin: I tried the copying with the computer's administrator account as well. (On macOS I have is both a normal user account which I normally use and an administrator account/login on the computer.)

[Jay]

Hi @Dan68, were the files in a normal folder in Finder before you copied and pasted them, or were they from another location like a network drive, or another user account?

[Dan68]

Hi @Jay , I am not fully sure that I follow. The files are in my (not syncing) Dropbox folder (via File Provider?). I tried to copy them all from there to another local folder. But that failed on some of the files/folders in the Dropbox. So, I cannot create a complete copy of the folder currently and the syncing does not work either...

[Megan]

Hey @Dan68, would you mind clarifying the Dropbox version that you have installed on the device? 

You can find this by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon, next to your WiFi on your menu bar. 

Do you have any third-party apps (VPN, antivirus or other cloud backups) that could be interfering with Dropbox? 

[Dan68]

Hey @Megan,

Dropbox version number: 207.4.5821

No VPN, antivirus or other cloud backup.

Daniel

[Walter]

Thanks for the additional information @Dan68 

If the app is still stuck at 'indexing' your files, could you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions and let us know how it goes? 

If it gets stuck at the same message again, please send us a screenshot so that we can have a visual too. 

[Dan68]

Thanks for the suggestions @Walter . However, "Fix hardlinks" had no effect and for "Fix permissions" I got a message that Dropbox could not fix permissions.

A screenshot of what exactly? The text in the Dropbox menu saying "Indexing..."?

[Dan68]

I still hope someone can help me figure out how to get my Dropbox working again.

I just did a test by creating a new user account on the Mac and installing Dropbox there. Everything seems to be fine. Except, of course, for the not yet synced files from my other account missing....

Daniel