cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Want to know what we learned at IBC? Check out our learnings on media, remote working and more right here.

Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Re: Help! "Couldn't start Dropbox" error (Mac & Big Sur)

Help! "Couldn't start Dropbox" error (Mac & Big Sur)

prc87
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Dropbox won't start on my MacBook Air (13" 2018), with Big Sur 11.3.1.

Have uninstalled dropbox and reinstalled. Same error

Uninstalled again, advanced re-install. Same error

AFAIK, vanilla install, with dropbox folder in default location.

Used to work, but stopped when rebooted laptop after 11.3.1 upgrade

 

Help!

 

Error messages:

 

"Couldn't start dropbox"

"This is usually because of a permissions error. Storing your home folder on a network share can also cause this error."

 

Contents of error file:

"

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 122.4.4867
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 664c1217-e060-5667-8990-51d38e73896b
pid: 815
ppid: 1
uid: 502
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='petercrow', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Peter Crow', pw_dir='/Users/petercrow', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='petercrow', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Peter Crow', pw_dir='/Users/petercrow', 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', '_xcsbuildagent', '_serialnumberd', '_xcscredserver'])
effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', '_xcsbuildagent', '_serialnumberd', '_xcscredserver'])
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None
cwd: '/'
     real_path='/'
            mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
     parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: '/Users/petercrow'
appdata: '/Users/petercrow/.dropbox/instance1'
         real_path='/Users/petercrow/.dropbox/instance1'
                mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
         parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/petercrow/Dropbox'
              real_path='/Users/petercrow/Dropbox'
                    not found
              parent mode=0o40777 uid=502 gid=20
sys_executable: '/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'
                real_path='/Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox'
                      mode=0o100755 uid=502 gid=20
                parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 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/y5/nky42css7sbgmkskdqtx09q80000gp/T'
         real_path='/private/var/folders/y5/nky42css7sbgmkskdqtx09q80000gp/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 807, in wrapper
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6277, in finish_dropbox_boot
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6497, in on_fresh_link
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6534, in create_dropbox_folder
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 1236, in safe_makedirs
  File "os.pyc", line 223, in makedirs
PermissionError: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted: '/Users/petercrow/Dropbox'
"

 

30 Replies 30

Walter
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey @tim_kelley, thanks for the nudge and sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Could you try disabling any antivirus you may have running and try an advanced re-install?

Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join

tim_kelley
Explorer | Level 4
Go to solution

I gave up and reinstalled my Dropbox files from the cloud. So that was

 

mv Dropbox XDropbox

 

and then reinstall Dropbox and let it move all my files bact to $home/Dropbox.

 

This was several GB of stuff and it took over a day. It seems to be cleaning up now and the files are back where they were supposed to be.

 

 

victoriabaum
Explorer | Level 4
Go to solution
Need help !! New MacBook with Big Sur. Only get error messages. Not on phone or older computer. Any assistance greatly appreciated. Have 2T pro

Megan
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey @victoriabaum, happy Monday!

In order for us to further investigate, we'll need to get and analyze the full error log that corresponds to the error message pop-up you're getting.

Can you send it my way, please? 

Thanks a lot!

Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

victoriabaum
Explorer | Level 4
Go to solution

Yes, Thank you!

 

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 125.4.3474
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 2c3c648f-c737-5a9a-abee-fc58ad5e4850
pid: 765
ppid: 1
uid: 501
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='victoriabaum', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Victoria Baum', pw_dir='/Users/victoriabaum', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='victoriabaum', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=501, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Victoria Baum', pw_dir='/Users/victoriabaum', 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'])
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=0
parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: '/Users/victoriabaum'
appdata: '/Users/victoriabaum/.dropbox/instance1'
real_path='/Users/victoriabaum/.dropbox/instance1'
mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
parent mode=0o40700 uid=501 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/victoriabaum/Dropbox'
real_path='/Users/victoriabaum/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/hf/cvc87mbj0pb6sz93j3x81ksc0000gn/T'
real_path='/private/var/folders/hf/cvc87mbj0pb6sz93j3x81ksc0000gn/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 819, in wrapper
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6472, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 307, in _wrapped
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6005, in _init_components_for_account
File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 5932, 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 275, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 219, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 149, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 223, in __init__
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 597, in _init_new_engine_locked
File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 182, in __init__
File "extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__
nucleus_python.SyncEngineError: "Initializing engine |>> Initializing filesystem |>> Attempting to register icons |>> Opening dst |>> open syscall |>> Permission denied"

Megan
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Thank you so much @victoriabaum.

