Dropbox Silent Install (How-To Guide)

Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of Dropbox from the command line using the EXE installer.

How to Install Dropbox Silently

Dropbox Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://www.dropbox.com/downloading?full=1&os=win
  2. Download the “Dropbox x.y.z Offline Installer.x64.exe” to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  4. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  5. Enter the following command: “Dropbox x.y.z Offline Installer.x64.exe” /NOLAUNCH
  6. Press Enter

After a minute or so you should see the Dropbox shortcut in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:Dropbox
Vendor:Dropbox, Inc.
Architecture:x64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:"Dropbox x.y.z Offline Installer.x64.exe" /NOLAUNCH
Silent Uninstall Switch:"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Dropbox\Client\DropboxUninstaller.exe" /InstallType:MACHINE /S
Download Link:https://www.dropbox.com/downloading?full=1&os=win
PowerShell Script:Dropbox | PowerShell Script
PSADT v4:Dropbox | PSADT v4
Detection Script:Dropbox | Custom Detection Script

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Disable Dropbox Auto Updates

  • Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  • Enter the following commands:
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\schtasks.exe /delete /TN DropboxUpdateTaskMachineCore /F
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\schtasks.exe /delete /TN DropboxUpdateTaskMachineUA /F
SC CONFIG "dbupdate" Start= Disabled
SC CONFIG "dbupdatem" Start= Disabled

How to Uninstall Dropbox Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

Dropbox Install and Uninstall (PSADT v4)
Dropbox Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
Dropbox Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)
  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter the following command:

Dropbox Silent Uninstall (EXE)

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Dropbox\Client\DropboxUninstaller.exe" /InstallType:MACHINE /S

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.