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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 fix...
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  • DB231113's avatar
    DB231113
    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

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

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