Dropbox download really slow

When some applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint open a file, they will often save a temporary file in the same directory and name it in one of the following ways:. In some instances, there are several ways to create the same character on your keyboard. Although the characters may look the same, they are not the same to operating systems and Dropbox. When Dropbox notices these encoding conflicts, it will create a conflicted copy of the file and save it in the same folder appended with Unicode Encoding Conflict.

Don't name your files with the following characters, as Dropbox will not sync them on any platform:. When dropbox download really slow your files, avoid characters incompatible with the Windows file system:. Windows only allows file and folder names of characters or less.

If your settings are corrupted, one way to reset them is by unlinking and then relinking your computer to your Dropbox account. Don't worry, the files in your Dropbox folder will remain untouched. If unlinking and relinking your account doesn't solve the issue, your settings may be protected or inaccessible due to a permissions problem. If this is the case, you can remove your settings by hand using an administrative account.

Anything over that is not watched and, therefore, ignored when syncing. There's an easy fix for this. Open a terminal dropbox download really slow enter the following:. This command will tell your system to watch up to folders. Once the command is entered and you enter your password, Dropbox will immediately resume syncing. Some Linux distributions have extended attributes xattrs turned off by default.

If you then create a new folder called "Taxes" in the same location in Dropbox, it will appear with a gray minus sign, and Dropbox will not sync that folder. If you re-check the original "Taxes" in your Selective Sync preferences to resume syncing to your computer along with the new "Taxes," the name of the "Taxes" folder with the minus sign will be appended with " Selective Sync Conflict.

A warning regarding metadata and FAT32 drives Some documents have file attributes, or xattrs, in data attached to the file. Monitoring more than folders on Linux The Linux version of the Dropbox desktop dropbox download really slow is limited from monitoring more than folders by default. Open a terminal and enter the following: Turning on extended attribute xattr support in Linux Some Linux distributions have extended attributes xattrs turned off by default.

To ensure your files sync correctly, check to see if your computers dropbox download really slow mobile devices are connected to the Internet and are linked to the same Dropbox account.

Macintosh On Mac OS X Quit Dropbox by clicking on the Dropbox icon from the menu bar, clicking on the gear iconand selecting Quit Dropbox from the pop-up menu. Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, one at a time, and press Return after each one. Please make sure you copy and paste these commands don't type them by handas getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer user's password not your Dropbox password after entering the first command.

TuneUp Utilities Windows is also known to optimize your computer by uninstalling Dropbox. If you're running TuneUp, try disabling the application and reinstalling the Dropbox application. You can report the issue with Tuneup using their online web form. If you're not running an antivirus application or are sure it's not interfering with Dropbox, your Dropbox settings may be inaccessible.

Help center Syncing and uploads File sync is slow, or taking too long to complete. File sync is slow, or taking too long to complete. Dropbox is syncing slowly—why, and what can I do about it? To change the Dropbox bandwidth settings, follow these steps: Linux On Linux Right-click on the Dropbox icon from your system tray and choose Preferences The Dropbox icon on the system tray.

Mac On Mac OS X Click on the Dropbox icon from the menu bar. Click on the gear icon and select Preferences The Dropbox icon on the menu bar. Windows On Windows dropbox download really slow Click on the Dropbox icon from your system tray. You may need to click on the arrow to show all system tray icons. What is a Selective Sync conflict, and what can I do about it? Dropbox is showing errors or failing to open—why, and what dropbox download really slow I do about it? If your Dropbox desktop installation experiences any of the following behavior, your Dropbox installation may be dropbox download really slow or corrupted: Dropbox closes as soon as it opens.

If you're seeing dropbox download really slow issue with a file, and you've already checked that your computers are connected to the Internet and are linked to the same Dropbox account, the file may have an issue that prevents Dropbox from syncing. Operating systems don't always play nicely with one another. The Dropbox desktop application tracks these inconsistencies and will try its best to resolve the problem gracefully.

However, a Selective Sync conflict can occur when you choose not to sync a folder to your computer in your Dropbox download really slow Sync preferences and then create a folder of the same name in the same location. For example, if you create a folder called "Taxes," then uncheck "Taxes" in your Selective Sync preferences, this will stop "Taxes" from syncing to the Dropbox folder on your computer.

Therefore, if Dropbox comes across linux directories named "Sample folder" and "sample folder" lowercase "s"it will still sync both folders to Mac and Windows computers, but one will appear as a copy of the original file and appended with case conflict.

If you are signed in to both your personal and work Dropboxes on your computer, the network preferences will apply across both. Selective Sync is a feature that dropbox download really slow you to select only the folders you want to sync to your computer.

Metadata and resource forks Avoid syncing files that use metadata or resource forksincluding Mac aliases or Windows shortcuts. Junction points and aliases Dropbox will follow Windows junction points Windows Vista or later and sync the dropbox download really slow or folders they link to.

You can read more about Office and Microsoft path limitations on their Help Center. In general, all you need dropbox download really slow do to open those files is to shorten the name or move the file or folder to a higher-level folder. Most Linux installations allow you to have two files or folders with the same dropbox download really slow but different capitalization. However, by default, Mac and Windows won't differentiate file or folder names by case.

