Zotero does not start

rhauck

Hi,

When I try to start Zotero, I get the following error message: "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."
My IT support assures me that I have the appropriate permissions after inspecting the problem on my computer, and the problem occurred only after the latest update.
What could be the reason, and more important, how can I fix it?

Thanks,
Ruediger

dstillman

That wouldn't be a problem in Zotero itself — that would be some problem with the shortcut on your system. You can try uninstalling Zotero completely (your data won't be unaffected) and reinstalling from the download page.

rhauck

Thank you - I tried a complete uninstall and re-reinstall several times and it did not fix the problem.

dstillman

Your IT department should be able to debug this. Again, it's not a problem in Zotero itself — there's something wrong on your system. I don't know if you're getting this for the shortcut or for zotero.exe, but that'd be something to check.

rhauck

I get it for zotero.exe.
I agree that this should be the job of my IT department, but they say they did everything they could (which in my opinion was not a lot) and pointed me here.
I will probably ask them to set the whole computer up again.

dstillman

If you haven't, you can try following Microsoft's support document on this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2669244/windows-cannot-access-the-specified-device-path-or-file-error-when-you

rhauck

Ok, thank you!