Forum Discussion

Explorer | Level 4

5 years ago

Solved

Couldn't start Dropbox permissions error

Hi,

My dropbox app won't open at all anymore. I get a Couldn't Open Dropbox message saying it's usually a permissions error. I've been through my shared folders on the webpage and checked and removed them, I've followed a series of terminal scripts from the FAQ section but it did nothing. Help! 🙂

I'm on Mac OSX 10.13.6 (can't update any further) and this is the 'following info for help' text:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 118.4.460

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 47

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 98d693a2-5ca3-5e2f-9968-c7834cc9259c

pid: 742

ppid: 1

uid: 501

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

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

euid: 501

gid: 20

egid: 20

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

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

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

real_path='/'

mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Users/andrewmackay'

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

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

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40722 uid=501 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Users/andrewmackay/Dropbox'

real_path='/Users/andrewmackay/Dropbox'

mode=0o40722 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40777 uid=501 gid=20

sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'

mode=0o100777 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40777 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/9x/d16hd_ts6tz685wd0jkv1h_80000gn/T'

real_path='/private/var/folders/9x/d16hd_ts6tz685wd0jkv1h_80000gn/T'

mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 7701, in main_startup

File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 726, in initialize

File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 289, in create_app

File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 250, in static_init

Exception: should not give write permissions to other users for the module, /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A/DropboxCrashpad, loaded by Tungsten

Appreciate any help! Thanks in advnace!

Andy

Здравко
5 years ago
Hi again Andy Coda,
The dummy file you have created seems Ok. That proves the issue is not in your default settings. It appears exactly as has to be. The commands you have executed, as listed, can't be a reason for the issue observed. Still not clear what could be the reason, but let's try fix it by hands. At the beginning what shows the list of troublesome folder? Post the result of:
ls -al /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/Frameworks/DropboxCrashpad.framework/Versions/A
Next try fix the problem using following commands:
sudo chown -R "$USER" /Applications/Dropbox.app
chmod -R a+r /Applications/Dropbox.app
chmod -R u+w /Applications/Dropbox.app
chmod -R go-w /Applications/Dropbox.app
Execute the first (ls) command again. Is something changed? 🧐
Hope this helps.

31 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion

Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
5 years ago
Hi christiantuanphong!

Just sent you the email, let me know if you have any questions!
DavidRGenet
Explorer | Level 4
4 years ago
Hi, I am having a similar problem on my Mac (macOS Monterey version 12.0.1). Here is the text I get. I am guessing the problem is in the last line where permission is denied in attempting to register icons but am not sure how to address it. Dropbox worked for some time then just stopped. Could have been some macOS upgrade.

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 138.4.2392
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 51
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 73b50fa4-ab10-53d8-8d56-fd2c4a038aed
pid: 2019
ppid: 1
uid: 501
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='davidgenet', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='David Genet', pw_dir='/Users/davidgenet', pw_shell='/bin/zsh')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='davidgenet', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='David Genet', pw_dir='/Users/davidgenet', 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/davidgenet'
appdata: '/Users/davidgenet/.dropbox/instance1'
real_path='/Users/davidgenet/.dropbox/instance1'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/davidgenet/Dropbox'
real_path='/Users/davidgenet/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/4f/8vrg4zsn05d6pqhbw8x4x_xh0000gn/T'
real_path='/private/var/folders/4f/8vrg4zsn05d6pqhbw8x4x_xh0000gn/T'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 832, in wrapper
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6623, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 313, in _wrapped
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6170, in _init_components_for_account
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6094, in create_sync_engine
File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 218, in make_sync_engine
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 277, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 247, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 177, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 217, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 529, in _init_new_engine_locked
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 133, in __init__
File "desktop/extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__
nucleus_python.SyncEngineError: "Initializing engine |>> Initializing filesystem |>> Attempting to register icons |>> Reading existing xattr |>> fgetxattr syscall: determined size |>> Permission denied"
Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
4 years ago
Hey DavidRGenet, thanks for the nudge here and happy new year!

