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Can't run Dropbox unless it has administrator rights

Sammy G.

Windows 7 64bit

For some reason dropbox doesn't start with startup anymore because it needs administrator rights to start. If I try running the app normally without administrator rights, nothing happens, I see the cursor change to waiting for a few secs and then nothing. But if I right click and "run as administrator" it runs fine. This means dropbox can't run on startup. Any reason for this?

Should also mention that my account is an admin account.

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sfantudoodle_x

What solved this problem for me (not saying is going to to it for everybody else) was to delete everything in C:\Users\"your user name"\AppData\Local\Temp folder. There were 3 or 4 files starting with dropbox..... (can't remember the exact names) which I couldn't delete only after restarting windows in Safe Mode. So, I deleted everything in Temp folder while in Safe Mode, rebooted normally and voila, dropbox started after logon on it's own. Cheers!

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Ask a Question section here.]

All comments

Sammy G.

Nevermind. Fixed.

DaveC2

Sammy : This is a information based support forum.

.

I'm sure others may come into this same problem.

And they could benefit greatly by your explanation of what you did to correct it if you are able to supply it.

DavidGDFC

Suddenly, I have the same problem as well. I tried installing the latest version, which is currenty 3.2.6,, but it still doesn't work: I need to manually open it with administrative rights.

DaveC2

Try setting the installer to run as if its NOT in Windows 7 (unconfirmed that this has resolved the issue for some people)

DavidGDFC

Thank you, Dave. I forgot to say that I'm using Windows 8.1 (and the currently latest version of Dropbox, 3.2.6).

I've tried the following solutions:

Uninstall and reinstall the programme.
Unlinking and linking the laptop where I'm using it.
Typing the three commands listed on an official Dropbox tutorial.

As far as I can see, it works in my netbook with Windows 7 Started, where I installed Dropbox today.

I'm running out of ideas and I'd really appreciate some help.

DaveC2

Then try setting it to NOT windows 8.1.

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Locate the DROPBOX.EXE, you can get the path to it by looking at the shortcut link in the start menu

Then right click on the DROPBOX.EXE and change the comparability mode.

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Im not saying this will work, its just something worth trying,

DavidGDFC

Thank you: I've tried compatibility with Windows 7, but I got the same result. The only thing that works so far is launching it as an administrator (which I already am, so this shouldn't be necessary). Dropbox has always worked very well and I don't understand why it's not working any more. Can you think of something else I can try?

Dave S.37

Hey this may help I have the same problem running Windows 8.1 64bit. Try locating the .EXE file for me it was C:\Users\"your user name"\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin (you may need to show hidden files) right click the dropbox.exe file select the properties. Then on the tabs at the top select the Compatibility tab. You should see "Setting" with options under it. There is a box with run as administrator tick the box then hit apply and that should help.

Gabriel Z.

I have the sale problem on a clean install of Windows 8.1 64-bit directly from Microsoft and using the latest web installer from Dropbox. Even after flagging the dropbox.exe to run as administrator in my AppData roaming folder, it will not auto-start on log in.

I need to create a shortcut to said dropbox.exe on my desktop and manually launch it. Placing it in my Startup folder does not work.

DavidGDFC

Hello, Tony,

The only way for me to fix the issue was to reinstall Windows. Unfortunately, Dropbox customer support leaves a lot to be desired and I never expect help from them.

Good luck!

Gabriel Z.

Yes, however it appears re-installing Windows does not work either (I just re-installed Windows using an ISO directly from Microsoft). I think we'll just have to wait until enough users install the new version of Dropbox for the engineers to find a fix

Dave C.

@Tony Kangrui : if placing the same shortcut thats on the desktop into the start folder doesnt work, that would signify that you are also starting something else that is releasing or allowing access to DB to run. as the startup and a desktop shortcut will have the same effect, with the only difference being timing of launch, one at user login, one later by manual selection.

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if this is the case, create a scheduled task that runs 1 minute after user login, that runs the shortcut, by then you should be able to expect what ever the other thing is thats limiting access before it, or allowing access after it, has now been activated and the task should launch Db as expected.

Gabriel Z.

Perhaps at Startup the system does not allow programs to prompt for elevation using UAC and that's why it's not working. But indeed the Task Scheduler could work, I'll try that thanks

DavidGDFC

Hi,

I think I might have found a possible solution. My description is for Windows 8.1, but applicable to other versions of Windows:

Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to go to the task manager.
Click on the Start-up tab.
Go to Dropbox.
Click on disable using the button on the bottom right corner or right clicking.
Enable again.

Janus K.

I experienced the exact same annoying problem, but managed to solve it 100%.

I said goodbye to Dropbox and welcomed another more secure solution.

That worked, no more problems with administrator and shared deleted files.

DavidGDFC

Janus, unfortunately, people in Droopbox don't get it that free customers who have experienced a really bad support can't become paid subscribers. I feel very much alone when I have a problem and Dropbox just doesn't care.

Linden d.

I ran into the problem and created a different thread, but no answer. This problem seems quite common and there doesn't appear to be a reliable workaround. Anyone found a solution to not being able to run w/o admin rights on some versions of Windows 7 64-bit?

Sathish R.

Hi All,

We can block access through Group policy only refer the screenshot for your referance.

> <img src=

sunshine m.

Hey all!

I found a solution for this issue and hopefully it assists you too!

Press the right button on the Dropbox icon (e.g. on your desktop). I dont mean the dropbox icon in your task bar.

Then select Properties (I hope that this is the english name for it).

Then I have chosen my program and deselected "system adminstrator". For more details note the attachement. Since that, dropbox synchronizes again as required without clicking "run as a system administrator"

>

Greg K.21

I have the same problem and it is coming not from dropbox but from windows. I have other applications (MATLAB) that stopped working unless you run them as administrator. The reason is that something changed the access privileges to C:\Users\"your user name"\AppData\Local\Temp. I understand that this directory is used by many applications including dropbox. Unfortunately I was not able to change user rights (windows does not let me) and continue to run dropbox and MATLAB as administrator.

John1

Thanks Greg! In my case some other application messed up permissions on the Temp folder, but I was able to fix them easily (I was logged on account with admin privileges though).

sfantudoodle_x

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Ask a Question section here.]