File "XYZ" cannot be created

Derekwolfson
Debug ID: 730196189

Background:

I just did a fresh reinstall of Zotero and I keep getting an error stating "file 'xyz' cannot be created. Check that the file is not currently in use, that its permissions allow write access, and that it has a valid filename. Restarting your computer or disabling security software may also help."

Attempted fixes:

I have gone to my main Zotero folder and made sure the properties were not set as read only. Also, I have tried various modifications of my security system (turned my firewall off and did other adjustments) to no avail.

The issues seem to be with files associated with "snapshots" from the Zotero webapp. The .pdf files sync fine and the errors are usually associated with .gif .js .png etc.

Pressing the sync button over and over again keeps the process going, but it is not fixing the errors. The snapshots of the webpages are not being restored, however the .pdfs are indeed loading as I force the sync onward.

I am going to get my IT department to turn off my anti-virus software so I can try again tomorrow -- will update when that process is done.
  • aurimas
    Are the file names that fail to sync somehow unusually long? If so, try installing the Zotero Beta build and sync again. You can always revert back to the official release at a later point.
  • dstillman
    edited September 30, 2014
    Yes, this is almost certainly due to anti-virus software (though I don't know why security software would prevent Zotero Standalone from accessing its own data directory — it's more common for it to prevent Standalone from accessing the Zotero for Firefox data directory within the Firefox profile, or vice versa).
  • dstillman
    edited September 30, 2014
    aurimas: No. Just regular short .png, .gif, .jpg, .js files. Odd.
  • Derekwolfson
    I started my computer in Safe Mode with Networking Support and attempted to Sync with my library and it worked. Important to note that my Webroot Secure Anywhere anti-virus software was enabled during this process.

    I'm not sure if it is something specific to my machine or not, but this is strange behavior nonetheless.
  • dstillman
    It's definitely something specific to your machine. That message means Zotero simply cannot write those files to the disk, and there's nothing it can do about that. You'll need to figure out what's interfering.

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