My desktop app keeps checking for changes

[nonarecording]

hey , i have dropbox unlimited with my team group , i suffer from "Checking for Changes" issues from last week . i have lacie 12tb thunderbolt and 5mbs uplod internet , the dropbox team folder inside the lacie, i add files and i can see only "Checking for Changes" everytime. i try to let it work for 3 days but still the same messege. i tried to unlik and link again , and also change the folder location , but still the same . i also delete everything in my folder online , and try, but still the same, also i delete everything from the folder in my dropbox folder , see that everything is sync , and it was ok , then i put folder by folder and keep eye that its still ok and complegte sync, until i put the 15th foler ( 700mb) and stuck in "Checking for Changes". im really dont know what to do .

[Jay]

Hi there, could you check if you’re running the beta version of the Dropbox desktop app? You can check this by hovering over the Dropbox icon in the system tray or menu bar. The latest stable version is 68.4.102, and the beta is 69.3.106.

To install our latest stable version, uncheck the box next to "Early releases" here. Then re-download the app . 

It will need to re-index the files, again so bear with it for a short time for this duration.

Afterwards, let me know how it goes!

[nonarecording]

thank you . i did it , but still 4 hours with the same "Checking for Changes" my folder is 22 gb 

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Could you check that there are no symlinks on the account? You can do this by checking out step 7 in this article. These tend to slow the performance and syncing overall, leading to situations like this.

Aside from that, try the other steps in that article to see if there are other possibilities causing the app to not work as it should.

[nonarecording]

thank you ! it was beta , i downgrade , and i had symbolink inside. now its ok !

[Jay]

Glad to hear that the issue is resolved now. Have a great weekend ahead! 🙂

[doppyjoe]

I've come back to my mac after not using it much for a month or so, and I am just stuck on checking for changes. 

I can't figure out any  symlink issues. Nothings changed so why would this happen out of nowhere? 

I tried using terminal, but I couldn't work out what to type into the directory. My dropbox folder has always been on a external HD, I typed in the directory according to the instructions but it said there was no such directory. 

[doppyjoe]

after some more research, I don't think theres a symlink issue. But I am also a little confused on exactly what it is. 

Whats changed is that I have a new macbook that I've linked to my dropbox, but I have only linked a new folder I made. 

Im just wondering is my new macbook being synced up is casuing the problem? 

I don't know why it would be, but I have tried everything else and I am at a loss. 

[Jay]

Hi @doppyjoe, thanks for the message.

If your Dropbox folder is on an external drive, this could cause issues later down the line, in the form of deleted files. An article I posted in the past should helps explain matters.

Regarding locating symlinks, you need to change the ~/Dropbox to the exact location of the Dropbox folder on your external drive.

For example, you'll need to change ~/Dropbox to "Volumes/ExternalDrive/Dropbox", including the quotation marks. This will allow that command to work.

Let me know how it goes!

[Lingo]

I have the exact same issue as doppyjoe. My dropbox has always been on external drives. I now have another mac and tried to sync another external drive to this new mac and it's stuck at "checking for changes" forever. Couldn't figure out if it was symlink too as it threw back a "no such directory" when i typed the suggested line in terminal.