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Dropbox app won't start on M1 Mac running Big Sur

I just got a new MacBook Air M1 running BigSur. Dropbox does show up in the Finder sidebar and it appears the Dropbox files and folders on my Mac have synced with Dropbox.com. However the dropbox icon does not show up in the tool bar at the top of the screen. Plus, I downloaded the Dropbox app but it won't start. error message is shown below. I am not on a network share. Don't know what is the deal with permissions. Suggestions?

Screen Shot 2021-06-26 at 9.46.41 AM.png

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Walter

Thanks for providing the full error-log @MikeLV.

Could you please try an advanced reinstall with admin privileges and let me know how it goes?

While at it, please make sure that there's no antivirus or firewall that might be causing issues.

Keel me posted with your progress!

All comments

victoriabaum

I have same problem and have 2T Pro, 3 allowed. Works on iPhone and old MacBook Air 😞

Screen Shot 2021-06-26 at 10.27.54 AM.png

Walter

Hey there @MikeLV & @victoriabaum, thanks for posting on our Community and sorry to hear about this.

Could both of you please click on the hypertext from your error message and send us the full error log?

This will help us assist further!

MikeLV

Thank you for getting back to me. The error message I receive is at the top of this stream. FYI I have deleted and re-downloaded the installer numerous times and always get the same result. Also shut down and restarted the computer after deleting the installed app and the installer. None of that worked. I am running Mac OS BigSur version 11.4.

You asked for the full error log. It is very long. Here it is:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 125.4.3474

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 3c855c8f-1be4-5167-9ada-50e978519c94

pid: 12896

ppid: 1

uid: 501

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='Mike', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Michael Vaughn', pw_dir='/Users/Mike_1', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='Mike', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Michael Vaughn', pw_dir='/Users/Mike_1', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

euid: 501

gid: 20

egid: 20

group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mike', 'Patty', 'Mike', '_nsurlstoraged', '_serialnumberd'])

effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mike', 'Patty', 'Mike', '_nsurlstoraged', '_serialnumberd'])

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/Mike_1'

appdata: '/Users/Mike_1/.dropbox/instance1'

real_path='/Users/Mike_1/.dropbox/instance1'

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Users/Mike_1/Dropbox'

real_path='/Users/Mike_1/Dropbox'

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

mode=0o100755 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

trace.__file__: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

not found

parent not found

tempdir: '/var/folders/dp/6dr17q2s32s1p26mmx5tt44m0000gn/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/dp/6dr17q2s32s1p26mmx5tt44m0000gn/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 819, in wrapper

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6472, in finish_dropbox_boot

File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 307, in _wrapped

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6005, in _init_components_for_account

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 5932, in create_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 225, in make_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 275, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 219, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 149, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 223, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 597, in _init_new_engine_locked

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 182, in __init__

File "extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__

Walter

MikeLV

It worked! I must tell you, the Terminal thing is not easy to figure out but after a couple tries, I got it.

Tim T.

The advanced reinstall works (as does re-initializing the drive, reinstalling the macOS, and then restoring files/applications/etc from a Time Machine backup previous to the appearance of the problem). However, the Cannot Start Dropbox error keeps coming back—in some cases after any restart, or after sleep (note: my SSD is set to never sleep), or—as in this last reinstall of Dropbox—upon the first attempt to start Dropbox at the end of the install process. I have made sure the Dropbox app is allowed incoming traffic through the firewall, I have excluded the Dropbox app from being scanned by Bitdefender anti-virus.

Dropbox has become unusable. This is a REAL problem, as I use it to coordinate with colleagues (other consultants) for work. If Dropbox doesn't fix this new (only began in the last two weeks - no changes in my software/OS during that time) problem soon, I will have to abandon it for some other cloud service. I like Dropbox and have never had problems like this before.

MikeB2

My M1 Mac started showing this "Couldn't start Dropbox" error this morning. I've uninstalled, reinstalled (126.4.4618), and performed the advanced reinstall, always with the same error on startup. I finally renamed the DropBox folder then reinstalled. It recognized it as a "new" install, but still ended up with the same error message.

Error file contains:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 126.4.4618

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 81473c3e-02f8-54bb-bc0e-2632fb565d70

pid: 10648

ppid: 1

uid: 502

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='user', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='User', pw_dir='/Users/user', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='user', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='User', pw_dir='/Users/user', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

euid: 502

gid: 20

egid: 20

group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mjbunnell', 'user', 'mike', 'boinc_master', 'boinc_project'])

effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mjbunnell', 'user', 'mike', 'boinc_master', 'boinc_project'])

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/user'

appdata: '/Users/user/.dropbox/instance1'

real_path='/Users/user/.dropbox/instance1'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

dropbox_path: None

not found

parent not found

sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

mode=0o100755 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

trace.__file__: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

not found

parent not found

tempdir: '/var/folders/vw/hs31tvjn26d1mypmb2zsztn80000gp/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/vw/hs31tvjn26d1mypmb2zsztn80000gp/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 834, in wrapper

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6622, in finish_dropbox_boot

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 5689, in _create_root_for_account

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6818, in create_dropbox_folder

File "dropbox/fsutil.pyc", line 655, in safe_makedirs

File "os.pyc", line 223, in makedirs

PermissionError: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted: '/Users/user/Dropbox'

Megan

Hey @MikeB2, thanks for posting your error log here!

Does the error remain after an Advanced re-install, and rebooting your device?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there.

MikeB2

Lori,

Yes, the error persists after regular & advanced re-install, and reboots...

Megan

Hi @MikeB2, thanks for the info!

Would it be okay for me to reach out to you via email, so we can have a closer look into this together?

