You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
Minh Anh V.
10 years agoNew member | Level 1
Why am I getting a 'Couldn't start Dropbox' permission error?
Here's the message that I get:
Couldn't start Dropbox. This is usually because of permission error. Storing your home folder on a network share can also cause an error.
- 10 years ago
This often happens with users who may have migrated old data and settings from another Mac to their current computer.
Operating system permissions prevent files from being viewed or edited by unauthorized logins. Permissions can be set any number of ways and can be restored manually through a fairly simple process. Please note that it is very important to follow these steps specifically as failure to do so may result in other issues. On a Mac OS X you can do the following:
1) Make sure the Dropbox desktop application is running
2) Click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar and then click your profile picture or initials
3) Select 'Preferences'
4) Click on the 'Account' tab
5) Hold down the 'Option/Alt' key
6) Click on the 'Fix Permissions' button (make sure you're still holding down the 'Option' key.
This will allow Dropbox access to your home folder, Dropbox folder, and any required settings.
Guy L.
New member | Level 1
Hi I can't start dropbox on my laptop. I get this message
"Couldn't start Dropbox This is usually because of a permissions error. Storing your home folder on a network share can also cause an error."
I had a previous version running fine. so I uninstalled it and installed the latest version from dropbox website. Then it told me the folder dropbox already existed and it will be renamed and I clicked install. That's all I know. It has also referenced a log file and I have pasted the contents of this below.
Please help I just upgraded to a pro account earlier today
bn.BUILD_KEY: Dropbox
bn.VERSION: 3.0.5
bn.DROPBOXEXT_VERSION: 24
bn.is_frozen: True
pid: 2308
cwd: u'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin'
real_path=u'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin'
mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
HOME: u'C:\Users\Guy'
appdata: u'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\instance2'
real_path=u'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\instance2'
mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
dropbox_path: u'C:\Users\Guy\Dropbox'
real_path=u'C:\Users\Guy\Dropbox'
mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
sys_executable: 'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin\Dropbox.exe'
real_path='C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin\Dropbox.exe'
mode=0100777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
trace.file: 'C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin\Dropbox.exe\dropbox\client\ui\common\boot_error.pyc'
real_path='C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin\Dropbox.exe\dropbox\client\ui\common\boot_error.pyc'
not found
parent not found
TMP: C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Local\Temp
TEMP: C:\Users\Guy\AppData\Local\Temp
tempdir: u'c:\users\guy\appdata\local\temp'
real_path=u'c:\users\guy\appdata\local\temp'
mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
parent mode=040777 uid=0 gid=0
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "dropbox\client\authenticate.pyc", line 1285, in authentication_thread
File "dropbox\client\authenticate.pyc", line 404, in finish_dropbox_boot
File "dropbox\sync_engine\sync_engine.pyc", line 484, in mount_dropbox_folder
File "dropbox\sync_engine\block_cache.pyc", line 35, in init
File "dropbox\sync_engine\block_cache.pyc", line 41, in compute_max_size
File "dropbox\sync_engine_file_system\windows.pyc", line 182, in wrapped
File "contextlib.pyc", line 35, in __exit_
File "dropbox\sync_engine_file_system\util.pyc", line 94, in convert_error
File "dropbox\sync_engine_file_system\windows.pyc", line 182, in wrapped
File "dropbox\sync_engine_file_system\windows.pyc", line 442, in get_disk_space_info
FSInvalidArgumentError: [Errno 22] The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.
Travis M.1
10 years agoNew member | Level 1
I have this issue too. The client will not launch
Could start Dropbox: https://www.evernote.com/l/AEH6CprAHDpIFoRW4_vdVregUExGriG4gB0
It is trying to launch from the path: '/Users/tRavI/Dropbox'
However the path it should be launching from is '/Users/tRavIs/Dropbox'
There needs to be an "s" in the "tRavIs" directory. How do I update this path?
About 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.
Need more support
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!