Dropbox causing Critical Error - Windows Start Menu and search box - best alternative for sync?
I currently use 1Password for iOS (on my iPhone and iPad) and 1Password for Windows (on my Windows 10 laptop), synchronizing the two using Dropbox. A week ago, I started getting "Critical Error" messages on my laptop, with the Start menu no longer working, and no longer able to enter anything in the Search box next to the Start menu. After many hours of googling, I eventually found out that there is an issue with the way that Dropbox interacts with Windows 10, which can potentially cause this issue. Somebody on the Dropbox forum (see https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/203581953-DB-cause-Windows-10-Critical-Error-Start-Menu-failure?page=2#comments) said that it's not specific to Dropbox, and that other applications interact in a similar way. But my only way to fix this issue was to uninstall Dropbox. So I can now no longer synchronize my PC version of 1Password with my iPhone version of 1Password.
It looks like I may be able to synchronize my PC and my iPhone if I take out a subscription for "1Password Families". But I really don't want to pay $5 per month, when I have already paid the full price for both the iPhone app and the Windows software. I don't need to use multiple vaults, I just need one vault which I can share across several iOS devices and one Windows 10 laptop.
Does anybody know of a simple & reliable way to synchronize the 1Password app between iOS devices and a Windows laptop, which doesn't cost me any more than what I have already paid out? I do have OneDrive which I could use, if this is a reliable method. I noticed that there is a beta version of a new Windows version, which looks like it may work for me (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/store/apps/1password-alpha/9nblgggz0ht9), but the reviews aren't great.
Regards,
Mark
1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided
Comments
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@mark_Surrey: First of all, thanks for sharing this! I haven't encountered issues like that with Dropbox on my own Windows 10 machines, so it wasn't something I was aware of. While it sounds like uninstalling Dropbox is a workaround that helps in some cases, that doesn't seem to be the root cause, it might be something worth pursuing with Microsoft as well, lest it continue in the future. That said, they're making huge improvements with the Anniversary Update coming later this year, so hopefully that will help all of us too!
Getting back to a solution, you have a few options:
- 1Password Families isn't free, but means not having to setup sync on any of your devices.
- 1Password for Windows 10 beta from the Windows Store, which does not require the Dropbox app to sync with your account. However, this is prerelease software, and Dropbox vaults are currently read-only.
- Wi-Fi Sync between a single computer and one or more mobile devices. However, this depends heavily on your network configuration.
1Password for iOS cannot connect to OneDrive though, so that won't work in your case. But any of these options should work for you. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions! :)
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Thanks brenty,
Last night I reinstalled Dropbox on my laptop, and it all seems to be working OK again. There hasn't yet been any return of the Critical Error with the Start menu or search box, and the Windows version of 1Password is synchronizing OK with the app on my iPhone. I'll monitor it to see whether this problem returns, and let you know.
Regards,
Mark0 -
@mark_Surrey: That's great news, since it means you don't have to change your workflow! Thanks so much for the update. We're here if you run into any further issues. :)
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