To resolve this issue, can you try out these steps? 

I'd love to know the outcome of this.

Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

GBZarri
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

Same problem here. New iMac, BigSur 11.6, transfer all old data through TimeMachine backup and now Dropbox can't start with this error .

No way. I tried everything I found here and other sites

 

This is the log:

 

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 131.4.3968
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 48
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: b20ea8c7-c383-55eb-8cf3-c7d6579cd340
pid: 926
ppid: 1
uid: 502
user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='gabriella', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Gabriella Zarri', pw_dir='/Users/gabriella', pw_shell='/bin/bash')
effective_user_info: pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='gabriella', pw_passwd='********', pw_uid=502, pw_gid=20, pw_gecos='Gabriella Zarri', pw_dir='/Users/gabriella', 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', 'apple', 'gabriella', '_nsurlstoraged'])
effective_group_info: grp.struct_group(gr_name='staff', gr_passwd='*', gr_gid=20, gr_mem=['root', 'apple', 'gabriella', '_nsurlstoraged'])
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH: None
cwd: '/'
     real_path='/'
            mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
     parent mode=0o40755 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: '/Users/gabriella'
appdata: '/Users/gabriella/.dropbox/instance2'
         real_path='/Users/gabriella/.dropbox/instance2'
                mode=0o40700 uid=502 gid=20
         parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 gid=20
dropbox_path: '/Users/gabriella/Dropbox'
              real_path='/Users/gabriella/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=0o100755 uid=502 gid=20
                parent mode=0o40755 uid=502 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/t_/r2wqz10j2wg8y65w976xcg2r0000gp/T'
         real_path='/private/var/folders/t_/r2wqz10j2wg8y65w976xcg2r0000gp/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 808, in wrapper
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6525, in finish_dropbox_boot
  File "dropbox/client/message_queue.pyc", line 307, in _wrapped
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 6052, in _init_components_for_account
  File "dropbox/client/main.pyc", line 5976, in create_sync_engine
  File "dropbox/sync_engine_boundary/factory.pyc", line 226, in make_sync_engine
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/sync_engine.pyc", line 280, in __init__
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/modern_client.pyc", line 219, in __init__
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/modern_client/base.pyc", line 152, in __init__
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 217, in __init__
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/classic_client/thin_adapter/in_proc.pyc", line 587, in _init_new_engine_locked
  File "dropbox/sync_engine/nucleus/thin_client/client.pyc", line 182, in __init__
  File "desktop/extensions/nucleus/nucleus_python.pyx", line 76, in nucleus_python.NucleusSyncEngine.__cinit__
nucleus_python.SyncEngineError: "Initializing engine |>> Initializing filesystem |>> Attempting to register icons |>> Opening dst |>> open syscall |>> Permission denied"
 
Out there, Dropbox genius, do you have solutions ? 

Walter
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey @GBZarri, thanks for joining the discussion here. 

Could you clarify if you've tried an advanced reinstall yet?

Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join

Vaughana
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

Had same problem after installing Big Sur, if you look on hard drive there is a shared folder with a load of junk folders created by the install, deleting these and restarting dropbox forces it to unlink, you then login to dropbox again and synchronise from the cloud again.

Andy C.19
Explorer | Level 3
Go to solution

Hi,

 

To be super clear, when you say "delete DB folders from local storage, and empty bin" do you mean deleting all of your existing dropbox folders on your computer? While I can't open the app, the folders are still available to me there. Thanks!

Need more support?