MikeB2

Absolutely OK. I assume you can get my email from my account info...

MikeB2

@Megan

OK, weird. After a few more tries, it magically started working...

(Might be due to temporarily changing an account to administrator, see my next post).

MKschmitt

I am having major issues with it as well. Just updated to BIG SUR and I can't even download the app. I can't find the folder in FINDER, nothing and nobody to call and talk to. I have been messing with it for the last week and am beyond frustrated. Sorry this doesn't help you but know you are not alone.

MikeB2

@MKschmitt

What "might" have worked for me... I changed my regular user account to an administrator and ran through the Advanced Reinstall. I'm pretty sure it failed the first time through, but then I removed administrator from the user account, rebooted, and suddenly it was working properly...

(To change administrator status, log out of the account, log in as an administrator, open System Preferences, select Users & Groups, click the padlock icon if needed, then select the user account and check/uncheck "Allow user to administer this computer").

victoriabaum

Lori, et. al,

I can only get Dropbox to work from going directly to the website, I still cannot get the icon at top of the screen to enter.

I still get the same "Dropbox can't start" message upon start up.

Completely baffling and frustrating.

Thanks, everyone, for their assistance. I have taken all suggestions and directions, yet am still in this spot.

Victoria

Megan

Happy Monday @victoriabaum, I hope you're doing well!

Could you share the precise error with me?

You can obtain it by clicking on the blue link within the error message pop-up. This will open a file with the full text of the error.

Also, have you tried performing an Advanced re-install on your end?

Keep me posted.

Tim T.

Can anybody help? The advanced reinstall no longer works. At the end of the installation, when the app tries to open, I get the same error message. This worked for months on the M1 with Big Sur, with Antivirus on the computer, with no changes to my Dropbox folder location, etc. Then, a few weeks ago, Dropbox stopped being able to start. The first time I tried advanced reinstall, it worked, but a day later, the error appeared again. Similarly, I used a Time Machine backup before the problem started (reinstalled the system!!), and that worked for about a day, then the error appeared. Now, nothing I try of the solutions offered in this thread work.

Here is the log:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 126.4.4618

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 70cb2f9b-0398-5ffb-bcd1-06f602617645

pid: 9339

ppid: 1

uid: 502

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='tntozer', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='T N Tozer', pw_dir='/Users/tntozer', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='tntozer', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='T N Tozer', pw_dir='/Users/tntozer', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

euid: 502

gid: 20

egid: 20

group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'tntozer', '_nsurlstoraged'])

effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'tntozer', '_nsurlstoraged'])

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/tntozer'

appdata: '/Users/tntozer/.dropbox/instance1'

real_path='/Users/tntozer/.dropbox/instance1'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Users/tntozer/Dropbox'

real_path='/Users/tntozer/Dropbox'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

mode=0o100755 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

trace.__file__: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

not found

parent not found

tempdir: '/var/folders/nb/wl1n6xsd5f9__bw4ldx8gl9w0000gp/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/nb/wl1n6xsd5f9__bw4ldx8gl9w0000gp/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 834, in wrapper

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6625, in finish_dropbox_boot

File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 307, in _wrapped

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6158, in _init_components_for_account

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6084, in create_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 225, in make_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 278, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 219, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 149, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 223, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 591, in _init_new_engine_locked

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 182, in __init__

File "extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__

MikeB2

Out of the blue, with no changes to my system or environment, the startup failures have returned. This is extremely frustrating!

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 127.4.4265

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 81473c3e-02f8-54bb-bc0e-2632fb565d70

pid: 754

ppid: 1

uid: 502

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='user', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='User', pw_dir='/Users/user', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='user', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='User', pw_dir='/Users/user', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

euid: 502

gid: 20

egid: 20

group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mjbunnell', 'user', 'mike', 'boinc_master', 'boinc_project'])

effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'mjbunnell', 'user', 'mike', 'boinc_master', 'boinc_project'])

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/user'

appdata: '/Users/user/.dropbox/instance1'

real_path='/Users/user/.dropbox/instance1'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Users/user/Dropbox'

real_path='/Users/user/Dropbox'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

mode=0o100755 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

trace.__file__: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Resources/python-packages.zip/dropbox/client/ui/common/boot_error.pyc'

not found

parent not found

tempdir: '/var/folders/vw/hs31tvjn26d1mypmb2zsztn80000gp/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/vw/hs31tvjn26d1mypmb2zsztn80000gp/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 827, in wrapper

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6650, in finish_dropbox_boot

File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 307, in _wrapped

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6147, in _init_components_for_account

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6073, in create_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 225, in make_sync_engine

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 278, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 219, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 150, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 223, in __init__

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 591, in _init_new_engine_locked

File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 182, in __init__

File "desktop/extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__

Hannah

Hey @Tim T. and @MikeB2, thanks for reaching out.

Can you try the steps here for a more advanced reinstall of the Dropbox application, to see if that helps?

Let me know how it goes.

Tim T.

Same result. After install and login, when I hit the Next button (to open the app), I get the same error. I have never moved my Dropbox folder. I ran the app fine for months after migrating to my new Mac. This error just started a few weeks ago. Should I have disabled the admin privileges of the user before running the installer? I had them on to run the suggested Terminal commands. I left admin privileges on when installing. I am at a loss, and this is causing major headaches for two work projects. I have to download files from the web version of Dropbox, modify them and them upload them back. There's lots of room for problems. My local Dropbox no longer reflects the online version (not sync'd, because I cannot get Dropbox app to start. Here's the full log:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 127.4.4265

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 70cb2f9b-0398-5ffb-bcd1-06f602617645

pid: 8824