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Forum Discussion
After upgrading to Ventura, cannot start dropbox app
Hi, my dropbox app was working beforehand. I recently uggraded to Mac OS Ventura but now it's not working or syncing. I'm getting the error message "couldn't start dropbox" or sync. So I did the adva...
Hello friend.
Unfortunately, after several tests I did, the only alternative I found was to delete the aforementioned folders and reinstall, thus correcting the permissions.
Here is a link where my suggestion was accepted as a solution.
If it helped you, leave a Like. 🙂
https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/Moving-Dropbox-folder-from-Library-CloudStorage/m-p/654283#M49803
No. I was just at the Apple Genius Bar yesterday and he did EVERYTHING there is to do and still getting the same error message. He said it was something on Dropbox that must be incompatible with Ventura that was causing the issue, so until Dropbox lets us know there's an update, not much to do.
Hello goodnight.
I'm using the Ventura version, and I also had the same problem, analyzing my Logs, and observing the Forum messages, I performed a battery of tests.
He follows:
1. Reinstall via homebrew (same error)
2. Manual reinstall (same error)
Then I went to other levels of execution, when running as Root, it worked at first.
Puff, it dawned on me, permission was the problem.
I reset the permissions. (same error) lol 😞
I decided to run the binaries via terminal.
"cd /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS"
Then "./Dropbox"
However, I still got error.
Realizing that it had worked as root, and there were indications of permissions.
I decided to delete the root folders.
"/Users/elizeu/.dropbox"
"/Users/elizeu/Dropbox"
IT WORKED.!!!!
Running as RootRunning as a regular user, after excluding local folders.synchronizing
Hello friend.
Unfortunately, after several tests I did, the only alternative I found was to delete the aforementioned folders and reinstall, thus correcting the permissions.
Here is a link where my suggestion was accepted as a solution.
If it helped you, leave a Like. 🙂
https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/Moving-Dropbox-folder-from-Library-CloudStorage/m-p/654283#M49803You will not need to re-synchronize your files.
Let's assume you have your huge Dropbox folder stored on an external drive and it is accessible at /Volumes/External/Dropbox. You can replace that location with the actual location of your folder for the remainder of these instructions. It will work just fine.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
I assume your Dropbox folder is located on an external drive that can be accessed at /Volumes/External/Dropbox. You should substitute that folder with the actual location of your Dropbox folder as you go through this guide.
If you have not already done so, make sure you quit Dropbox before you begin!
Open a Terminal window
In the Terminal, type
sudo rm ~/Library/Dropbox && ~/Library/.dropbox
Enter your Mac's password when prompted. You will not get any visual feedback while you are entering the password
Run Dropbox. It will think it's the first time you run it. Go through the setup.
As the last step of the setup, you will be asked to choose what files and folders in your Dropbox account you want to keep a local copy of. Select them all. Complete the setup.
As soon as Dropbox loads, quit the app.
Now go back to the Terminal:
sudo rm ~/Library/Dropbox && ln -s /Volumes/External/Dropbox ~/Library/Dropbox
To verify everything is good:
ls -al ~/Library/Dropbox
You should see a listing of all the files located at /Volumes/External/Dropbox If you don't, go back to step 2.
OPTIONAL: Install macFuse https://osxfuse.github.io/
Now start Dropbox. You are DONE!
Credits: mrforgedThank you, elizeufreitas. Your solution worked for me.
I used the Terminal command rm - R /Users/Joel/.dropbox to remove this directory. Then I went dropbox.com, signed in, and downloaded a new installation file. Dropbox is finally working for me on Ventura!
My situation may be unique as I used a Time Machine backup to port everything over from my very old Mac Mini running OS 10.something to my M2 Mac Mini running OS 13.2, so I am sure the .dropbox directory contained many old and incompatible files.
Is there a fix yet? The dropbox app will not launch, Ventura 13.2. I refuse to try a reinstall as it will take 2 day to sync up again. Bogus.
Hi,
I have the same issue with dropbox, but then i realize that i have the same issue with other apps, like instagram and spotify in my macbook after the upgrade of macos ventura so i know that the issue was the OS and not dropbox app.
I found these https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/how-to-fix-macos-ventura-wi-fi-problems/
First i flushed the DNS Cache, then resett the Mac Network Settings and last i restart my Macbook.
With these my problem was fixed, i hope these works for you all!Regards,
This worked for me. Logged in as root. Deleted /.dropbox and /Dropbox. Had to then uninstall Dropbox and reinstall, but it finally started up after months of it not being able to start. Thank you so much!!
Many thanks to elizeufreitas and joelawalter. His suggestion worked for me. It took two attempts. One thing I might add is make sure you are logged out of Dropbox online first, then do what Joel suggested.
Still not working and getting the same error message !
Dropbox engineers should develop dishwashers or something but above all stop touching on what they don't know, ie software 😞
