Zotero will not download

Kitsune123
Tried to add something to Zotero this morning and noticed the Zotero icon had vanished. I am on a pc, Windows 7. Checked Tools, found Zotero and clicked on it. Message: There was an error starting Zotero.
Checked Add-ons. Get Add-ons shows 'Loading' but never loads anything. Extensions is blank. Went to Zotero site and clicked on download button. One of two things happens: either "Add on downloading" wee tiny window appears and stays up indefinitely OR (after I close Firefox and try to download again) I get the message that file appears to be corrupt. (not database) Performed System Restore 4 times going back before latest Windows update and before latest Firefox update. Same result. Checked Firefox Help. Followed troubleshooting instructions there to delete extensions.sqlite file from Profile. Did not find other extensions listed. Searched Zotero forums again. Added Zotero to my Security Exceptions. Cleared the cache. Still, Zotero will not download. Any suggestions?
  • adamsmith
    you could try downloading this with a different browser or, if possible (i.e. if you're on a laptop) on a different network. The zotero xpi downloads fine in general, I just tested.
  • Kitsune123
    I'm at work now and my Zotero library is here and working just fine. So my home pc seems to be the problem. I'll try a different browser and post the result here. Thanks for your suggestion.
  • adamsmith
    (you could, to be safe, download a copy of the zotero xpi on your work computer and bring it home on a USB stick or send it to yourself by e-mail. You install an .xpi simply by opening it in firefox, you can download it on any browser using right-click --> save link as...)
  • Kitsune123
    Came home before I saw your message. Sooo, I installed Safari on my home pc, and then I installed stand alone Zotero. Then I tried to install the Safari browser extension. But I got this message: an error occurred while installing this extension.
    So I'm stumped now. I wonder if Zotero 3.0 is causing all this? I'll try your suggestion on Tuesday but I am concerned that my home computer just does not want Zotero! What's that about?
  • aurimas
    Can you install other extensions?
  • Kitsune123
    Yep. I just installed another extension. Took 2 seconds. Thanks for your suggestion, though.
  • Kitsune123
    Just for laughs tried, again, to download Zotero for Firefox 17 (I have 17.01, does that matter?) and got the message that the add ion could not be installed because it appears to be corrupt.
  • Kitsune123
    sorry, add on, not add ion
  • dstillman
    I think you misunderstood adamsmith's suggestion. He wasn't saying to install Standalone or the Safari plugin (or, certainly, to install Safari on Windows, if that's what you did)—he was saying to download the Firefox XPI using another browser and just try to open that file in Firefox to install it.
  • Kitsune123
    Okay now I think I understand. So I downloaded the Firefox XPI to my desktop using Internet explorer. Then I tried to install it using Firefox. Got the message that the add on could not be installed as the file appeared to be corrupt.
  • aurimas
    The idea was that downloading the Zotero XPI on your home computer corrupts it. This could be either because of your network or because of some software on your home computer. Thus, it is unlikely that changing browsers would make much of a difference.

    Adamsmith's suggestion was to download the XPI on your work computer, which would use both a different computer and a different network. Then transfer the XPI file using a flash drive (or some other physical media) to your home computer and then install it.

    Just so we're all on the same page, could you update Firefox to version 18, which is the current version. Also, make sure you are downloading the extension from http://download.zotero.org/extension/zotero-3.0.11.xpi

    You mentioned that you tried installing a Safari extension, but it also failed. It was not clear whether you were trying to install the Safari extension on Firefox or on Safari, but since you are having problems with installing Zotero Firefox extension, you can install either Safari extension in Safari or Chrome extension in Google Chrome and use those with Zotero standalone (which appears to have installed fine)
  • dstillman
    edited January 19, 2013
    Aurimas: No, actually it's far more likely for there to be a temporary network glitch that corrupts the XPI for a given download, so adamsmith and I were both recommending trying another browser on the same computer as an easier alternative to clearing the cache. But if it doesn't work in another browser, then yes, it may be a more persistent issue with the network itself, and trying from a different network would make sense.

    (This is all covered in the installation troubleshooting instructions.)
  • dstillman
    It's possible, though, that the original Zotero startup error and this problem are related and that there's a more general problem with your Firefox installation (or your computer).

    You could try creating a new Firefox profile and installing Zotero into there. (This is just a test. You won't see any data there for now even if it works, but if it does then we'll be on our way to fixing this.)
  • Kitsune123
    This is a little embarrassing but when I downloaded Firefox 18 Zotero came back! Thank you, one and all, for your suggestions and attention. I learned something new today - look for the easy solution first. I didn't even know there was a Firefox 18.

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