4 ms·

Be great if they could bounce back from using a third of my CPU on basic indexing.

by kmfrk 9y ago

alberth 9y ago
Dropbox is unusable for me due to it pegging my CPU at 100%. And yes, I've opened mutiple supports tickets over the year. The problem is I put my Outlook .pst in my Dropbox folder. When I have Outlook open, which is nearly the entire day, Outlook puts a lock on the .pst file. Instead of Dropbox ignoring that file and coming back to it later - it's just gets stuck in some kind of infinitely loop trying to synch the locked file and can't. Resulting in 100% CPU usage.
- NewSystems 9y ago
  And when you moved your PST file out of the DropBox folder it works fine?
  - nolok 9y ago
    Yes, when he stops saving the file he cares about it works.
    - NewSystems 9y ago
      Ok, I'm confused, just store the PST elsewhere. The location can be changed. Sounds like he should make a copy to dropbox, if he wants a copy backed up. Can't backup an open file after all. This is just how computers work.
      - nolok 9y ago
        He is not complaining that the file can or cannot be backed up, and Dropbox is no backup service by the way. He is complaining that their software hangs on open file instead of doing the sensible thing and not using 100% cpu until the lock goes away. That has nothing to do with "how computers work".
- susw 9y ago
  Certainly a flaw in Dropbox, but one that can be easily worked around I think. Don't put the .pst directly in the Dropbox folder. Instead set up a scheduled task/cron job to copy it into Dropbox every few hours. The Outlook .pst file plays notoriously bad with backup and synching in my experience. I set up CrashPlan for a family member once, and when I followed up a few weeks later it hadn't backed anything up in weeks because it was stuck on the .pst. In this case it was because the .pst was so huge and kept changing so frequently. By the time it had been uploaded for off-site backup, then it had changed and CrashPlan would start uploading it again. CrashPlan wasn't smart enough to prioritize other files in between, probably because it puts the most recently changed files in front of the queue or something.
  - mc32 9y ago
    I think CP prioritizes smaller more frequently accessed files. That said, you could use a different "back up set" for PSTs so that they not interfere with the backup of files in the other set.
- daddykotex 9y ago
  Maybe we could let them know so they can fix the issue (maybe you did already)?
  - chinathrow 9y ago
    "And yes, I've opened mutiple supports tickets over the year."
- kernelsanderz 9y ago
  I have the same problem. I basically use Dropbox as my work folder and put all my files in there. As a developer I have millions of small files. It takes 2-3 weeks to sync the dropbox from scratch (currently 285gb of dropbox files). And my CPU is regularly pegged at 100%. I basically have to switch Dropbox off when I'm not plugged into power on my Macbook Pro in order to conserve battery. I've contacted support several times, and their response was basically "don't". I'm on one of their top plans (2TB). What's the point in having such large plans when the number of files you have causes the whole service to break down? Been searching for a good alternative to Dropbox. Something that would be CPU efficient, safe, secure and reliable. I also use their packrat plan (saves a history of every file ever), which is nice too. Any other HN readers have any alternatives? I really just want a plug and play solution, and not have to roll my own. I don't trust Apple iCloud for one bit as they've been quite inept at running cloud services. I've tried Google drive with poor results too.
  - mgirdley 9y ago
    I eventually settled on Apple Time Machine. It backs up to a home NAS and a handful of drives at each office. The NAS can be configured to back up to S3 automatically.
  - brianwawok 9y ago
    Yes, why not use git for the code files? I have a single command on alias that goes and checks out all my git projects, and does a bit pull on any existing. Can switch between Computers in like 30 seconds. And it's all free git on bitbucket. Git is much better way to deal with small files. Dropbox is ok for large files or nontechnical users.
  - kijin 9y ago
    I think all the consumer-grade backup and sync services are designed for a relatively small number of large files, such as high-res photos, songs and videos. I have about 300K files (250GB total) in my 1TB SpiderOak account. The UI has always been atrociously slow, but backup speeds are okay when most files are static. Things get more interesting when I check out another branch in git and touch a few thousand files at a time. As for sync, well, I've all but given up on editing a file on my desktop, opening my laptop, and expecting the updated file to appear anytime soon. If I really need to sync a file immediately, I put in in my Dropbox (free account, almost empty).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
plg 9y ago
honest Q --- I'm not trolling I swear --- is Apple's iCloud any better in this regard? I know it's not cross platform... but if one is using Apple stuff exclusively, is the iCloud Documents in its current incarnation usable? Asking honestly
- zepto 9y ago
  Yes - the current incarnation and ONLY the current incarnation - I.e. iOS10 and Sierra, is bulletproof and fast.

