Dropbox icon overlay images not showing in admin mode

[Olfert]

Strange behavior/bug:
When running TC in normal mode without admin rights it shows dropbox' icon overlay image (ie. small green circle with a checkmark) just fine. But when I run TC with admin rights they are not shown?!?
Image: http://i65.tinypic.com/1zd5bo4.jpg

[sqa_wizard]

Sorry to correct you slightly:
You are NOT running TC in "admin mode" and you are NOT running TC just with "admin rights", you ARE running TC "as administrator".
This is a different user.
It means, you are using a different user profile.

By chance: Is the "show icon overlays" dropbox option user specific ?

[Olfert]

Ups - my bad, you are correct
I run both instances on same user account so should be same user profile for TC.

Not sure, what you mean by "dropbox option user specific"? - There's no "dropbox" option in settings and I have no idea of any user specific options in dropbox' own settings...

I have set in options to show all icons possible. It's the same setting for both instances...

Image: http://i67.tinypic.com/2ugmjiu.png

[gdpr deleted 6]

Ups - my bad, you are correct
I run both instances on same user account so should be same user profile for TC.

No. If you run TC elevated with admin previleges, then this TC instance runs in the context of the administrator account, using the administrator user profile (and not the profile of your normal, restricted user account).

Not sure, what you mean by "dropbox option user specific"? - There's no "dropbox" option in settings and I have no idea of any user specific options in dropbox' own settings...

Check the process list in Task Manager, and search for the DropBox process (i don't know its precise name since i don't use Dropbox). Under which user name (i.e. user account) is it running? I believe it is running in the context of your normal, restricted user account. If this is so, then naturally TC running in the context of the administrator account cannot show dropbox overlay; this is normal behavior of the Windows OS and not a TC bug.

[Olfert]

Sounds just right, but - it's just that my active Windows user account IS the administrator account - and the only admin account on my machine ...

[gdpr deleted 6]

Sounds just right, but - it's just that my active Windows user account IS the administrator account - and the only admin account on my machine ...

Your explanation is confusing and seems to contradict your opening post. In your opening post you told about you running TC in "normal mode without admin rights" and then you also ran TC "with admin rights". However, now you are telling that your normal user account is having admin privileges... (So, how exactly did you run TC without admin rights then?) It all makes me believe more and more that it is not some software issue but rather a pebcak...

[Dalai]

2elgonzo
UAC does exactly the thing described. Running programs normally doesn't grant them admin rights, while right-clicking and selecting "Run As Administrator" to elevate them does. This all happens within the same user account, assuming this account is member of the administrators group. Simple as that, and not any other user account involved.

The screenshots don't contradict that. Running TC normally doesn't add anything to its title, but running it elevated does; it's the user name followed by a circumflex (mine would be "Dalai^" if I had UAC enabled).

But the hint about a running dropbox program (running without admin rights) could be something worth further investigation.

Regards
Dalai

[gdpr deleted 6]

2Dalai
I think you got confused too. If you read my last post again, you will notice it was not about UAC or privilege escalation. It was rather pointing out the contradiction in Olfert's description of his situation. In his last comment he claims that his normal user account IS the administrator account, whereas in his first post he claimed to run TC without admin rights. Now, UAC can't strip a user account with administrator privileges of these very same administrator privileges, can't it?

[HolgerK]

2Olfert
Just a simple test:
1. Start Notepad "as administrator"
2. Open the file select dialog (File->Open)
3. Enter "*.*" in the filename box
4. Navigate to your dropbox folder

Do you see the overlays inside the file select dialog?

If not, it's most likely not a TC problem.
May be this is helpful for trouble shooting:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/syncing-uploads/icon-overlays-not-appearing

Regards
Holger

[Dalai]

Now, UAC can't strip a user account with administrator privileges of these very same administrator privileges, can't it?

Uh, that's exactly what UAC is designed for. Grant elevated (administrator) permissions only when they're required, just as I explained above. Maybe check on Wikipedia if you want to know more about it.

To get this straight: When you only have one user account and it is a member of the administrators group, and UAC is enabled, programs don't have administrator rights (unless they request them, or you run them elevated explicitely). This is most probably the most common situation on Windows systems out there. That's why Olfert can say he ran TC without administrator rights, using only one user account.

Regards
Dalai

[gdpr deleted 6]

2Dalai
You are right about UAC. I think i mixed up with the built-in administrator account (admin approval mode for the built-in admin account is disabled by default on non-Server Windows...) Don't know what i was smoking...

[Olfert]

Running the test suggested by HolgerK reveals that it indeed does seem to be a Windows issue and not TC related as it produces the same results of icons showing/not showing.
So I guess this case can be dismissed although I would love an answer to why this is happening.
Thansk for all the help and advise.

[Dalai]

2Olfert
Is there some Dropbox process running in the background? If so, maybe this adds overlays only running in the same user context. Regarding this it's important to know that processes running as (limited) user can not send any messages to elevated processes (running as admin); there are some exceptions, but that would lead to even more confusion.

Maybe you can launch the Dropbox process as administrator? It's just an idea, I don't use Dropbox so I don't know how it works.

Regards
Dalai

[Olfert]

2Dalai
Yes, Dropbox runs in the background.
Tried run it with administrator privileges but that didn't change a thing...