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Run Dropbox as a Windows Service

If you use Dropbox on a server, like a Windows Home Server machine, it’s preferable to run Dropbox as a Windows service, so it starts up before a user logs in. Though Dropbox doesn’t officially support running as a service, you can hack this feature with Microsoft’s Srvany utility.

First, download both instsrv.exe and srvany.exe from the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. Copy both files to your Dropbox application directory (ie. C:\program files\Dropbox) on your server, after you’ve already installed Dropbox. This may have to be done with a Remote Desktop connection.

Open up a command prompt as an Administrator, and execute the following commands (quotes included):

“C:\Program Files\Dropbox\instsrv.exe” Dropbox “C:\Program Files\Dropbox\srvany.exe”

reg ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dropbox\Parameters /v Application /d “C:\Program Files\Dropbox\Dropbox.exe”

reg ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dropbox\Parameters /v AppDirectory /d “C:\Program Files\Dropbox”

Next, cut and paste all files from C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\DropBox to C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data\Dropbox

Finally, type net start Dropbox in the Command Prompt.

This works on any Desktop machine as well. You’ll also have to remove the Dropbox application shortcut from the Startup folder in your Start Menu.

For more information on the Srvany utility, head here.

Use Symbolic Links to Unlock Dropbox’s Potential

To find out all about Mklink, and how to use it, check out our Mklink How-To.

The beauty of using Dropbox with symbolic links is that the principle drawback of each goes away. Dropbox can now sync any two programs, because with Mklink you can change the location of the programs data, whether it wants you to or not, and Mklink is no longer confined to your local network, as Dropbox can bridge the game to computers out in the wider internet.

Here’s an example of how you can use this combo to cloud-ify your Firefox profile:

1. Find the directory containing your Firefox profile. A default installation places this folder in %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox
2. Copy that Firefox directory into your Dropbox folder.
3. Delete the original Firefox folder.
4. Use Mklink to create a hardlink between the new and original Firefox folders, If your Dropbox folder is in C:/ you can use  the following command:

mklink /J %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox C:/dropbox/Firefox

Now any computer that you complete these steps on (and that has access to your dropbox account) will share the same Firefox profile. The same basic steps will work for almost any app.

Add files to Dropbox with E-mail

First, you’ll need to create a new Gmail account. This address will be what you use to temporarily store files to sync to your Dropbox. We recommend creating a new account that’s easy to remember, and not using your personal or main Gmail account.

Next, download GMail Drive, a shell namespace extension that links to a Gmail account and syncs attachments and emails onto a newly created system drive. GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem based on email sent to your Gmail account (with GMAILFS: in the subject line), and lets you browse them as if you they were stored on your hard drive.

Finally, using the mklink command, create a symbolic link between the folders in your GMail Drive and a newly created folder in your Dropbox. This means that any time you email an attachment to your dummy Gmail account with GMAILFS: in the subject line, the files will automatically be moved to your Dropbox. This only works if you have GMail Drive and Dropbox running on an active computer or server.

Useful Links:

1. Author at blog.zloether.com started working on a project involving Mozilla Firefox. Who wanted to created a second Firefox profile to keep ones project preferences, add-ons, and history separate from my regular profile while at the same time being synced between my laptop and desktop. For more information: Sync Firefox profiles across computers with Dropbox

References:

• MAXIMUMPC