"Access is denied" error after transfer of Dropbox from an old computer to a new one

[rgll]

Hi,

My laptop screen broke and my software and data was mirrored on to my new laptop.

My Dropbox files are on my computer, but the Dropbox App isn't working. For a short while I did not realize this, because I could actually save new files to what appeared to be my Dropbox folder.

I suspect I have to re-install Dropbox. My concern is that I added new files to the dropbox folders that I don't want to lose. I haven't found a way to easily identify those files to preserve them by copying them to a different folder. One of the issues is that I get an error message when I try to access a Dropbox folder directly.

I am pasting the log entry below.

Is there a work around or do I have to accept that I have to loose the new files?

bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 202.4.5551
bn.constants.WINDOWS_SHELL_EXT_VERSION: 75
bn.is_frozen: True
machine_id: 98a1da10-9452-4884-ac20-f29cb73449eb
pid: 23900
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\\rlandgraf_surface\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
         real_path='C:\\Users\\rlandgraf_surface\\AppData\\Local\\Dropbox\\instance1'
               	not found
         parent	not found
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\\202.4.5551\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
                real_path='C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Dropbox\\Client\\202.4.5551\\python-packages.zip\\dropbox\\client\\ui\\common\\boot_error.pyc'
                      	not found
                parent	not found
TMP: C:\Users\RLANDG~1\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\RLANDG~1\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: 'C:\\Users\\RLANDG~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
         real_path='C:\\Users\\RLandgraf\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'
               	mode=0o40777	uid=0	gid=0
         parent	mode=0o40777	uid=0	gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 8214, in main_startup
  File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 2691, in initialize
  File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 1702, in startup_low
  File "desktop/dropbox/client/main.py", line 1317, in safe_makedirs
  File "desktop/dropbox/fsutil.py", line 709, in safe_makedirs
  File "desktop/dropbox/overrides.py", line 241, in makedirs
  File "desktop/dropbox/overrides.py", line 241, in makedirs
  File "desktop/dropbox/overrides.py", line 241, in makedirs
  File "desktop/dropbox/overrides.py", line 254, in makedirs
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'C:\\Users\\rlandgraf_surface\\AppData'

[Hannah]

Sorry to hear about this issue, @rgll.

There are two likely reasons why this might be happening.

It could be a connection issue or some kind of security program, like an antivirus, VPN, etc. that is causing this.

Can you restart your computer and simply hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your system tray, and let us know what you see there?

Thanks in advance.

[Rich]

---

@rgll wrote:

One of the issues is that I get an error message when I try to access a Dropbox folder directly.

real_path='C:\\Users\\RLandgraf\\AppData\\Local\\Temp'

Access is denied: 'C:\\Users\\rlandgraf_surface\\AppData'

---

Your profile path is different on the new computer, compared to the old computer, so Dropbox is either looking for a folder it can't find, or doesn't have permission to.

---

... my software and data was mirrored on to my new laptop.

---

The easiest way to transfer Dropbox to another computer while not having to re-download everything is to first copy your Dropbox data folder to the new computer and name it something like Dropbox_OLD. Don't bother trying to transfer the Dropbox application. Just install it fresh on the new computer and specify the location for your Dropbox folder. As soon as it's done installing it will start to sync. Exit the Dropbox application, move or copy the files from Dropbox_OLD to Dropbox, and start the Dropbox application again. At this point it will start to index your files. Be patient and LET IT WORK.

So for your current situation, I would uninstall and reinstall Dropbox (perhaps you need an advanced reinstall) and follow the steps above. Works for me every time.