Getting an error "Couldn't start Dropbox" when opening Dropbox, how can I fix this?

[Josephus F.]

Can somebody tell me how to proceed ?

[Daphne · Accepted solution]

Hey @Josephus F., I hope you're well today!

Can you click on the blue hyperlink to open up the full error log, and then send me the full log in your reply here? This will help me with identifying the issue you're having there.

Let me know - thanks!

[Josephus F.]

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 90.4.307
bn.DROPBOXEXT_VERSION: failed
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: d6152087-81a0-51b8-9a39-5c32eda2ae45
pid: 21043
ppid: 1
uid: 502
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='engelbeck', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Engelbeck!', pw_dir='/Users/engelbeck', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='engelbeck', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Engelbeck!', pw_dir='/Users/engelbeck', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
euid: 502
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=80
parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=80
HOME: '/Users/engelbeck'
appdata: '/Users/engelbeck/.dropbox/instance1'
real_path='/Users/engelbeck/.dropbox/instance1'
mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
parent mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/engelbeck/Dropbox'
real_path='/Users/engelbeck/Dropbox'
mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20
sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'
real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'
mode=0o100775 uid=0 gid=80
parent mode=0o40775 uid=0 gid=80
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/mq/ft3yngqx5fn4vf99y7r_3jr00000gp/T'
real_path='/private/var/folders/mq/ft3yngqx5fn4vf99y7r_3jr00000gp/T'
mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 7999, in main_startup
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 3625, in run
File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 681, in mainloop
File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 279, in create_app
File "dropbox/client/ui/cocoa/uikit.pyc", line 247, 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

[Daphne]

Thanks for getting back to me with the log @Josephus F.!

Can you try doing an advanced reinstall of the desktop app to see if that does the trick?

The files within your Dropbox folder won't be affected, so they don't need to be synced again, the app will just need to reindex the files.

Let me know how it goes!