Dropbox is extremely slow indexing and syncing!

“I deleted a lot of files from our 'main' computer where our shared folder is shared across multiple PCs. But this main PC is still slowly syncing and indexing weeks later. I've tried running as administrator and setting a HIGH priority in the Windows task manager and it's just chugging along. The upload/download limit within Dropbox is unlimited also. Is there any way I can make this go faster?”

What does it mean when Dropbox is indexing?

Generally, Dropbox is indexing means that Dropbox is indexing the files in the Dropbox folder and you may have to wait until Dropbox finishes. This usually happens when you set up the Dropbox desktop application for the first time.

So, if you see the message "Initial synchronization with the server is being performed. Please wait..." on your computer, you should know that the Dropbox desktop application is indexing the files in your Dropbox folder, or you have paused Dropbox from the Dropbox app menu.

How to solve the Dropbox indexing slow issue?

Some users complain that Dropbox indexing is very slow and they want to speed up. If you also find the Dropbox indexing slows down on computer, you can read on to take some measures to this Dropbox indexing slow issue.

Way 1. Check your internet connection

Since the Dropbox app is an online sync application that needs a stable internet connection, you should check the internet status when you find the Dropbox indexing slows down on your computer. What’s more, you should keep enough network speed and do not limit the Dropbox running rate.

Way 2. Pause and resume Dropbox app

As we all know, there is a Pause and Resume function in the Dropbox app that you can use to solve some temporary errors like Dropbox indexing files stuck. You can follow the steps below to pause and resume the Dropbox app.

1. Click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar.

2. In the bottom of the window that appears, there’s a white bar with text that says either Up to date, Syncing [your file name], or Syncing [x] files. Hover over that text.

3. When you hover over that text, it will change to Pause syncing. Click Pause syncing.

4. If you want to resume syncing, hover over Syncing paused in the white bar at the bottom of the window and click Resume syncing.

Way 3. Reinstall your Dropbox app

Sometimes, you may find the Dropbox indexing files stuck instead of slows down. If all the methods above can’t help you turn Dropbox to normal status, you can try to uninstall and reinstall Dropbox on your computer with the following step:

1. Search for and open Control Panel from the Start menu.

2. Search for and select Uninstall a program in the search bar.

3. Find Dropbox here and right-click to select the Uninstall option here.

Way 4. Contact support team

Like other mainstream cloud storage providers, Dropbox also has a professional support team that can help you solve your problem at any time. So, if all the methods above failed to solve your problem, you can try to contact the Dropbox support team and commit to your requirements.

The best Dropbox backup and sync app for Windows PC

Besides the Dropbox indexing slow issue, there are also many other issues that you may encounter when you use the Dropbox desktop app such as Dropbox not syncing Windows 10, Dropbox not working, and so on.

If you want to continue to use the Dropbox cloud storage service but are disappointed with the Dropbox client application, you can use a third-party tool that can help you sync and back up files to Dropbox cloud storage service easily and automatically without the Dropbox desktop app.

If you need such tool, you can try CBackup, which is a professional cloud backup and sync service for Windows PC. With it, you can add your Dropbox account safely and upload files from your local computer to Dropbox cloud. Besides that, CBackup also offers a secure cloud server called CBackup Cloud and you can also choose to backup files to this cloud instead of Dropbox cloud.

What’s more, CBackup also offers useful functions and flexible backup and sync settings. If you can multiple Dropbox accounts, it allows you to backup or sync between different accounts and can also help you merge Dropbox accounts into a storage pool to take full use of your backup space. Let’s see how to use CBackup to sync backup files to Dropbox.

1. Please download CBackup and create a new CBackup account, and then sign in.

2. Click Storage on the left side, then choose Dropbox and hit Authorize Now. Then follow the on-screen guide to allow CBackup to access your Dropbox files.

3. Select the Sync (or Backup) tab, and then press Sync PC to Public Cloud (or Backup PC to Public Cloud) button to create your sync or backup task.

4. Specify the Task Name, and choose folders you want to sync or backup to Dropbox. Select the added Dropbox account as the target location.

5. Press the Start Sync (or Start Backup) button to sync and backup your local files to Dropbox.

✎Note: You can tap Settings at the bottom of the window before starting sync or backup, tick Set a sync/backup schedule for automated sync/backup option, specify the time you want to upload files to Dropbox, and click OK.

Conclusion

The top 4 ways to solve the Dropbox indexing slow issue have been listed above, you can try them one by one until your problem gets solved. If you don’t want to use the Dropbox desktop app but you still want to use Dropbox cloud storage, you can use CBackup as an alternative to Dropbox.