XULRunner Has Stopped Working (Zotero 3.0.8)

marksample

Ever since upgrading Zotero Standalone to 3.0.8 yesterday, I receive a "XULRunner Has Stopped Working" error almost immediately after running Zotero. I tried to downgrade to earlier versions of Standalone (I tried both 3.0.7 and 3.0.5), but I still get the error.

Note that I upgraded to 3.0.8 on both my home and work computer yesterday, and BOTH are encountering the same XULRunner error. Both are Windows 7 (one is 32bit and the other is 64bit).

Because Zotero is crashing almost as soon as I run it, I'm not getting any dialogue box with an error report.

Simon

There was a report of this with Zotero 3.0.6, but we fixed that, so I'm not sure what would cause this. Do you have any security software installed?

It might help us track down the problem if you can download WinCrashReport, run it after XULRunner crashes, save the crash report, and email it to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread.

marksample

I've sent the crash report to support@zotero.org. As for security software, I'm running Microsoft Security Essentials.

pgimeno

I have the same problem in two computers (both whith windows 7 64 bit)and I have also sent ther report to support@zotero.org. I cannot use zotero anymore, as it crashes all the time!

pgimeno

I don't know if somebody is still reading this discussion, but just in case: the error occurs only when synchronizing (so the only way to avoid crashing of XULrunner is avoiding it).

adamsmith

and you mean actually crashing, as in closing unexpectedly, not just freezing?

pgimeno

Yes; the screen gets lighter and the message "XULrunner dejó de funcionar; El programa dejó de funcionar correctamente por un problema. Windows cerrará el programa y le notificará si existe una solución" appears. In a free translation to english, that means "XULRunner Has Stopped Working; A problem made the aplication stop working. Windows will close the application and will notify you if any solution is avaiable".

Then the only option is to click the button "cerrar" (close) and obviously, zotero closes. I've sent the screen capture to support@zotero.org with a link to this discussion.

Thank you for your attention.

pgimeno

To be more specific (I've been trying different things), the crash happens when synchronizing the attached files via dav (in my case with box.com,I don't know if the problem is specific to box or it happens with other servers). If it helps, to use webdav I have changed the value of the string "extensions.zotero.sync.storage.verified" (in about:config) to "true", because if it is set in "false" I get this message:

" Your WebDav server must be configured to serve files without extensions and with .prop extensions in order to work with zotero"

I changed it a long time ago (and zotero has worked until now without any problem) because I read this solution (posted as "Possible Workaround" by DanStillman) in http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/20351/your-webdav-server-must-be-configured-to-serve-files-without-extensions-and-files-with-prop-extensi/

marksample

The problem is still occurring for me as well. I also use WebDav. So the problem only occurs when syncing, and only when syncing with WebDav. I'm desperate to try any solutions.

marksample

I had been using the PHP-based WebDav solution for file syncing. Now that I've heard other people using WebDav are having the same xulrunner crash as me, I tried switching WebDavs. Now I'm using CloudMe (mentioned on the Zotero forums), and everything seems to be working.

I still don't know what was causing the problem: a change with Zotero or a change on my own PHP-based WebDav server.

realtime99

I am having this problem also (XUL Runner crashing & having to close Zotero Standalone), but I am not synching attachments with Zotero or a WebDav server.

I get the error only when adding pdf documents to items, so I'm wondering whether it is related to indexing those documents.

Any ideas?

dstillman

quickfold11: Start a new thread, and provide a Debug ID for a freeze, assuming it eventually recovers (which is quite likely).

nmargolis89

I am having the same problem, also without any relation to syncing to Zotero or any other file server (I have the automatic sync turned off, and I encountered the problem even when I wasn't trying to sync). It seems to happen whenever I am trying to process (import or export)a large amount of references at a time(eg. 5,000), but other than that I haven't noticed a pattern of when it happens.

Is there another thread where this is discussed?

Is this going to continue to be a problem that is unworkable if I eventually finish adding 15,000+ references to my library? (I'm assuming it's unusual to have that many references, but I'm transferring many years' worth of accumulated references from a RefMan database).

adamsmith

Freeze or Crash? Large imports will cause a freeze, but only once.
If it crashes, start a new thread and provide real-time debug output:
http://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output#real-time_debug_output

MartinoGabra

Mine did that too just now (why I'm here) but if you ignore shutting it down apparently it works fine...

I was doing a large import from Zotero so it kept crashing. This last time I ignored the prompt to force close and it worked!

adamsmith

yes, that's right - it's important to distinguish between a freeze (not responding) and a crash (the program is shutting down unexpectedly). For many freezes, especially as they're import or sync related, just waiting them out is the answer.