Dropbox MacOs 13.6. cannot launch

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

Are you referring to the error log from a blue link when attempting to run the app?

If so, please could you copy and paste the text here in order for us to assist further?

If you don't wish to do so, you can contact support directly. Depending on your plan, your support options may vary.

This will help me to assist further!

dear jay,

thanks for your quick reply!
since i have no "plan" i cant go through the other support.

so i paste the error log here (replaced my user name).
can i delete this message later?
thanks for your help! best wishes, kai

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 183.4.7058

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 65

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: e22893a9-1c0e-52d2-aafe-b1a2b638b42e

pid: 1263

ppid: 1

uid: 501

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='username', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='username', pw_dir='/Users/username', pw_shell='/bin/zsh')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='username', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='username', pw_dir='/Users/username', pw_shell='/bin/zsh')

euid: 501

gid: 20

egid: 20

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

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

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/username'

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

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

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Users/username/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox'

real_path='/Users/username/Library/CloudStorage/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/kp/m6_r8pj90mqc4xn_gtfjdybm0000gn/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/kp/m6_r8pj90mqc4xn_gtfjdybm0000gn/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "desktop/dropbox/fs_api/lifecycle.py", line 235, in client

File "desktop/dropbox/fs_api/lifecycle.py", line 283, in _create_thin_client

File "desktop/dropbox/fs_api/fs_api_adapter.py", line 50, in __init__

File "desktop/extensions/fs_api/fs_api_python.pyx", line 63, in fs_api_python.FsApiServer.__cinit__

fs_api_python.FsApiError: "Initializing fs api |>> Initializing platform |>> Opening worker root directory |>> open syscall |>> Permission denied"

The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 865, in wrapper

File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6752, in finish_dropbox_boot

File "desktop/dropbox/client/message_queue.py", line 306, in _wrapped

File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6212, in _init_components_for_account

File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6135, in create_sync_engine

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

File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.py", line 243, in __init__

File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.py", line 282, in __init__

File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.py", line 242, in __init__

File "../mac_x86_64_dropbox_virtual_env/lib/python3.8/functools.py", line 967, in __get__

File "desktop/dropbox/fs_api/lifecycle.py", line 259, in client

dropbox.fs_api.lifecycle.FsApiClientCreationException: "Initializing fs api |>> Initializing platform |>> Opening worker root directory |>> open syscall |>> Permission denied"

When you uninstalled and resintalled, did you perform an advanced reinstallation of the Dropbox desktop application?

no. but i will try it now. thanks!

Walter

Let us know how it goes @dropturtle

hi there,

some of the terminal commands did not work because the files or folders where stored somewhere else (by dropbox not by me) on my computer.

the new installation worked, but again the standard dropbox folder is somewhere else now and the old one is still there.

that is some kind of chaos caused by dropbox!

the path before was:

~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

the new path now is:

~/Dropbox

but i remember, that some update in the past moved everything to:

~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/

a somewhat frustrating experience. maybe its time to wave dropbox goodbye...
best wishes and thanks for your help! kai

... so which is the correct default path to the dropbox folder now?

can i delete one of them??? thanks. kai

Hey @dropturtle, which of the two Dropbox folders is the one that is actually syncing your files?

If you add a test file to each of them, which one syncs the file to your Dropbox online?

dear hannah,

thanks for asking.

the new one. installed with the latest installation.

i am just asking, because i am confused why dropbox changes the location and then complains that the dropbox folder is not in its place.

of course i never touched it...

I understand this can be confusing for sure, but we'll figure this out!

Basically, what happened here is that you were updated to the new version of Dropbox for macOS on File Provider, which had moved your Dropbox folder to ~/Library/CloudStorage.

Then, when you performed the advanced reinstall, you got removed from that update, so now your Dropbox folder is likely back to its original location.

Can you check the 'sync' tab in your Dropbox preferences and let me know what it shows as the actual location of the Dropbox folder?

dear hanna,

yes. this is what happend 👍
the problem with dropbox started after a reinstall of macos and restoring of all the data from a backup.

usually all programms play well by doing so.

but this time dropbox refused to start stubbornly after the restore. did not say why, though.

so i deleted dropbox (only the app first) and reinstalled it. still did not start up.

so i used a deinstaller app to deinstall everything connected with dropbox. prefs, caches, etc.
that still did not help.
then i used the extended install procedure as described- with terminal and all.
that also gave me some errors. mainly because the dropbox folder was in the "wrong" location.
after i understood this it worked again.
seems to me mainly a dropbox bug in respect to the folders location.
now the folder is back in the old location (did the installer like this) and i wonder why was ist in the other location (cloudstorage...) in the first place?
thanks again and best wishes, kai

Hey again, Kai!

The Dropbox folder was moved to the CloudStorage location initially, after the update to the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider.

You can read more about this change here and here.

Is the application now working okay otherwise?

hi hannah,

thanks for explaining.

i must have changed that in the past then?!

i don't really understand the pros and cons of this Dropbox for macOS on File Provider.
but i just won't update then. there seem to be no disadvantages.
i wanted to check for updates in dropbox, but there is no way to do this anymore??

thanks again! kai

The app will keep getting automatically updated, but you can always keep an eye out on this page, with all the new releases!

hi hannah,

will the app inform me about the updates?
i have not seen such notifications in the past.
i really prefer to know if and when and what an app does on my computer...

best wishes, kai

What is the behavior you've been seeing so far regarding this, Kai? Have you been getting notifications on what's changing on the app each time it updates?

like is said. no notifications regarding updates. but about changes of content.

notifications are all turned on.

In general, the Dropbox desktop application would update silently in the background in order to ensure the app functions correctly with new updates and changes.

so dropbox does not notify me if an update is being made?
can i still somehow do updates manually? i don't like it at all when apps update without me knowing...