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I did an advanced reinstall of my Dropbox app, but now it won't start (Windows 11).
Hi,
I'm running a fully-updated Win 11 and had the latest Dropbox desktop app. As I'm in China I run Astrill VPN and have both Kaspersky and Malwarebytes apps for security.
Dropbox wouldn't load so, after disabling all services and restarting several times, I uninstalled and reinstalled according to this:
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/advanced-reinstall
After reinstall, I get error window 'Couldn't start Dropbox' and link to following info:
Dropbox error84 9v00.txt:
bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 229.4.5197
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 83
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: def3829b-d51a-42b8-88bc-a30fd4b6e19e
pid: 28288
cwd: 'C:\\WINDOWS\\system32'
real_path='C:\\Windows\\SysWOW64'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: None
appdata: 'C:\\Users\\caram\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
real_path='C:\\Users\\caram\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
dropbox_path: 'H:\\Dropbox'
real_path='H:\\Dropbox'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
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\\229.4.5197\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\229.4.5197\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
not found
parent not found
TMP: C:\Users\caram\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\caram\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\caram\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
real_path='C:\\Users\\caram\\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 1108, in wrapper
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 8671, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "desktop/dropbox/client/message_queue.py", line 337, in _wrapped
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 7955, in _init_components_for_account
File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 7863, in create_sync_engine
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.py", line 237, in make_sync_engine
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.py", line 268, in __init__
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.py", line 316, in __init__
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.py", line 279, in __init__
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.py", line 243, in __init__
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.py", line 615, in _init_new_engine_locked
File "desktop/dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.py", line 166, in __init__
File "desktop\extensions\nucleus\nucleus_python.pyx", line 77, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__
nucleus_python.SyncEngineError: "Initializing engine |>> Initializing filesystem |>> Failed to write root dot dropbox file |>> Deleting .dropbox before writing a new one |>> Opening with change_acl |>> openat_native |>> ACCESS_DENIED |>> FSErrorCode::PermissionDenied"
What to do?
hi . i suggest you to Check folder permissions, give full control to your user, then run Dropbox as admin.
11 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Mark
Super User II
Have you got Dropbox on a different drive location to where its expecting it?
Hi Mark. I've installed Dropbox to it's default location on C. I just have the files to be synced on my H drive.
- Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi from me too, Sir_Caramel! Can you please clarify what you mean when saying you have the files to be synced on your H drive, even though the Dropbox app is installed on your C drive?
hi . i suggest you to Check folder permissions, give full control to your user, then run Dropbox as admin.
Is my answer helpful? Sir_Caramell
After reinstalling Dropbox on Windows 11, it may fail to start with an ACCESS_DENIED error because it can’t create the hidden .dropbox file in your Dropbox folder (H:\Dropbox). This usually happens if the folder’s permissions are broken, antivirus software like Kaspersky or Malwarebytes is blocking it, or the drive is not NTFS formatted. To fix it, give your Windows user full control of the H:\Dropbox folder, temporarily disable antivirus and try again, test Dropbox on your C: drive to rule out drive issues, and check if H: is NTFS formatted; if not, use NTFS or keep the main Dropbox folder on C: while using selective sync for large folders.
Hello Nancy,
Apologies, I've been away. Thank you for your reply. The app is installed on my C drive, the files to be synced are not in the default sync folder in C, but in my H drive.
I'll try that now. Thank you, Jindrikijind!
Thank you Johnwick5656. A really thorough explanation and options to try. Apologies for not responding immeadiately, but thank you for your help in this matter! The folder permissions switch did it!
Yes, that was the fix! Thank you for your help - was totally stuck!
