[solved] (at last!) No more Dropbox icon

[dclement]

Hello,

On my laptop (LMDE, 2013 iso), Dropbox has apparently been updated to a newer version, and the convenient Dropbox icon has disappeared in the process.

I can see that Dropbox is still running and check its status from the command line, but it's not nearly as easy as to watch the icon.

I tried to reinstall Dropbox, to remove and re-add the notification area, but no luck. Dropbox has even disappeared from the list of "known apps" of the notification area.

The DE I'm using is XFCE, but I could check it happens also under Mate.

TIA for any idea to get this icon back. Regards, Daniel

[dclement]

Well, it came back without my doing anything else... I think, either Dropbox updated itself again (or in two steps). The (fancy) new icon now says "Dropbox 3.0.3"; it has an expanded context menu (which superbly ignores theme settings)...

Sorry about the noise, marking solved.

[dclement]

Hmm, now it's gone again, and it won't come back...

I can see that the icon is there in ~/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-3.0.3/images/hicolor/, but it doesn't appear on my panel.

Still looking for a reliable way to get it back.

[dbkblk]

I have the same problem in Debian Jessie (with some packages from mint). The mint updater show the same behavior so i have 2 "invisible" icons in the tray.

[sdibaja]

same issue with LMDE
everything works, but the Notification Area icon is gone.

I am showing Notification Area 1.6.1 ... maybe that got "updated"

[sdibaja]

same issue with LMDE
everything works, but the Notification Area icon is gone.

I am showing Notification Area 1.6.1 ... maybe that got "updated"

I found an old thread and took a hint.
I went to https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx and got the dropbox_1.6.2_amd64.deb file
GDebi refused saying that it would break my existing, so I went to Synaptic and removed what I had.
GDebi then said I should use the one in the repos, I ignored it and installed anyway.

It works, the Icon is back. (wish me luck)

[wnarifin]

I found an old thread and took a hint.
I went to https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx and got the dropbox_1.6.2_amd64.deb file
GDebi refused saying that it would break my existing, so I went to Synaptic and removed what I had.
GDebi then said I should use the one in the repos, I ignored it and installed anyway.

It works, the Icon is back. (wish me luck)

Can you post ~/.dropbox-dist/VERSION ?

No luck for me. The icon practically "disappeared" around last week. It also happened to my newly installed Mint LMDE 201403/XFCE (worked well on fresh installation, but disappeared after system update? or possibly Dropbox update?)

My ~/.dropbox-dist/VERSION is 3.0.3 despite installing using dropbox_1.6.2_amd64.deb

[wnarifin]

It seems that the problem comes from the new Dropbox version 3.0.x on my computer [Mint LMDE 201403, XFCE]

I managed to download the older version of dropbox i.e. 2.10.41 [view the release versions --> https://www.dropbox.com/release_notes] by changing the provided download link from the website [https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/communi ... uild-3-0-3] from https://d1ilhw0800yew8.cloudfront.net/c ... 0.3.tar.gz to https://d1ilhw0800yew8.cloudfront.net/c ... .41.tar.gz. Installing older version solved the problem.

Just replace the whole .dropbox-dist directory in your home folder to the newly downloaded version.

[dclement]

Very interesting, thanks wnarifin for posting the link. (I had gone the other way around, that is, downloading the newest Dropbox beta. Alas, the icon showed up once, and disappeared for the subsequent sessions.)

But once you reverted to the older Dropbox, how do you prevent it from auto-upgrading to version 3 (I think I read somewhere that it was impossible)? Won't we end up with version 3 again?

[wnarifin]

But once you reverted to the older Dropbox, how do you prevent it from auto-upgrading to version 3 (I think I read somewhere that it was impossible)? Won't we end up with version 3 again?

