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DropboxFileProviderCH quit unexpectedly on Sonoma 14.2.1

Running MacOS Sonoma 14.2.1 on a 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro. Had no such issues under MacOS Monterey, but now under Sonoma, I get this "DropboxFileProviderCH quit unexpectedly" crash once after freshly booting, then again multiple times later.

Crash log...

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JDW0

My Dropbox folder is always stored in the DEFAULT location, which is inside my Home folder.

Now that I have followed your "advanced reinstall process" I see my Dropbox folder is still in the Home directory but now with the name "Dropbox (Old)". I also see another folder named "DropboxHelperTools.old" within my Home directory. Both of these are real folders, not aliases.

In addition, I also see a folder Alias named "Dropbox" in my Home directory. If I click that folder alias to select it and then Get Info, I see this...

Original: /Users/MyHomeFolder/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

While typing this, I got yet another "DropboxFileProvider" quit unexpectedly" error dialog, with crash log. These repeated error dialogs are driving me mad.

And now I see something even more confusing...

Even though I just installed it, or so I thought, I am not finding Dropbox in my Applications folder anymore. The weirdness gets worse and worse. And that silly "DropboxFileProvider" quit unexpectedly" error dialog just happened again while typing this!

The Dropbox Offline Installer is still mounted. The window is still open. So I double-clicked to try to install Dropbox again. Nothing happens now when I double-click. Crazy!

Okay, I just restarted my MacBook Pro. The DMG is not mounted, which it shouldn't be. But since the Dropbox app is nowhere to be found, I just mounted the DMG and double-clicked the "Dropbox" icon installer. Nothing happens except for yet another infuriating "DropboxFileProvider" quit unexpectedly error dialog.

I am now worse off than before I opened this thread because Dropbox is now dead on my MacBook. At least before all this I could use it, albeit with those repeated error dialogs. Not the app is missing, and a reinstall won't work.

Since your replies are not forthcoming in a timely manner, I shall continue to try things and Edit this post to inform you...

I found Dropbox sitting in my trash. I emptied trash and restarted. I opened the DMG and tried a reinstall. All that happens when I double-click the "Dropbox" named installer on the DMG is that it opens a new window, highlights "Dropbox" in the left "Favorites" sidebar, and it lists files I had saved locally on my computer. However, atop the list of those files it says "The application dropbox" could not be found.

In other words, my attempts at launching the Dropbox install no longer work. I assume that some of your Terminal commands must have screwed up something to cause this. I am not a Terminal expert. I merely followed the instructions given on your "advanced reinstall" page, and now I am in this serious predicament.

Still no replies from you, so I am Editing this post again to proceed with my other desperate attempts to get my computer working again.

Because the app is missing and impossible to reinstall, I used Airdrop to copy the Dropbox app from my older Intel iMac (running Mojave) to my Apple Silicon MacBook Pro (running Sonoma). Now with the app on my MacBook Pro, I was then able to drag it into AppCleaner. AppCleaner showed me all manner of files still left on my MacBook Pro. I used it to uninstall them. Then I restarted.

After that, I deleted the Dropbox folder in my Finder window left sidebar. I deleted all local files inside it. I then restarted again.

I then tried the Dropbox installer. After double-clicking, nothing happened for a long while, and then it showed me a dialog that said "Dropbox Folder Missing." Two buttons: Relink & Quit. I clicked Relink. I then clicked OK to confirm my intention to do that.

After another long time of waiting WITH NO PROGRESS BAR WHATSOEVER, I finally got the Welcome To Dropbox! dialog. I clicked Sign in with Dropbox. After clicking a few buttons, it then recreated the Dropbox folder and began downloading all my data again (which was fine with me). I've got a lot of data. It's still downloading. When finished, I will test, restart, then test again to see if those infuriating crash dialogs appear again. I will then report back.

Okay. After restarting, the NIGHTMARE continued. Dropbox didn't open automatically! Why not? Well, !@#$%^ It's because the app is missing from Applications again! Thankfully, I am smarter than stupid computers who try to get to me. I actually made a backup of my Dropbox app and ZIP compressed it before I nuked all the files via Trash. I unzipped that and moved it into the Applications folder. But before restarting I checked my Login items. Sure enough, Dropbox was listed there by the icon was wrong. I deleted it, then added my freshly unzipped Dropbox app to Login items. I restarted. Dropbox loads. No error dialogs so far.

But in my menubar I see a red ! on the Dropbox icon. Clicking it, it says:

Dropbox for macOS on File Provider is now ready...

Get started | Not Now

Not on your life will I ever click "Get started"! File Provider is what started this whole mess, and you can tell your engineers I said that!

So for now, I consider this matter resolved, and I will thank myself for this solution, as I had to go through all manner of hell to figure it out, in spite of whatever those Terminal commands ended up doing to my machine. Hopefully, this post will help many other Dropbox users who end up where I did. It was a nightmare, but thanks to AppCleaner and some trickery on my part with another Mac (copying the Dropbox app on that Mac over), I was able to get back to working normally again.

All comments

Jay

Hi @JDW0, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

If you're not on a Dropbox Basic plan with more than 3 devices connected, could you try an advanced reinstall of the app using the steps in this link?

Keep me updated with any progress!

mohnid

If got the same issues on OSX Ventura 13.6.3

Startup is hanging for a while and then I can find the DropboxFileProviderCH crash log in the console.

Unfortunately advanced reinstall as documented in posted link doesn't work as I am running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider.

Walter

Hey @mohnid - sorry to hear about this.

Could you let us know the version of the Dropbox desktop app installed on your computer?

