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amiralin's avatar
amiralin
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago
Solved

Couldn't Start Dropbox - macOS Monterey

After installing the new macOS Monterey I am getting the below error  Couldn't start Dropbox This is usually because of a permissions error. Storing your home folder on a network share can also c...
desktop
Error Messages
Setting up the apps
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    5 years ago

    Hi everyone, with the macOS Monterey update (macOS 12.0 and above), some stricter permissions have been enforced by Apple which have probably led to the issue you are experiencing.

     

    The following steps should help to resolve this behavior:
     

    1. Click on the Apple icon in the top left hand corner of your screen
    2. Select "System Preferences..."
    3. Then "Security & Privacy"
    4. Select the Privacy tab
    5. Select "Full Disk Access"
    6. Under Dropbox, ensure that all the folders are checked. (To make changes, you will need to click on the lock icon, and enter your macOS password)
    7. Repeat these steps under 'Files and Folders' and 'Accessibility'
    8. Once you've completed this, please attempt to restart the Dropbox desktop app


    If need be, a reboot of the Mac itself would also help. 

TomW3's avatar
TomW3
Helpful | Level 5
5 years ago

HI Hannah... I am having the same problems and I have tried all the suggestions. Is the problem have to do with the upgrade to Monterey ?

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
5 years ago
Hey TomW3, thanks for the nudge here!

I'm afraid, we can't really say for sure why this might be happening.

However, if you already tried the steps in the hyperlinked thread and the advanced reinstall of the application and nothing worked, can I reach out to you via email?

I'd like us to look into this further. 
  • TomW3's avatar
    TomW3
    Helpful | Level 5
    5 years ago

    Thank you - It appears that a few people are having this problem. Just to clarify - I tried the 'advanced reinstall' to the best of my ability.  It was clearly a 'advanced person' advanced reinstall.  Reminded me of owning a computer in the 1990's - and what we had to do to make them work - day in and day out. lol.

     

    Do I have to give you my email here in these reply boxes?

    • amiralin's avatar
      amiralin
      Helpful | Level 6
      5 years ago

      Hi, 

       

      The below steps are what resolved it for me. It seems after installing the new macOs Dropbox needs permissions to access the files. The below steps resolved it for me for now.

       

      go to Launchpad – Utility – Activity Monitor – Force Exit all Dropbox Instances

      go to Settings – Security & Privacy ( Give Dropbox permissions in the following areas) 

      • Accessibility – unlock and select Dropbox app
      • Full Disk Access unlock and select Dropbox app

      Hope the above resolves the issue for you. 

       

       

      • TomW3's avatar
        TomW3
        Helpful | Level 5
        5 years ago

        IT WORKED!

        THAT WAS IT! 

        Not sure what 'that' was but that worked.

        I have crossed paths with a Genius - without having to go to the Genus Bar. lol

         

        Thank you so much.

  • daveyb98's avatar
    daveyb98
    New member | Level 2
    5 years ago

    Hi Hannah have same problem with mac monterey. I have tried everything. Is there any further help you can provide please

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
      5 years ago
      Hey daveyb98, thanks for the nudge here.

      Did you try the steps that Jay mentioned above? Did those not work for you?
      • Kooze's avatar
        Kooze
        New member | Level 2
        5 years ago

        Hi Guys and girls. 

        I have tried all the solutions above but it still will not work.

        below is a copy of my error message.

         

        bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
        bn.VERSION: 135.4.4221
        bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 51
        bn.is_frozen: True
        machine_id: cd1495f3-f0ec-507f-976b-e879037c3b42
        pid: 1016
        ppid: 1
        uid: 501
        user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='turners', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Fraser & Angela  Turner', pw_dir='/Users/turners', pw_shell='/bin/zsh')
        effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='turners', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Fraser & Angela  Turner', pw_dir='/Users/turners', 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', 'turners', '_adsklic'])
        effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'turners', '_adsklic'])
        DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None
        cwd: '/'
             real_path='/'
                    mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
             parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
        HOME: '/Users/turners'
        appdata: '/Users/turners/.dropbox/instance1'
                 real_path='/Users/turners/.dropbox/instance1'
                        mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
                 parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
        dropbox_path: '/Users/turners/Dropbox'
                      real_path='/Users/turners/Dropbox'
                            not found
                      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/kg/drwz206158l4t5flj6ql01d80000gn/T'
                 real_path='/private/var/folders/kg/drwz206158l4t5flj6ql01d80000gn/T'
                        mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
                 parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
        Traceback (most recent call last):
          File "dropbox/client/authentication/register_host_helper.pyc", line 478, in _try_register_host
          File "dropbox/client/authentication/register_host_helper.pyc", line 944, in handle_changed_host_secret
          File "dropbox/sync_root/helpers.pyc", line 354, in destroy_root_from_config
        AssertionError

         

         

        Any help would be appreciated 

         

         

  • tdrape's avatar
    tdrape
    New member | Level 2
    5 years ago

    Same issue. Same code that others have shared. Any other support, like a fix, would be great. 

  • KFja's avatar
    KFja
    New member | Level 2
    4 years ago

    I'm having precisely the same problem and have done the same things. Did you figure out what the problem is?

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