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eater's avatar
eater
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago

Suddenly, Ubuntu Dropbox wants authentication and won't start

I've been running Dropbox on my Ubuntu 18.04 desktop just fine for months. Today, I noticed the application had stopped, so I tried to start it again and it said "Authentication is needed to run '/bin/sh' as the super user." Whether or not I authenticate, it then goes into "Starting..." status forever.

I've tried removing the current installation and reinstalling, but that doesn't make a difference.

Here's the terminal output:

dropbox: locating interpreter
dropbox: logging to /tmp/dropbox-antifreeze-PZrvIR
dropbox: initializing
dropbox: initializing python 3.5.4
dropbox: setting program path '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/dropbox'
dropbox: setting home path '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94'
dropbox: setting python path '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94:/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/python-packages-35.zip'
dropbox: python initialized
dropbox: running dropbox
dropbox: setting args
dropbox: applying overrides
dropbox: running main script
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/cryptography.hazmat.bindings._constant_time.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/cryptography.hazmat.bindings._openssl.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/cryptography.hazmat.bindings._padding.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/psutil._psutil_linux.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/psutil._psutil_posix.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/linuxffi.pthread._linuxffi_pthread.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/linuxffi.fcntl._linuxffi_fcntl.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/linuxffi.sys.compiled._linuxffi_sys.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/cpuid.compiled._cpuid.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/linuxffi.resolv.compiled._linuxffi_resolv.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/tornado.speedups.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/linuxffi.gnu.compiled._linuxffi_gnu.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/posixffi.libc._posixffi_libc.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/librsyncffi.compiled._librsyncffi.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtWebKit.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtCore.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtNetwork.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtGui.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtWebKitWidgets.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtWidgets.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtPrintSupport.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
dropbox: load fq extension '/home/eater/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-56.4.94/PyQt5.QtDBus.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so'
Desktop
Linux
Setting up the apps
  • eater's avatar
    eater
    6 years ago

    Hi Emanuele P.1. I went back and forth with the Dropbox engineering team for two months with no solution. Then I finally just randomly on my own tried removing the 10 or so symlinks that happened to be in my Dropbox directories, and that made it all start working normally again.

    I see Lusil gave you that suggestion, so maybe my experience has now made it into the Dropbox manual.

    Hope that helps!

  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hi there eater!
     
    Initially, although you mention that you’re running a Linux system, could you please let me know if you’re running a supported system? You can also find a full list of the system requirements to run the Dropbox  Linux installer here.
     
    Furthermore, have you by any chance given the headless installation via command line a shot, maybe that will do the trick?
     
    Let me know of any update! :slight_smile:
    • eater's avatar
      eater
      Helpful | Level 5
      7 years ago

      Thanks, Lusil. Yes, it's Ubuntu 18.04 with XFCE and Nautilus, which is listed as fully supported on that page.

      And yes, I did try the headless installation as well, with the exact same results.

      • Lusil's avatar
        Lusil
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        7 years ago
        Thanks for confirming this, eater!
         
        In this case, I’d kindly recommend giving an advanced reinstallation a try, since it’d remove any previous settings that may be causing any conflict to the app. It may just do the trick. 
         
        If that doesn’t work either though, I’d kindly suggest continuing this discussion via email. For this reason, I can contact you via email to your email address associated with your Forum profile, or you can submit your request to our Support team. 
         
        In any case, let me know how it goes! :grin:

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