Dropbox install stuck at 99%, how do I fix it? (and any dpkg errors)

I tried to install Dropbox using How to install Dropbox?, or with apt-get install nautilus-dropbox.

Dropbox loads until 99% and then hangs, causing the system to go to 100% cpu usage.

If I reboot or close the terminal, I sometimes get dpkg errors which prevent me from using apt-get or Software Center to perform any package management functions.

I would like to resolve all these and just get Dropbox working. How do I do that?

• Note: This question is possibly answered in two parts:
  1. The accepted answer tells you how to install Dropbox.
  2. But if you have dpkg errors, see this answer before you use answer 1 to install Dropbox.

There already is a bug filed: 1016559

If you have a LaunchPad account, don't forget to add your name to the bug.

Work arounds are listed here.

• Download the Dropbox .deb file from: https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx
• Open the .deb with Ubuntu Software Center and begin installation
• When you see the screen saying "Start Dropbox to finish installation", press CLOSE

• Install the dropbox daemon (nautilus-dropbox) using this command (from https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx):

  cd ~ && wget -O - "https://www.dropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86_64" | tar xzf -
  

  [ for 32bit, just change detail to ?plat=lnx.x86 ]

• Restart computer

Now you should have Dropbox working, including the notification icon and the Dropbox icon overlays in Nautilus.

• Forum thread on the Dropbox Forums
• Another thread from the Dropbox forums

If you have dpkg errors from trying to manually install, fix them first!

• Run sudo dpkg -r nautilus-dropbox
  • You may get an error the first time, followed by a popup saying "Dropbox requires Nautilus to be restarted -- just Close it.
• Run sudo dpkg -r nautilus-dropbox again, and it should end with Removing nautilus-dropbox ...

That's it! Do a sudo apt-get update just to refresh everything. Then follow the steps in the accepted answer to successfully install Dropbox.

I couldn't uninstall dropbox nor use sudo dpkg --configure -a because of a lock on dpkg base.

To resolve it I had to kill all dropbox processes (you can find them by using ps -a | grep dropbox) then use sudo kill -s 15 pid_of_dropbox.

After that all problems I succeded to uninstall dropbox but it took me while to find how to do it.

The accepted answer didn't work for me maybe because things have changed since or my situation was not exactly as the answer-providers? There was a missing step needed before it all came together. Maybe there's not a lot of difference as the Dropbox daemon would have started when the system was restarted as advised.

However, the Dropbox-recommended way gives immediate success feedback and is less Windowsy than the accepted answer. Hope this helps!

The instructions I reproduce below from the Dropbox website worked for me on Ubuntu Desktop 12.10

Install Dropbox via command line

The Dropbox daemon works fine on all 32-bit and 64-bit Linux servers. To install, run the following command in your Linux terminal.

32-bit:

    cd ~ && wget -O - "https://www.dropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86" | tar xzf -

64-bit:

    cd ~ && wget -O - "https://www.dropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86_64" | tar xzf -

Next, run the Dropbox daemon from the newly created .dropbox-dist folder.

    ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd