I'm trying to have DB back up my documents folder, but it keeps saying "cant backup without permission". Ive already set it to read and write for all users. How do I fix this?
Hi @scarkeet, I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with this!
Can you let me know which version of the desktop app you have installed at the moment and your OS version?
Also, are you trying to set this up on a profile that has admin permissions on the computer?
Let me know - thanks!
Hey, I'm also having this issue.
I'm pretty sure i've got the latest version of drop box and even though i've got everything set to 'read & write' and tried all the different options.
Any Advice?
Thanks for joining us @montygg!
If you haven't already, can you let me know if you've checked out the steps under "Troubleshoot computer backup" in this article?
More specifically, if you've allowed access to files and folders for Dropbox in your device's settings.
Keep me posted!
I have the same problem. I've run the commands in Terminal shown in the linked page (linked from the Dropbox app when you get the error), I've allowed Full Disk Permissions for Dropbox and run Disk First Aid. I've rebooted repeatedly. No change. The error persists.
MacBook Pro 2015, 15", MacOS 10.15.7
Thanks for joining us here @dominicperry!
Since you've checked most of the relevant steps there, I've reached out to the email linked with your profile here so that we can look into this alongside some device specific info.
When you have the time, please check your inbox for my message and get back to me there - cheers!
I had this problem and went through the troubleshoot without success.
I went to the folders in question (documents and music in my case) and there I could see a alias folder created by Dropbox and then I could see the files and/or folders that could not be synced. I manually dragged the to the dropbox alias and input my Admin password when prompted.
I was then able to go back to the Dropbox app and select the folders again and press save and everything went OK after that.
Hope this helps someone out there.
I too am having this issue with permissions and have tried the Help article's command lines in terminal. In my instance, the Dropbox folder is not located in the standard /Dropbox location, so I replaced ~/Dropbox with my my file location. This led to the following set of command lines:
sudo chflags -R nouchg "/Users/myname/Dropbox (CATCH Global)" ~/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master
sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"
sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/myname/Dropbox (CATCH Global)" ~/.dropbox
sudo chmod -RN ~/.dropbox "/Users/myname/Dropbox (CATCH Global)"
chmod -R u+rw "/Users/myname/Dropbox (CATCH Global)" ~/.dropbox
After running the first command line, I get the following error:
chflags: /Users/myname/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master: No such file or directory
Am I entering this incorrectly? I have tried all other steps also listed in this help article, to no avail.
Hi @Jay,
I followed steps to pull the exact folder location using terminal, so I think I have it correct. I have two Dropbox accounts on my computer, though; one personal and one for work. Does that matter?
All of the other steps seem to work (i.e. no errors), but this first one does not. If I remove ~/.dropbox-master from the first command line, it also works (no error).
Appreciate your help!
@Jay,
I entered the command: sudo chflags -R nouchg "/Users/myname/Dropbox (Personal)" ~/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master
Got the error: /Users/myname/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master: No such file or directory
Similar to the work account, if I leave off ~/.dropbox-master I do not get an error message.
Sorry, I'm not sure I know what you mean. What "folder" are we talking about? Both of my Dropbox folders are in the same general location (users/myname/Dropbox...), but perhaps I'm entering things wrong or pulling the pathname incorrectly? If you have specific instructions that I should try on that front, please let me know. I have gone to Finder, right-clicked on the folder, held the Option Key, and then selected Copy "Dropbox (CATCH Global)" as Path name, which yields: /Users/myname/Dropbox (CATCH Global)
If the folders aren't there any more, why does the error go away when I remove "~/.dropbox-master"? And why do all of the other commands appear to work? What does the "~/.dropbox-master" refer to? How can I find where this "folder" lives?
Thanks again for all of your help!
So, if the .dropbox-master file is deleted, do I need to recreate it in order to use the sync/backup function? If so, how should I recreate it?
I just want to use the sync/backup functionality with my Documents folder. What I've been trying to figure out is HOW to do this; I'm less interested in understanding the error message's meaning than I am in determining the next step to resolve the issue and get the automatic backup functionality working on my machine.
With that in mind, what is the next step I should take toward that goal of turning on sync for my Documents folder? And ideally, all of the ensuing steps.
