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DB231113's avatar
DB231113
Helpful | Level 6
4 months ago
Solved

Couldn't start Dropbox due to a permission error. What can I do?

My Win 11 Dropbox client suddenly stopped working and I'm now receiving a permission error. I attempted a re-installation but still get the exact same error. 

Any suggestions on how this can be fixed? 

The error log is below: 

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 230.4.8797
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 84
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 0178ee66-4d19-4fe1-bec2-3dc1f05d8100
pid: 872
cwd: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.983.1'
     real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.983.1'
               mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
     parent    mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
HOME: None
appdata: 'C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
         real_path='C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
                   mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
         parent    mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
dropbox_path: None
                        not found
              parent    not found
sys_executable: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\Dropbox.exe'
                real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\Dropbox.exe'
                          mode=0o100777    uid=0    gid=0
                parent    mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
trace.__file__: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\230.4.8797\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
                real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\230.4.8797\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
                          not found
                parent    not found
TMP: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
         real_path='C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
                   mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
         parent    mode=0o40777    uid=0    gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6767, in _setup_root_for_account
  File "desktop/dropbox/sync_root/helpers.py", line 199, in create_root_for_account
  File "desktop/dropbox/foundation/futures/basic.py", line 1038, in result
  File "desktop/dropbox/sync_root/manager.py", line 376, in create_root
  File "desktop/dropbox/sync_root/handlers/windows/cloud_files.py", line 298, in register
  File "desktop/dropbox/sync_root/handlers/windows/cloud_files.py", line 600, in _register
PermissionError: [WinError -2147024891] Access is denied

  • Turns out my dropbox files folder on the D Drive had somehow had the "Hidden" folder attribute applied. This was stopping dropbox from accessing this location on startup. 
    Correcting this attribute resolved the issue.  

4 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    4 months ago

    Hey DB231113​, let's see what we can do to resolve this.

    Sometimes, the antivirus (not only your firewall) or security software on your computer will block Dropbox from completing the startup process. To see if this is the issue, follow the steps below.

    Temporarily disable any antivirus or security programs on your computer. Reinstall the Dropbox application using our offline installer.

    If you still get the same result let me know. Thanks!

  • DB231113's avatar
    DB231113
    Helpful | Level 6
    4 months ago

    Hi Megan,

    Thanks for the reply. 
    I have followed these steps, disabled antivirus and firewall, reinstalled dropbox using the offline installer and still having issues with dropbox not starting. Same error as earlier post. 

    One additional thing I have found is Dropbox will work when the software is installed on C: drive AND my Dropbox files are stored on C: drive. 

    It won't work when I have Dropbox software installed on C: drive and Dropbox files stored another drive (in my case, the D: drive).

    Any more assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

  • DB231113's avatar
    DB231113
    Helpful | Level 6
    4 months ago

    Turns out my dropbox files folder on the D Drive had somehow had the "Hidden" folder attribute applied. This was stopping dropbox from accessing this location on startup. 
    Correcting this attribute resolved the issue.  

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    4 months ago

    Awesome news DB231113! 😇

    Thanks for the heads up. Wishing you a great week ahead, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything else. 👩‍💻

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