Error Starting Zotero (v.4.0.17/FF 26/W8/x64) - info inside

samum
I uninstalled my virus software (F-Secure) and after the reboot problems started.

When starting Firefox, which restores my tab sessions and has Zotero 4.0.17 installed as an add-on, I get a modal dialog inside Firefox stating:

Alert
There was an error starting Zotero.

I dismiss this dialog with "OK" button and it immediately reappears. I can do nothing else, except keep pressing the OK button. It reappears forever (well, technically I only tried about 100 times, before I gave up).

I can't even get to the Firefox Add-ons Management screen, because the Zotero Error dialog is modal and prevents any and all input, except pressing the OK button (and it immediately reappears, if I OK it).

The Zotero icon on my Firefox Add-on bar has a yellow triangle and exclamation mark on it.

Zotero Standalone 4.0.17 starts fine on my machine, but I prefer using the browser extension for my workflow.

I have manually been able to disable the Zotero Firefox add-on, but then I lose all access to my Zotero inside the browser.

Does anybody have any suggestion on how to debug this.

Please do not tell me to provide/access anything inside the Zotero Firefox add-on, as I can't access anything inside my browser, if I enable the Zotero add-on (I am forced into the Zotero modal dialog loop).
  • adamsmith
    you should be able to follow these:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_bugs#reporting_startup_errors
  • aurimas
    edited December 16, 2013
    once the add-on is disabled, you can also try reinstalling it from zotero.org. Your data directory appears to be intact, since you can start Zotero Standalone
  • absmn
    I have exactly the same problem.
    However, I can use Zotero Standalone 4.0.17.
    Downgrading to Zotero for Firefox 4.0.16 works for me.
  • dstillman
    edited December 16, 2013
    See adamsmith's link above. We need the actual error in order to figure out what's going on here.
  • absmn
    In the Browser Console, I get the following errors:

    Error: Database permanently closed; not re-opening zotero.js:713
    Error: Database permanently closed; not re-opening zotero.js:830

    Everytime I dismiss the "There was an error starting Zotero" alert, the same errors appear in the Browser Console.

    NB: I can only reproduce this problem on MS Windows.
    Using Mac OS X 10.9, everything works fine.

    User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:28.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/28.0
  • samum
    I cannot user the browser console (the new version of error console in Firefox 26).

    Why?

    Because of what I stated:

    1. MOdal error dialog that prevents any entry into Firefox window, including activating the browser console. All I can do is press "OK" in the "Alert" modal dialog

    2. Disabling zotero manually, then enabling Web console in Firefox and then re-enabling Zotero does not work, because the Web-console state does NOT survive firefox restarts.

    TL;DR: I can NOT enable the Browser consoler (old 'error console') as the error dialog constant pop up prevents me from doing so.

    Thus I cannot provide you with any error ID.

    Already tried restarting the computer, didn't work.

    Will try the rest of the tricks.
  • samum
    edited December 16, 2013
    TEMPORARY FIX (TEMPORARILY SOLVED):

    As per absmn instructions, I downgraded to Zotero Firefox add-on v.4.0.16 from:

    http://download.zotero.org/extension/zotero-4.0.16.xpi

    ... disabled the automatic update for that extension in Extension Management of Firefox and restarted the browser.

    Zotero is now working. No more "Alert" error dialog loop.

    Hopefully somebody more skillful can help with the debugging. I can't enable the Browser console in order to catch the error id.
  • absmn
    You have to be very fast to start the Browser Console.
    After clicking OK to dismiss the Zotero alert, immediately hit Ctrl+Shift+J
    The Browser Console will open in a new window.
    On a slow computer, it works.
  • dstillman
    No, the instructions we linked to include a command-line flag (-jsconsole) that should open up the Error Console. You shouldn't need to open it yourself.
  • dstillman
    edited December 16, 2013
    Oh, sorry, I guess it only mentions that in the Standalone section. But you can start firefox.exe the same way, with the -jsconsole flag, and the console will open automatically.

    But absmn's response above includes the errors we needed.
  • dstillman
    edited December 16, 2013
    OK, so I think we'll need debug output to figure out what's causing this. Can one of you generate real-time debug output for the startup and email it to support@zotero.org, with a link to this thread?
  • mathnerd314
    edited December 16, 2013
    Debug output sent. I get the same browser console error, but perhaps because I have Zotero-in-tab and no zotero icons, the popup does not show.
  • dstillman
    edited December 16, 2013
    samum: Are you sure you're using Firefox 26? absmn and mathnerd314 are both using Firefox Nightly or Aurora, and I can reproduce this problem with that, but Firefox 26 works fine for me.

    (absmn and mathnerd314, be sure to say clearly that you're running a test version of Firefox when reporting problems, and ideally try to reproduce in the latest released version as well.)
  • dstillman
    This is fixed for 4.0.18, at least for the issue with Nightly.
  • VHaring
    Same problem here with Waterfox (v24.0) and Zotero (v4.0.17 both plug in and stand-alone) on Windows 7 (64bit).

    When I start stand-alone Zotero first, then Waterfox works fine. I just can't call up the data files from within Waterfox giving the alert message: "Zotero Standalone was launched but is not accessible ..."; but saving items work and they appear in the stand-alone window. If I close the stand-alone version before Waterfox, I get the eternally looping error message and have to kill the process from the task manager.

    However, Firefox v26 works fine for me, no problems there. Go figure...
  • dstillman
    VHaring (and others using non-"Firefox" builds): Try the latest 4.0 Branch dev XPI and let us know if that solves the problem.
  • absmn
    Hi Dan,

    here are my results:
    - Zotero 4.0.16 with Firefox 26: works fine
    - Zotero 4.0.16 with Aurora 28: works fine
    - Zotero 4.0.17 with Firefox 26: works fine
    - Zotero 4.0.17 with Aurora 28: doesn't work
    - Latest 4.0 Branch dev XPI with Firefox 26: works fine
    - Latest 4.0 Branch dev XPI with Aurora 28: works fine

    In my case, the problem is resolved. Thanks a lot!

    All tested on Windows 7 (32-bits).
  • dstillman
    Great, thanks. This will be fixed in 4.0.17.1, which will be out later today.
  • VHaring
    Thanks Dan,

    No more problems after installing 4.0.17.r11461. All works fine now, Waterfox and Firefox are happy and also working nicely with the stand-alone version.

    Much appreciated
  • dstillman
    Fixed in Zotero 4.0.17.1 for Firefox, available now.
  • samum
    Thank you, the 4.0.17.1 also fixes it for me. Yes I was and am running Firefox 26.0
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