Cannot open Zotero Firefox or Standalone

JasonW
I get the following errors when I try to open Zotero Firefox and Standalone (4.0.22):

"The Zotero database cannot be opened. Make sure you have read and write permissions for all files in the Zotero data directory."

I also cannot find a zotero.sqlite file on my computer when I search my Mac. The .sqlite file is not present in the default location and searching my mac for 'zotero' and 'zotero.sqlite' yields only the zotero standalone application and a folder with .scpt files.

This started happening after my hard drive crashed and I had to replace it. (I have a Mac with OSX 10.7.5). I have seen other forum discussions on this error message (https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/18423/help-the-zotero-database-cannot-be-opened/), but they have not solved my problem. I am still able to view my library by logging into the Zotero website. However, I am not able to use standalone or firefox or access zotero via a word plugin.

Any ideas about what I could try?
  • adamsmith
    Try reporting this:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_problems#reporting_startup_errors
  • JasonW
    Thank you for the prompt reply.

    Reporting for Zotero Firefox:

    -restarting did not make a difference
    -I deleted extensions.ini, extensions.rdf, extensions.sqlite, and extensions.sqlite-journal from my firefox directory. Extensions.cashe did not exist there.
    -in the Browser Console, the JS button was selected, but Errors was not checked. I clicked to make sure errors was checked.
    -The following errors were present in the Browser Console:

    Unix error 2 during operation stat on file /Users/jasonwilliams/Downloads/6fZtYN0e.pdf.part (No such file or directory) Promise-backend.js:866
    Unix error 2 during operation stat on file /Users/jasonwilliams/Downloads/6fZtYN0e.pdf.part (No such file or directory) Promise-backend.js:866
    Unix error 2 during operation stat on file /Users/jasonwilliams/Downloads/9j5+Hrjr.pdf.part (No such file or directory) Promise-backend.js:866
    Unix error 2 during operation stat on file /Users/jasonwilliams/Downloads/9j5+Hrjr.pdf.part (No such file or directory) Promise-backend.js:866

    Reporting for Zotero Standalone (Error output after starting Zotero standalone using the command line):

    Timestamp: 10/5/14 8:47:41 PM
    Error: : undefined
    Source File: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js
    Line: 820
  • JasonW
    Also, and update. With the help of the documentation in your reporting instructions, I was able to find a zotero.sqlite file on my Mac. When I initially searched in Finder, apparently the search did not include items within the 'Library' directory.
  • dstillman
    The Zotero database cannot be opened. Make sure you have read and write permissions for all files in the Zotero data directory.
    This means exactly what it says. I don't know exactly what you did, but this usually happens when files are copied from another computer or hard drive and end up being owned by a different user account.

    This wasn't caused by Zotero and we can't help you with the specifics, but you'll need to make sure the Zotero data directory (the directory containing zotero.sqlite) and all files within are owned by and writable by your user account. You can do that from the bottom of the Get Info window for the directory — you can do a Google search for help with that if necessary.

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