Can you try the steps listed by my colleague Megan in this thread, to see if they help?
DavidRGenet
Explorer | Level 4
4 years ago
Hey Hannah. That did it! I was wandering around in this area over the weekend on my Mac but did not arrive at this fix. Thanks so much for the excellent support!

Dave
Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
4 years ago
Happy to see it worked, David!

If you need anything else, make sure to give us a shout.

Have a wonderful week ahead! 🙂
C Honner
New member | Level 2
4 years ago
Hi there,
My dropbox stopped Synching. I tried loading the app and I'm getting an error message. Can anyone help me please? I've reinstalled the app. Nothing seems to be working.

Error Message:
bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 141.4.3299
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 52
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: fda19104-2c4b-57e2-b558-ce1a3131650f
pid: 1089
ppid: 1
uid: 501
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='bse', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Chelsea Honner', pw_dir='/Users/bse', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='bse', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Chelsea Honner', pw_dir='/Users/bse', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
euid: 501
gid: 20
egid: 20
group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', '_nsurlstoraged', '_serialnumberd'])
effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', '_nsurlstoraged', '_serialnumberd'])
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None
cwd: '/'
real_path='/'
mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: '/Users/bse'
appdata: '/Users/bse/.dropbox/instance2'
real_path='/Users/bse/.dropbox/instance2'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/bse/Dropbox'
real_path='/Users/bse/Dropbox'
mode=0o40307 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/hf/9b4dgl4914lbsz1wxlb20r100000gn/T'
real_path='/private/var/folders/hf/9b4dgl4914lbsz1wxlb20r100000gn/T'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 838, in wrapper
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6619, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 313, in _wrapped
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6167, in _init_components_for_account
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6091, in create_sync_engine
File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 218, in make_sync_engine
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 268, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 250, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 202, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 217, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 529, in _init_new_engine_locked
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 133, in __init__
File "desktop/extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__
nucleus_python.SyncEngineError: "Initializing engine |>> Initializing platform |>> Opening worker root directory |>> open syscall |>> Permission denied"
Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
4 years ago
Hi C Honner, wishing you a great Wednesday ahead!

Can you try follow these steps?

If you have any questions, let me know.
joshk90
New member | Level 2
2 years ago
Hello, I am having a similar issue on my macbook (OS 11.7 Big Sur) but the linked thread is archived and I can not read the solution. Please advise.

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 195.4.4995
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 71
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 25505974-a768-5144-ba87-af6786f45f0c
pid: 2192
ppid: 1
uid: 501
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='***', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='***', pw_dir='/Users/**', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='***', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='***', pw_dir='/Users/***', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
euid: 501
gid: 20
egid: 20
group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', '_serialnumberd'])
effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', '_serialnumberd'])
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None
cwd: '/'
real_path='/'
mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: '/Users/**'
appdata: '/Users/**/.dropbox/instance2'
real_path='/Users/**/.dropbox/instance2'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=501 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/**/Documents/Josh/Work/Johnny/Dropbox'
real_path='/Users/**/Documents/Josh/Work/Johnny/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/19/mvvtl23s6r3_85n280pd7ppr0000gn/T'
real_path='/private/var/folders/19/mvvtl23s6r3_85n280pd7ppr0000gn/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 879, in wrapper
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6719, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "desktop/dropbox/client/message_queue.py", line 306, in _wrapped
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6182, in _init_components_for_account
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 6105, 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 284, in __init__
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.py", line 240, 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"
Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
2 years ago
Hi joshk90, I hope you're doing well!

No worries, I'm here to help. Would you mind trying out an advanced re-install to see if your issue is resolved with that?

I'd love to know the end-result here!
joshk90
New member | Level 2
2 years ago
Thank you Megan.
I was able to do an advance re-install and it worked!

Can you please advise how to avoid this happening again in the future?

Thank you,

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Couldn't start Dropbox permissions error

31 Replies

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