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I changed my user name after installing the Dropbox app and now it won't launch
I have a new laptop (MacBook Air - M4), running the latest Sequoia. I migrated everything over from my former system, which included Dropbox.
Day-1, all was running fine.
Day-2, I needed to change the names of the System Users. I followed the instructions from Apple, which includes changing the home folder name in "Users" and then the corresponding account name field(s) in System Settings, Users & Groups,
The home folder path on Day-1, with the original name, was
/Users/keri_1/
On Day-2 -- after the renaming -- the new (& current) home folder path is
/Users/keri/
Now when I launch DropBox, it is looking for this path to grant permissions:
/Users/keri_1/.dropbox
and immediately gives the message that "Dropbox needs to change permissions for the Folder: /Users/keri_1/.dropbox" which it cannot find since that path name no longer exists.
Clicking OK, the next message I get is "Couldn't start Dropbox" and it shuts down.
How do I get DropBox to correct the path it is trying to use? I have contacted Support and we have exchanged several emails, including some Terminal commands to run, which did not correct this issue.
How do I get DropBox to correct the path it is trying to use?
Perform an advanced re-install.
6 Replies
- Rich
Super User II
How do I get DropBox to correct the path it is trying to use?
Perform an advanced re-install.
That worked! Thanks
- T_theresa_A
Community Manager
Hi keri h.1 and welcome to the Dropbox Community. I am glad to see that you got your issue resolved after an advanced reinstall suggested by our amazing Super User Rich.
By the way, my name is Theresa, and you might see me popping up around the Community 👩💻. I absolutely love hearing from our members and learning how they use Dropbox in their daily lives 💙.
If you're open to sharing, I’d love to hear how you use Dropbox 💡. Who knows, you might inspire some helpful tips we can share with others or even spark ideas to pass along to our internal team! 🤗
T 😺 (Dropbox Community Manager)
This only works if you know all the files are already in dropbox. For me, I have files that never made it to dropbox online and I can't recount every file that was created. as i am upgrading fro an old MAC iOS that went dormant when dropbox moved on. How do we do a complete virgin reinstall and sync the files that missed the boat and are still in the dropbox file structure? A reinstall of dropbox does not work and again I can not use the terminal to delete the dropbox folders.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey Dave C.49 - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
When you say files that never made it to Dropbox online, are you referring to files that you had copied or moved into your Dropbox folder before performing the upgrade from your old Mac OS?
Also, when you say you can't use the terminal to delete the Dropbox folders, are you referring to the advanced reinstall?
Let us know more information and we'll take it from there.
I'm saying, A computer that has information in DropBox folders that have been populated during a time of inability to connect to the mothership can not be deleted. There needs to be the ability to resync and then delete afterwards always. The issue I am having is the resync is consuming every ounce of RAM available on the Mac making even opening a text file near crashing the system and syncing files ONLY TO BE DELETED asap is going byte by byte. and we are now on day 5 of a complete sync and folder delete process. Every time there is a power outage, wifi drop or permissions issue with a file (who knows why this happens) the whole process starts over. I am trying my hardest not to use explicit language here.
