Couldn't Start Dropbox

[Musicstate]

This is usually because of a permissions error. etc

I moved the sync directory to my 😧 drive for info

I suspect the dropbox_path might be the problem

Text File
bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 141.4.3299
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 52
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 0f7a47a3-475d-470e-a9fe-b9154018bcc4
pid: 8348
cwd: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: None
appdata: 'C:\\Users\\music\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
real_path='C:\\Users\\music\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
dropbox_path: None
not found
parent not found
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\\141.4.3299\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\141.4.3299\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
not found
parent not found
TMP: C:\Users\music\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\music\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\music\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
real_path='C:\\Users\\music\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox\client\authentication\register_host_helper.pyc", line 483, in _try_register_host
File "dropbox\client\authentication\register_host_helper.pyc", line 949, in handle_changed_host_secret
File "dropbox\sync_root\helpers.pyc", line 367, in destroy_root_from_config
AssertionError

[Здравко · Accepted solution]

Hi @Musicstate,

The issue you are experiencing isn't related to any access or permission troubles. It's just a standard error message for everything (with or without real permission issues). The issue is definitely related to the path you selected for your Dropbox folder. It may be due to change/move in this path, for example, or some other similar change. Don't try to change Dropbox folder name or the path pointed to there after you have selected it!

To solve it, you have to unlink the application from your account and link it anew. Remove your troublesome application/device out from your device list. Scroll down to the desired device if need. Click on trash bin next to the desired list entry. This will make sure your device isn't in link to the Dropbox server, but the application itself can still be unaware of that. Forcibly unlink it using following command in terminal:

rm -rf ~/.dropbox

 The above guarantees that no any trace from previous link lefts, able to prevent further application work. Now you can link your Dropbox application to your Dropbox account anew by signing in again. 😉

Hope this helps.

Edit: Oh.. you are on Windows. One of the rule above is related to Mac/Linux only. 🤷 My fault. Instead of the command above remove Dropbox folder residing in "C:\Users\music\AppData\Local" (not the one that keeps your data).

[Musicstate]

Thanks very much Здравко!, this did the trick.

One thing to add to all of this is during the installation you need to select Advanced to choose another installation directory from the default location

Musicstate

[Primo_Susto]

-"This is the way"-
Thank you very much, for me (in mac) after hours of searching, uninstalling and installing several times, I finally found your answer in the forum.

It was as easy as just:

- *with dorpbox installed but closed 
- open terminal
- copy paste: 

rm -rf ~/.dropbox

- press enter

- open Dropbox 
- working like nothing wrong ever happened 

[jen1147]

My Dropbox suddenly stopped syncing two days ago, and as of last night it will not start at all. I am receiving the following error message when I click on the Dropbox icon on my Windows 10 Desktop: "Couldn't start Dropbox. This is usually because of a permissions error. Storing your home folder on a network share can also cause an error."

I am using Windows 10 and I have no pending system software updates.

I have tried all of the solutions on the permissions error support page, none of which resolved my issue. https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/sync-uploads/files-not-syncing

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the application multiple times. I tried Advanced Uninstall. Every time I reinstall, I have this same error message. I tried unlinking my account from the desktop app. When I tried to contact Dropbox, the Chatbot pointed me to the community forum. I have a free account, not a paid account.

I tried the solution proposed here, but removing Dropbox from C:\Users\username\AppData\Local did not solve the problem. https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Create-upload-and-share/Couldn-t-Start-Dropbox/m-p/577691#M50944 

Thank you for any suggestions! The error message says to contact Dropbox Support with the following: 
bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 154.4.5363
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 52
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 18a51a83-5e05-4fd4-b71e-a8f354494112
pid: 19872
cwd: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.583.1'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.583.1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: None
appdata: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
dropbox_path: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\Dropbox'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\Dropbox'
mode=0o40555 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\\154.4.5363\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\154.4.5363\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
not found
parent not found
TMP: C:\Users\Jen\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\Jen\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 828, in wrapper
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6623, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox\client\message_queue.pyc", line 311, in _wrapped
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6147, in _init_components_for_account
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6071, in create_sync_engine
File "dropbox\sync_engine_boundary\factory.pyc", line 225, in make_sync_engine
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\sync_engine.pyc", line 251, in __init__
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\modern_client\modern_client.pyc", line 261, in __init__
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\modern_client\base.pyc", line 189, in __init__
File "dropbox\fs_api\lifecycle.pyc", line 192, in __init__
File "dropbox\fs_api\lifecycle.pyc", line 206, in _create_thin_client
File "dropbox\fs_api\fs_api_adapter.pyc", 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 application filesystem |>> Attempting to initialize dbx cache directory |>> NtSetBasicInformation syscall: new handle |>> ACCESS_DENIED |>> Permission denied"

