Upgrade StorageStandalone can't find profile
I'm desperate to solve this problem! About a month ago, I started having problems with software freezing on my iMac. I took it to the Genius Bar and they detected that I needed a new fan. They installed it and I should have been back in business, right? Wrong. I continued to have software freezes that also froze the operating system. After a month of not resolving the problems, I've now wiped my hard drive clean Rather than do a clean install from Time Machine, I worked with someone from Apple Care to migrate software from my Macbook Pro (which has no problems). Additionally, we migrated software and preferences from the Time Machine backup of my iMac. By the way, I'm running Lion 10.7.4.
So there's the situation. The Zotero problem is boggling my mind! After the problems started on the iMac, I installed Zotero Standalone on my Macbook and I love it! Now I'm trying to do the same on my iMac, but it's not working.
In the process of carefully migrating and reinstalling software, I now have three available users on my iMac. One is the root, another is the old profile (which is assumed to be corrupted somewhere), and the third is the new (hopefully) clean profile that will become the only user. From both the root user and the old user accounts, Zotero SA seems to work and it goes to the correct library. On the user account I'm actually using, it won't let me choose the right profile folder and it won't just let me log in to my account and sync.
Any suggestions for getting around this? My brain is absolutely mush from dealing with this other issue for a month. I need to get back to writing my dissertation, but I'm completely crippled without Zotero!!
Jennifer
So there's the situation. The Zotero problem is boggling my mind! After the problems started on the iMac, I installed Zotero Standalone on my Macbook and I love it! Now I'm trying to do the same on my iMac, but it's not working.
In the process of carefully migrating and reinstalling software, I now have three available users on my iMac. One is the root, another is the old profile (which is assumed to be corrupted somewhere), and the third is the new (hopefully) clean profile that will become the only user. From both the root user and the old user accounts, Zotero SA seems to work and it goes to the correct library. On the user account I'm actually using, it won't let me choose the right profile folder and it won't just let me log in to my account and sync.
Any suggestions for getting around this? My brain is absolutely mush from dealing with this other issue for a month. I need to get back to writing my dissertation, but I'm completely crippled without Zotero!!
Jennifer
OK. Here's what happens when I'm in the user profile that I am supposed to use. I open Zotero SA and get the following error message: "The Zotero data directory could not be found." Following that is the previous directory located in my library (a hidden folder in Lion). I have three options then. 1) I can click "OK" and the program closes. 2) If I click "Use Firefox profile directory" I get the message to restart Zotero SA. When I click "Restart Now" it restarts, but gives me the same error message. 3) I can also select "Locate" and a dialogue box to "Select a Zotero data directory" comes up. Remember, on Lion, the Library folder is hidden. Therefore, I have either typed in the address of the folder or I have dragged the icon for that folder into the search area of the dialogue box. Zotero goes to the folder and I get the following message: "The directory you selected is not empty and does not appear to be a Zotero data directory. Create Zotero files in this directory anyway?" If I click "No", Zotero closes. If I click "Yes", I get the error message all over again.
My Zotero data is safe! I can access it from my laptop. I can log in and see it on the Website, too. Here are things I haven't tried yet.
1) Should I delete what is in that directory folder? Would the software just recreate what is in that folder and then let me log in to sync the data?
2) I have tried to get rid of Zotero SA and go back to using it as a Firefox add-on. The add-on is there, but I can't set the preferences to even see Zotero. Is there some way to make that approach work?
Apple finally bumped my case up to a supervisor who has vowed to stick with this problem until it's solved. Unfortunately, he isn't back at work until tomorrow. (They also aren't thrilled with fixing third-party software.) If you can figure this out, I will love you as much as I love Zotero.
Yes, I can use my laptop if I have to. I'm writing my dissertation, however, and the real estate on the 27-inch iMac is awesome for all the files I have open while I'm writing.
Thank you!!
Jennifer
2) that should just work - and you can both use Standalone and Z for FF on the same machine, pointing to the same directory (you can't have both open at the same time, but Zotero will prevent you from doing that) do you see the add-on installed? Do you see Zotero icon at the bottom left of Firefox?
In general this does sound like something might be out of whack with permissions - e.g. the account you're using doesn't have access to the folder where ZOtero stores its data or so.
I have two quick questions for you that might help the guy from Apple Care:
1. As I said, I use Zotero every day, all day. When my computer first started having problems I was using the FF extension only, not the standalone. Were there any updates to that--or to Firefox, if you happen to know that--in early July? The problems appeared out of nowhere. I'm beginning to wonder if something in Firefox isn't playing well with Lion. Everything works on my laptop. All the hardware on the iMac checks out fine. Aggravating!
2. The second question is about Mountain Lion. I'm so tired of this problem that I'm actually considering getting the new OSX if there's a chance it will make this headache go away. Before I do that, the critical question is whether you've had any problems with Mountain Lion. I use Word and Zotero in combination and almost always have both open at the same time.
Thanks for your help!
Jennifer
There's a pretty good chance this was related to permissions. (The later problems, not the earlier freezing, which sounds like a more general problem on your computer.) OS X accounts can't access each other's files by default, even if the files are copied from one account to the other, and repairing permissions via Disk Utility doesn't fix things like that. (In fact, it does very little in general.)
I'll let you know if I have any more problems. For now, I have something I can use. YAY!!