Be great if they could bounce back from using a third of my CPU on basic indexing.

by kmfrk 9y ago

Be great if they could bounce back from using a third of my CPU on basic indexing.

Dropbox is unusable for me due to it pegging my CPU at 100%. And yes, I've opened mutiple supports tickets over the year. The problem is I put my Outlook .pst in my Dropbox folder. When I have Outlook open, which is nearly the entire day, Outlook puts a lock on the .pst file. Instead of Dropbox ignoring that file and coming back to it later - it's just gets stuck in some kind of infinitely loop trying to synch the locked file and can't. Resulting in 100% CPU usage.

NewSystems 9y ago
And when you moved your PST file out of the DropBox folder it works fine?
- nolok 9y ago
  Yes, when he stops saving the file he cares about it works.
  - NewSystems 9y ago
    Ok, I'm confused, just store the PST elsewhere. The location can be changed. Sounds like he should make a copy to dropbox, if he wants a copy backed up. Can't backup an open file after all. This is just how computers work.
    - nolok 9y ago
      He is not complaining that the file can or cannot be backed up, and Dropbox is no backup service by the way. He is complaining that their software hangs on open file instead of doing the sensible thing and not using 100% cpu until the lock goes away. That has nothing to do with "how computers work".
susw 9y ago
Certainly a flaw in Dropbox, but one that can be easily worked around I think. Don't put the .pst directly in the Dropbox folder. Instead set up a scheduled task/cron job to copy it into Dropbox every few hours. The Outlook .pst file plays notoriously bad with backup and synching in my experience. I set up CrashPlan for a family member once, and when I followed up a few weeks later it hadn't backed anything up in weeks because it was stuck on the .pst. In this case it was because the .pst was so huge and kept changing so frequently. By the time it had been uploaded for off-site backup, then it had changed and CrashPlan would start uploading it again. CrashPlan wasn't smart enough to prioritize other files in between, probably because it puts the most recently changed files in front of the queue or something.
- mc32 9y ago
  I think CP prioritizes smaller more frequently accessed files. That said, you could use a different "back up set" for PSTs so that they not interfere with the backup of files in the other set.
daddykotex 9y ago
Maybe we could let them know so they can fix the issue (maybe you did already)?
- chinathrow 9y ago
  "And yes, I've opened mutiple supports tickets over the year."
kernelsanderz 9y ago
I have the same problem. I basically use Dropbox as my work folder and put all my files in there. As a developer I have millions of small files. It takes 2-3 weeks to sync the dropbox from scratch (currently 285gb of dropbox files). And my CPU is regularly pegged at 100%. I basically have to switch Dropbox off when I'm not plugged into power on my Macbook Pro in order to conserve battery. I've contacted support several times, and their response was basically "don't". I'm on one of their top plans (2TB). What's the point in having such large plans when the number of files you have causes the whole service to break down? Been searching for a good alternative to Dropbox. Something that would be CPU efficient, safe, secure and reliable. I also use their packrat plan (saves a history of every file ever), which is nice too. Any other HN readers have any alternatives? I really just want a plug and play solution, and not have to roll my own. I don't trust Apple iCloud for one bit as they've been quite inept at running cloud services. I've tried Google drive with poor results too.
- mgirdley 9y ago
  I eventually settled on Apple Time Machine. It backs up to a home NAS and a handful of drives at each office. The NAS can be configured to back up to S3 automatically.
- brianwawok 9y ago
  Yes, why not use git for the code files? I have a single command on alias that goes and checks out all my git projects, and does a bit pull on any existing. Can switch between Computers in like 30 seconds. And it's all free git on bitbucket. Git is much better way to deal with small files. Dropbox is ok for large files or nontechnical users.
- kijin 9y ago
  I think all the consumer-grade backup and sync services are designed for a relatively small number of large files, such as high-res photos, songs and videos. I have about 300K files (250GB total) in my 1TB SpiderOak account. The UI has always been atrociously slow, but backup speeds are okay when most files are static. Things get more interesting when I check out another branch in git and touch a few thousand files at a time. As for sync, well, I've all but given up on editing a file on my desktop, opening my laptop, and expecting the updated file to appear anytime soon. If I really need to sync a file immediately, I put in in my Dropbox (free account, almost empty).

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

plg 9y ago

honest Q --- I'm not trolling I swear --- is Apple's iCloud any better in this regard? I know it's not cross platform... but if one is using Apple stuff exclusively, is the iCloud Documents in its current incarnation usable? Asking honestly

zepto 9y ago
Yes - the current incarnation and ONLY the current incarnation - I.e. iOS10 and Sierra, is bulletproof and fast.