[jen1147]

I am experiencing this same issue in Windows 10 but removing Dropbox from C:\Users\username\AppData\Local did not solve the problem. Dropbox still won't start. I posted my similar issue here: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/Couldn-t-start-Dropbox-permissions-error/m-p/...

Any advice is welcome, thank you!

Here is my error message:

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 154.4.5363
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 52
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 18a51a83-5e05-4fd4-b71e-a8f354494112
pid: 19872
cwd: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.583.1'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Update\\1.3.583.1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: None
appdata: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
dropbox_path: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\Dropbox'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\Dropbox'
mode=0o40555 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\\154.4.5363\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\154.4.5363\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
not found
parent not found
TMP: C:\Users\Jen\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\Jen\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
real_path='C:\\Users\\Jen\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=0o40777 uid=0 gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 828, in wrapper
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6623, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox\client\message_queue.pyc", line 311, in _wrapped
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6147, in _init_components_for_account
File "dropbox\client\main.pyc", line 6071, in create_sync_engine
File "dropbox\sync_engine_boundary\factory.pyc", line 225, in make_sync_engine
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\sync_engine.pyc", line 251, in __init__
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\modern_client\modern_client.pyc", line 261, in __init__
File "dropbox\sync_engine\nucleus\classic_client\modern_client\base.pyc", line 189, in __init__
File "dropbox\fs_api\lifecycle.pyc", line 192, in __init__
File "dropbox\fs_api\lifecycle.pyc", line 206, in _create_thin_client
File "dropbox\fs_api\fs_api_adapter.pyc", 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 application filesystem |>> Attempting to initialize dbx cache directory |>> NtSetBasicInformation syscall: new handle |>> ACCESS_DENIED |>> Permission denied"

[Walter]

Hey @jen1147, sorry to hear about this.

Could you perform a clean, advanced reinstall and let us know how it goes?

If you happen to be on the Basic plan, make sure to have less than 3 devices connected to your account. 

[Здравко]

---

@jen1147 wrote:

...
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 application filesystem |>> Attempting to initialize dbx cache directory |>> NtSetBasicInformation syscall: new handle |>> ACCESS_DENIED |>> Permission denied"

---

Hi @jen1147,

Your issue seems completely different that the one represented in OP. That's why presented solution doesn't work for you (reinstall, including advanced, likely wouldn't work too). For some reason the access to your Dropbox folder (or part of it) seems limited. It's difficult to predict what's the exact reason. Whatever is it, the Dropbox application fails on try to access its cache. In your Dropbox folder (C:\Users\Jen\Dropbox) is a subfolder named ".dropbox.cache". This subfolder is hidden and to be able see it, you have to make sure your file browser is set to show hidden files/folders. Check what's wrong there - limited access, missing write permissions, etc. Fix any issues you are able find out. If no luck still, it's safe to just delete it. The application will recreate this subfolder on next run (or will try at least), hopefully with right permissions. Give a try. 😉

Good luck.

[jen1147]

Thanks, @Walter, but unfortunately these solutions did not work either. I performed an advanced uninstall and confirmed I am only signed on to 2 devices on the Basic plan. Dropbox still won't start. I also confirmed that Dropbox is allowed through my firewall and that my system has full control permissions of the Dropbox folder.

[jen1147]

Thanks, @Здравко, but unfortunately Dropbox still won't start. I checked the permissions on the dropbox.cache folder and it said "full control."  I then deleted the dropbox.cache folder. I also checked my settings in Windows Defender and it says the Dropbox app is allowed through the firewall. Any other suggestions? Thanks again!