In the dropbox forum, I noticed someone posted almost similar solution to mine (i.e reverting back to older version). In addition he also changed the write permission to .dropbox-dist/ to read only. That could prevent dropbox upgrading itself. So far I haven't tried changing the permission to the folder since in my case, the dropbox auto-upgraded itself to 2.10.52 version instead of 3.0.x. I am also using

Code: Select all

dropbox start

instead of

Code: Select all

dropbox start -i

in my setting.

[dclement]

In the dropbox forum, I noticed someone posted almost similar solution to mine (i.e reverting back to older version). In addition he also changed the write permission to .dropbox-dist/ to read only. That could prevent dropbox upgrading itself.

I was thinking of something like that, but I had not done it yet.

So far I haven't tried changing the permission to the folder since in my case, the dropbox auto-upgraded itself to 2.10.52 version instead of 3.0.x. I am also using

Code: Select all

dropbox start

instead of

Code: Select all

dropbox start -i

in my setting.

Surely, thanks to your tweaking the command line. If you erase the .dropbox-dist/ and then

Code: Select all

dropbox start

it definitely triggers the download of the latest version. I modified my startup command line accordingly.

Luckily (and strangely) Dropbox hadn't updated itself in the meantime (across several reboots).

I think I can now mark the thread as solved. Thanks again.

[mike acker]

I installed Dropbox from the repository several times --

no start icon

what's up with that?

I can run dropbox from the web interface perfectly OK . nothing synchs, obviously...
it's just upload/download

but maybe that's all it needs to be

+
the web interface kept asking to install dropbox. i rejected that of course: we only install software from the repository.

[sdibaja]

I installed Dropbox from the repository several times --

no start icon

what's up with that?

I can run dropbox from the web interface perfectly OK . nothing synchs, obviously...
it's just upload/download

but maybe that's all it needs to be

+
the web interface kept asking to install dropbox. i rejected that of course: we only install software from the repository.

Mike Acker: scroll up to my post on Dec. 15... did you try the solution I used? (the older version, not the new one)
good luck!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrq32a04yhfyf ... 7.png?dl=0

[twolf]

The solution posted above by wnarifin (on Tue Dec 16 2014 8:07 am) worked fine with me: downgrading to Dropbox version 2.10.41, it then automatically upgraded to 2.10.52 and everithing was OK, without changing folder permissions.
I use Mint Maya 12.04 XCFE.
Thanks wnarifin

[mike acker]

{snip}

Mike Acker: scroll up to my post on Dec. 15... did you try the solution I used? (the older version, not the new one)
good luck!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrq32a04yhfyf ... 7.png?dl=0

I am going to hold for now,-- dropbox seems to work OK from the web page without the daemon -- but in upload/download mode only -- no synch obviously

IMHO sans daemon should be offered as a configurable option

[dclement]

By the way, I have tried to adapt wnarifin's solution to a 32-bit PC. The link he provided us

https://d1ilhw0800yew8.cloudfront.net/c ... .41.tar.gz

is for 64-bit architecture.

I made a few reasonable (so I think) guesses to try and get a 32-bit equivalent link, but I was unable to figure it out...

[dclement]

Well, as a workaround, Dropbox 3.1.270 experimental seems to work OK on 32-bit PCs (link)

[mike acker]

I found 3 installers for Dropbox in the packages:
1. Dropbox
2. Dropbox for Nautilus
3. Dropbox for Nemo


#1 didn't help.

but: in Mint we run "Nemo" so I tried #3, and Bingo!

It creates a daemon running in the tray that keeps my local /Dropbox folder in synch with the Cloud folders -- exactly as it should. I needed to access the daemon only once -- that to provided my used id and password

[sdibaja]

since Dec. 15, 2014 all has been good and stable running 1.6.2
this morning I see the Icon has changed...

system monitor shows I am running 3.2.6
synaptic shows I have 1.6.2 installed
hovering over the toolbar icon it says 3.2.6

curious I check the updater history, no dropbox update is shown...

all is working fine, so no complaints. just curious!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/34gzpsrpttfar ... 2.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tpjzvirz7m9cv ... 8.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bkvhk8zt4a623 ... 5.png?dl=0