Updated version of Dropbox won't start (macOS Montery 12.6.1)

[jpallas]

I foolishly let Dropbox update and now it won't start.  I uninstalled and reinstalled (version 162.4.5419) but still get the "Couldn't start Dropbox. This may be a temporary error.  Please restart Dropbox.  For more information click the help button.  If the issue persists, please contact Dropbox support with the following info for help".

The info is:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox

bn.VERSION: 162.4.5419

bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 56

bn.is_frozen: True

machine_id: 19f98d24-9234-5051-88a7-7e0ca3466bd3

pid: 923

ppid: 1

uid: 501

user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='joe', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Joe Pallas', pw_dir='/Volumes/User SSD/Users/joe', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='joe', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Joe Pallas', pw_dir='/Volumes/User SSD/Users/joe', 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', 'joe', 'michelle', 'admin', '_xcsbuildagent', '_nsurlstoraged', '_xcscredserver'])

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

DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None

cwd: '/'

     real_path='/'

            mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

     parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0

HOME: '/Volumes/User SSD/Users/joe'

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

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

                mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

         parent mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20

dropbox_path: '/Volumes/User SSD/Users/joe/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox'

              real_path='/Volumes/User SSD/Users/joe/Library/CloudStorage/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/0k/xm390gj513g25p6bw5h9nhxh0000gn/T'

         real_path='/private/var/folders/0k/xm390gj513g25p6bw5h9nhxh0000gn/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 5188, in _setup_root_for_account

  File "dropbox/sync_root/helpers.pyc", line 420, in get_root_for_account

  File "dropbox/foundation/futures/basic.pyc", line 853, in result

  File "dropbox/sync_root/handlers/macos/file_provider.pyc", line 121, in set_result_or_convert_exception

dropbox.mac.internal.MacError: [Errno -2001] Error Domain=NSFileProviderErrorDomain Code=-2001 "No valid file provider found with identifier com.getdropbox.dropbox.fileprovider/ba27a4ca-e1eb-4cc4-9918-12d012b31aca." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=No valid file provider found with identifier com.getdropbox.dropbox.fileprovider/ba27a4ca-e1eb-4cc4-9918-12d012b31aca.}

[Walter]

 Hey @jpallas, sorry to see you're having issues with this and happy Monday.

The error you are encountering seems to be a temporary one and should be fixed by a simple restart of the Dropbox desktop app:

• If Dropbox is still running:
  • Stop Dropbox by clicking on the Dropbox icon in the menu bar.
  • Click on your profile picture or initials.
  • Click Quit.

• To restart:
  
  • Restart Dropbox by double-clicking on the Dropbox icon in the Application folder.

If the issue persists following the restart, please let us know and we can investigate further.

Thanks!

[jpallas]

Well, I did try restarting it before posting my message, and it made no difference.  I’m a little concerned about the information in this file.  It says “storing your Dropbox folder on an external drive is no longer supported.”  But I have my entire home directory on an external drive. Is this a supported configuration?

[Walter]

If you chose to update the desktop app to this version, I'm afraid an external drive is not a supported location for your Dropbox folder and your Dropbox folder will be moved to ~/Library/CloudStorage @jpallas

I hope this clears things up!

[jpallas]

I’d be perfectly happy with my Dropbox folder being in ~/Library/CloudStorage.  I don’t especially care where the Dropbox folder is.  But Dropbox is refusing to start at all.  

In my case ~/Library/CloudStorage is on an external drive, because my home directory is on an external drive (the internal drive on my Mac mini is too small).  I know this is an unusual configuration, but does this mean I can’t run Dropbox any more?

[billgdbx]

@jpallas the situation is a little more nuanced than that.  While Apple does not support File Provider on external drives, they do seem to support it if the home directory as well is on the external drive, and if the drive is formatted as APFS.  The summary is:  I think you are running into a different, known issue which we are actively working on, and not a problem with External Drive support.  

What I did was to install a home directory on an external drive and try to start up Dropbox.  It failed, but the error was different from yours.  In particular, it told me that the external drive needed to be in Apple's APFS file system format in order to support an FP domain.  Once I converted the filesystem on my external drive to APFS, Dropbox came up with no issue.

[jpallas]

That’s interesting. The external drive with my home directory is an APFS Volume according to Disk Utility.