When launching the CrashPlan app, you may get an Uncaught Exception error. This error will cause the application to close immediately after opening, and may occur every time you launch the CrashPlan app.
When permissions on the CrashPlan app log directory are changed by the end user or third-party software, it can result in the CrashPlan app being unable to write to the log files in that directory. When the CrashPlan app runs a check on startup to verify that it can perform all its required tasks, it encounters the problem with being unable to write to the logs. This is what causes the Uncaught Exception error to occur. To resolve the issue, follow the steps below appropriate for your operating system.
Mac
- From the Finder, open Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
- Enter this command:
sudo chown -R $(logname) ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
- Press Return.
- Enter your password when prompted.
The password doesn't appear as you enter it.
- Verify that you have changed the directory's permissions by entering this command:
cd ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
- Press Return.
Terminal opens the CrashPlan app's log directory.
- Enter this command:
pwd
- Press Return.
Terminal confirms that the ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan directory is open.
Here's what the series of commands and replies look like all together:
prompt$ cd ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
-bash: cd: ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan: Permission denied
prompt$ sudo chown -R $(logname) ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
Password: ***
prompt$ cd ~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
prompt$ pwd
~/Library/Logs/CrashPlan
- Open the CrashPlan app.
Windows
- Log in to Windows as a user with administrative access rights.
- In Windows Explorer, navigate to the parent directory of the CrashPlan app log directory:
- If the CrashPlan app is installed for everyone: C:\ProgramData\CrashPlan\
- If the CrashPlan app is installed per-user: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\<Local|Roaming>\CrashPlan\
- Right-click the CrashPlan folder and choose Properties.
- Click the Security tab. (Make sure this shows that the logged-in user has permission to access this folder.)
- Click Advanced.
- Click Change permissions.
- Select Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object.
- Click Apply.
A warning dialog appears: This will replace explicitly defined permissions on all descendants of this object with inheritable permissions from CrashPlan. Do you wish to continue?
- Click Yes, followed by OK.
- Open the CrashPlan app.
Linux
- Delete the ~/.crashplan directory.
For example, delete the directory using the rmdir command. You must delete the directory contents before you can delete the directory.
- The next time you launch the CrashPlan app, launch it as a user.
For increased security, CrashPlan recommends that you launch and run the app as a user, instead of as root. When you launch the app as a user, CrashPlan recreates the ~/.crashplan directory with the appropriate permissions.
For more information, see Cannot open the CrashPlan app due to uncaught exception error (CrashPlan for Small Business).