Also, at which step of the advanced reinstall process are you getting stuck?

JDW0

I am on the BASIC PLAN.

I followed your link, and I am using the Mac method, but the first part of Step 4. makes no sense to me:

4. Delete the remaining Dropbox system folders.

Open your Finder and click Applications.

That surely must be in error. "Open your Finder" can be interpreted as "Find the Finder file and open it somehow." But I guess you mean "Go to the Finder" or "Go to the Desktop"? But even then, why the "single click on the Applications folder"? That entire line is confusing me, so what I did is just ignore that line and followed the rest of the procedure.

Now in the Terminal your procedure doesn't specify what the path should be, if any. The default path is set to my Home Directory. I copied, then pasted, and hit return after every line of text you suggested. It required my computer password only after pressing return the first time. However, when I pressed Return following this line...

sudo mv ~/.dropbox ~/.Trash/dropbox.old

It gave me this error...

mv: rename /Users/MyHomeDirectory/.dropbox to /Users/MyHomeDirectory/.Trash/dropbox.old/.dropbox: No such file or directory

All other command lines worked without an error.

I then went to the next step which was to install DropBox. I did and then signed in. It asked me to sign out of one device, which I did. I signed out of the very device I was on -- my M1 Max 16" MacBook Pro running Sonoma 14.2.1.

Almost immediately, I got an error dialog which says...

DropboxFileProvider quit unexpectedly

And it gives a crash log. Still don't understand why my providing you with the earlier crash log goes against your guidelines because I don't know how the content identifies me in any way.

All said, doing what you asked does not resolve the problem.

Hannah

Hey @JDW0, can you please clarify what the location of your Dropbox folder is?

JDW0

My Dropbox folder is always stored in the DEFAULT location, which is inside my Home folder.

In addition, I also see a folder Alias named "Dropbox" in my Home directory. If I click that folder alias to select it and then Get Info, I see this...

Original: /Users/MyHomeFolder/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

While typing this, I got yet another "DropboxFileProvider" quit unexpectedly" error dialog, with crash log. These repeated error dialogs are driving me mad.

And now I see something even more confusing...

The Dropbox Offline Installer is still mounted. The window is still open. So I double-clicked to try to install Dropbox again. Nothing happens now when I double-click. Crazy!

Since your replies are not forthcoming in a timely manner, I shall continue to try things and Edit this post to inform you...

Still no replies from you, so I am Editing this post again to proceed with my other desperate attempts to get my computer working again.

After that, I deleted the Dropbox folder in my Finder window left sidebar. I deleted all local files inside it. I then restarted again.

But in my menubar I see a red ! on the Dropbox icon. Clicking it, it says:

Dropbox for macOS on File Provider is now ready...

Get started | Not Now

Not on your life will I ever click "Get started"! File Provider is what started this whole mess, and you can tell your engineers I said that!

mohnid

Hi @Walter

There is a crash report from configd mentioning

System Integrity Protection:
Notes:
This is a watchdog-triggered termination event, and not expected to be well-represented in the legacy crash format
Crashed Thread: Unknown

just before the DropboxFileProviderCH crash, which might be related, DropboxFileProviderCH is missing a library

Termination Reason:    Namespace DYLD, Code 1 Library missing
Library not loaded: @rpath/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad

Finder tells me that I am on version 189.4.8395

I didn't try the advanced reinstall as the page tells me to contact support

Screenshot 2023-12-27 at 21.04.19.png

But as I din't find a contact form on the linked page I started searching here and found this thread, should I still proceed with the mentioned uninstall steps?

Had a closer look at the crash report and noticed

Referenced from: <881721E9-F213-3FF0-8B34-CD35178EB514> /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/PlugIns/DropboxFileProvider.appex/Contents/MacOS/DropboxFileProviderCH
Reason: tried: '/System/Library/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad' (no such file, not in dyld cache)
(terminated at launch; ignore backtrace)

Crashpad has not been installed globally but is available under

/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad

mohnid

As mentioned in DropboxFileProviderCH-quit-unexpectedly-on-Sonoma-14-2-1 DropboxFileProviderCH creates a crash report when I boot my Mac.

The crash report might not be complete as there seems to be something wrong with my installation

Termination Reason:    Namespace DYLD, Code 1 Library missing
Library not loaded: @rpath/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad
Referenced from: <881721E9-F213-3FF0-8B34-CD35178EB514> /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/PlugIns/DropboxFileProvider.appex/Contents/MacOS/DropboxFileProviderCH
Reason: tried: '/System/Library/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad' (no such file, not in dyld cache)

Checking on the FileSystem I can only find the DropboxCrashpad in

/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad

Finder tells me that the Dropbox.app is v189.4.8395

I didn't try the advanced reinstall as the page tells me to contact support

How would I need to proceed with the advanced reinstall when being on FileProvider ?

Walter

Hey @mohnid - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Would it be OK if we sent you an email to have a further look internally?

Thanks!

Enric48

Dropbox v. 189.4.8395

MacOS Sonoma 14.1.2

Process: DropboxFileProviderCH

Reason: tried: '/System/Library/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad' (no such file, not in dyld cache)

DropboxFileProviderCH crashes because 'DropboxCrashpad.framework' does't exits

Jay

Hi @Enric48, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Could you try reinstalling the Dropbox desktop application, without uninstalling it first, by using this link?

Keep me updated with any progress!

mohnid

@Walter that's fine, as you can see in my error extract something might have gone wrong when upgrading

Enric48

I've already taken this step based on a suggestion I came across in another post.

Jay

Thanks, I've merged your post to this thread. Please could you try the suggested solution and let me know how it goes?