On top of this limit, certain applications—such as Microsoft Excel—have shorter limits characters. Note that Windows counts the file path as part of the name, so the sample file path below would dropbox download really slow characters, not However, some applications might still be subject to the Operating System limits and may have problems accessing files that are in long paths.

We call this data metadata. Operating systems use metadata for many different ways: Dropbox supports xattrs on all platforms. However, thumb drives and portable drives that use the FAT32 file system do not support metadata. If your Dropbox folder is on a FAT32 drive, unfortunately it is impossible to retain metadata when the dropbox download really slow is moved or renamed. The Linux version of the Dropbox desktop application is limited from monitoring more than folders by default.

For example, if you have an Excel file in a path that is characters long, Dropbox will sync it to your computer but when you try to open it Excel will show an error message like "File Cannot be accessed".

When it can't, the file will still sync to the website, but it may not appear or work properly on incompatible operating systems. To see which of your files dropbox download really slow cause syncing problems, log in to the Dropbox website and use the Dropbox bad files check tool. To dropbox download really slow your files and folders sync correctly on other operating systems, try to follow these guidelines:.

If Dropbox appears to sync files quickly at first, but then appears to be dropbox download really slow at the last moment, it's possible your antivirus or system optimization application is interfering with the Dropbox application. This is a known issue with antivirus applications such as:. If this happens to you, consider adding Dropbox to your application's whitelist or try disabling your antivirus application and restarting the Dropbox application.

Also, you can only paste them by right-clicking and selecting Paste. For example, if your Dropbox is in D: Please note that, depending on the size of your Dropbox, this operation might take some time to complete, so wait for the C: Restart Dropbox by going to the Start menu and selecting Program Filesthen Dropbox.

Files or folders that begin with a period such as. However, Mac and Linux operating systems will regard them as system files and hide them automatically. Files and folders that end with periods. If a file ends in a period, like file. Trailing spaces in file and folder names are stripped in order to sync properly with other operating systems. If Dropbox finds a file in your Dropbox folder with the same name but different only in white space or the character created by pressing the space barit will add the file to your Dropbox folder and append the file name with white space conflict.

Dropbox fails to open and reports an error message. Dropbox is not syncing and reports that you're running an old dropbox download really slow of the application. The syncing status in your Dropbox menu says "Permission denied" or "Rejected by Server.

I'm connected to the Internet and signed in to the same account on my devices, but files aren't syncing—are there issues with the files? General File Type Guidelines To ensure your files and folders sync correctly on other operating systems, try to follow these guidelines: Incompatible characters for all operating systems Don't name your files with the following characters, as Dropbox will not sync them on any platform: Case conflicts Most Linux installations allow you to have two files or folders with the same name but different capitalization.

Please refer to your Linux distribution's documentation for instructions. Troubleshoot and fix installation and permissions issues with the Dropbox folder on your computer. Categories Desktop app and dropbox. Help center Desktop app and dropbox.

Beginning characters on Mac and Linux Files or folders that begin with a period such as. Trailing characters Files and folders that end with periods. Temporary files When some applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint open a file, they will often save a temporary file in the same directory and name it in one of the following ways: Unicode dropbox download really slow conflicts In some instances, there are several ways to create the same character on your keyboard.

If your Dropbox desktop installation experiences any of the following behavior, your Dropbox installation may be inaccessible or corrupted:.

Syncing icons do not appear correctly. This is a known issue with antivirus applications such as: Panda Global Protection Windows - Contact Panda support ESET NOD32 Windows - Contact ESET support McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.

Did this article answer your question? Let us know how we can improve: Submit Thanks for your feedback! Related articles Community answers Related articles. Related articles Dropbox can't access your Windows Registry Dropbox is stuck syncing, won't launch, or reports an error Fix problems with Dropbox sync. Other ways to get help. Dropbox Plus Business Enterprise Paper Plans Using Dropbox Help Center Security Productivity Apps and integrations Company About us Contact Blog Downloads Desktop dropbox download really slow Mobile apps Legal Privacy Terms.

If both of these are true, see further troubleshooting below. Dropbox is smart about using bandwidth. It will only use as much as it can without interfering with your normal Internet usage. Downloads are performed at the fastest download speed available. Setting your Upload rate to Don't limit or a higher number than your connection is capable of will probably cause dropbox download really slow your other Internet activity to slow down significantly.

Avoid syncing files that use metadata or resource forksincluding Mac aliases or Windows shortcuts. These types of files dropbox download really slow only work on the operating systems they were created on. Dropbox will follow Windows dropbox download really slow points Windows Vista or later and sync the files or folders they link to. However, any changes to those files or folders made from the Windows operating system will not sync again until the Dropbox desktop application is restarted.

To get around this, move the original folder to your Dropbox and add a junction point from its previous location to link to its new location in the Dropbox folder. Some documents have file attributes, or xattrs, in data attached to the file.

Linux On Linux Quit Dropbox by right-clicking dropbox download really slow the Dropbox menu from the menu bar and selecting Dropbox download really slow Open a terminal window and copy and paste the following line into the terminal exactly as written below: Restart Dropbox by going to the Internet menu under Applications.

Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as dropbox download really slow type your password. After you type it, just press Return. Dropbox is located in your Applications folder. Copy and paste the following lines into the command prompt, one at a time, and press Enter after dropbox download really slow one.