Zotero quit unexpectedly [Apple system error] Won't fully reopen. New startup debug report

DWL-SDCA
edited May 29, 2024

New May 29, 2024:
Startup Zotero debug report
D192533272

Report ID after restarting in troubleshooting mode
2107740468

Thanks

Report ID: 1634209300

7.0.0-beta.81+721f54fe4
Sonoma 14.5 (23F79) M2 Max 64GB

Activity Monitor shows Zotero taking 98.6-99.8 percent of CPU with 65 threads.

This seems to be related to emptying the trash bin.

Is it possible to start Zotero in debug mode? When I try to open Zotero it shows that it is "loading items" in the library/collection but nothing happens after more than 20 minutes. I restarted my computer and tried again but Zotero was still "hung". I tried starting Zotero on my Mac [option-click the icon] but it is still stuck loading items.

This happened the other day and I sent a report and an email with the Apple error text to support@zotero.org should I send the most recent Apple error reports.

Is it possible to open Zotero with syncing turned off?

I can force quit and have access to other software but I want to use Zotero.

edit: The menus allow me to click and show drop-down options. However, the center column in the standard view displays loading items. How long must I wait to be able to click on a collection and see its contents after I empty the trash?

I used the menu to activate debug logging and then the collection contents appeared. I hope that this is useful: D1415189258.

Thanks

New May 29, 2024:
Startup Zotero debug report
D192533272

Report ID after restarting in troubleshooting mode
2107740468
  • dstillman
    It looks like you deleted a very large number of items from the trash? You said "about 1500 items" in your other thread, but in our logs — so just those that have synced so far — I'm seeing almost 50K items (which can include child items and individual annotations) emptied from your trash in the last week.

    There is currently an issue where emptying the trash with many items in it can cause a hang at the next startup. We need to investigate and optimize that, but for now you may indeed need to let it go for a number of hours.

    If you're still seeing this, though, can you provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup through a few minutes of loading, using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option? If you can't access that option, see Reporting Startup Errors for how to generate a startup Debug ID from the command line.
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited May 29, 2024
    I'm so sorry about grossly underestimating the number of deleted items. I thought that I had been deleting the records much more frequently. Next time, when I empty lots of items from the trash I will both start a debug log and will follow the instructions for reporting startup errors.

    New May 29, 2024:
    Startup Zotero debug report
    D192533272

    Report ID after restarting in troubleshooting mode
    2107740468
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited May 29, 2024
    New May 29, 2024:
    Startup Zotero debug report
    D192533272

    Report ID after restarting in troubleshooting mode
    2107740468

    I have (I think) 16,000 items that I would like to delete from my local and online from my library (in about 15 collections).

    How is the best way to go about this?

    I have several collections that change very little. Those (only) I want to backup. Should I go back to my practice of not automatically syncing? I typically import about 300 items each day, export those in MODS format, and then send them to the trash bin and empty the trash. I've lately been upping that daily cycle amount to 1500. I'm sure that is the reason for my problem. I don't want this to reoccur if I need to import and then trash a large numbner of records again.

    edit:

    I do not currently have any documents with live Zotero fields. If I can be assured of retaining the records in certain of my collections, I am willing to take radical measures if that is necessary.

    Thanks
  • dstillman
    You should just let it go at startup until it finishes. It could potentially take hours, but once it finishes, startups will be fast again.

    We'll try to optimize this in the future, but to avoid for now, you should avoid emptying your trash all at once if it has many thousands of items in it — you can delete in batches, but probably you should just let it auto-purge on its own. Unless you actually moved thousands of items to the trash at the same time, they'll be purged in their original (~300-item, it sounds like) batches based on the default 30-day timer.
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited May 29, 2024
    I get a Transaction Timeout error (Report ID 169371566) and the sync indicator stops turning.

    Should I keep Zotero open and it will sort itself out on my local machine? I will do so but I'd like confirmation.

    Should I take steps to keep my Mac from going to sleep?

  • dstillman
    Try temporarily disabling auto-sync and restarting Zotero. It might not work after a transaction timeout.
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