The files are corrupted because they contain information (the flags) that no longer match each other – there are date/time stamps on the flags and everything must match for the program to operate correctly. When you disconnected your Dropbox account from the server, you solved the immediate issue of being in constant sync mode, but that didn’t solve the problem of the corrupted files. Both files may have a flag that can’t be (easily) removed, and that may keep the Dropbox program in constant sync mode. If the transfer is interrupted, the flag might not get removed, and the Dropbox app may not be able to recover from that error without help. At the end of the transfer, that flag is removed. What happens is that when a file is synced, your computer and the Dropbox cloud server establish communications, and then set an ‘in use’ flag on the file (on both ends) while the transfer is taking place. This risk is usually slight, but it sounds like you might have won that particular lottery. This all started happening maybe a few months ago.Īnytime you’re transferring (copying or moving or syncing) a file between two places, there is the risk of file corruption if the transfer gets interrupted.

Dropbox is in constant sync mode, and this in itself is puzzling because all file or folder changes sync at normal tempo.

I tracked it down to Dropbox and solved it by closing Dropbox. Occasionally but regularly I get an error message when I try to delete or move a file or folder saying that a file is in use by another program (never specified, of course).

Why dropbox not syncing windows