Neither Zotero for Firefox plugin nor Zoter standalone work

GiovanniS
Hello,
I current problems starting either Zotero for Firefox plugin or Zoter standalone. I would like to know how to solve the problem.
I thank you in advance.
  • adomasven
    We will need more information to be able to help. See here https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_problems
  • GiovanniS
    I tried to follow the reporting startup errors but I could not find any errors. I have the screenshot of the error but I do not know how to update it.
  • adamsmith
    upload screenshot to a free image hosting site (dropbox, imgur.com) and link to it from here.
  • GiovanniS
    https://drive.switch.ch/index.php/s/Vc4KA2q5w2rjStJ
  • adomasven
    It's a bit of a difficult error. It is always recommended to restart the computer if you haven't yet, but otherwise, we'd need to see startup real-time debug output.

    If you follow the instructions on this page https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output
    and email the output to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread, we can take a look.
  • dstillman
    NS_ERROR_FILE_NO_DEVICE_SPACE
    This error is from something else in Firefox, but it suggests that you're out of space on your hard drive. I'd start by checking that.
  • GiovanniS
    I checked the HD and there is still space.
  • dstillman
    You're actually getting a whole bunch of different disk-related errors. If you're sure there's space (how much?), it could be due to security software on your system interfering with Zotero/Firefox's disk access or having your Zotero data directory on a network share or within a server-mirrored home directory.
  • GiovanniS
    I have almost 200 Gbyte of available space. However I am not the administrator of this computer since it belongs to the university. I do not know if this can cause the problem.
  • dstillman
    edited August 18, 2016
    Not being an administrator shouldn't be a problem, but the other things I list could be.

    I'm going off the other non-Zotero-related errors in your error report — of which there are a lot — but I realized you also didn't actually provide real-time debug output in your email. You should see a lot more output. Can you try again, from either Standalone or Firefox? You should see lines like "Using data directory […]".
  • dstillman
    edited August 18, 2016
    zotero(3)(+0000004): [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x80520010 (NS_ERROR_FILE_NO_DEVICE_SPACE) [mozIStorageConnection.executeSimpleSQL]" nsresult: "0x80520010 (NS_ERROR_FILE_NO_DEVICE_SPACE)" location: "JS frame :: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js :: Zotero.DBConnection.prototype.query :: line 149" data: no] [QUERY: DELETE FROM itemTypesCombined] [ERROR: database or disk is full]
    OK, that same error is definitely what's affecting Zotero too.
    zotero(3)(+0000000): Using data directory \\files2\AppData\[...]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[...]\zotero debug.js:100
    You have your Zotero data directory (or your Windows AppData directory, more accurately) on a network share. Assuming that share isn't out of space, you'll need to move the Zotero data directory to a local drive and point Zotero there from the Advanced → Files and Folders pane of the Zotero preferences. Network shares can break normal file operations that Firefox and Zotero depend on.
  • GiovanniS
    Is the zotero data directory the folder where all the papers are saved? Or the folder where information about my account are? I have just noticed that in my case these two folders are not in the same place; moreover the folder with the papers is inside my cloud folder.
  • adamsmith
    Is the zotero data directory the folder where all the papers are saved?
    yes; and having that on a network drive can (depending on the exact setup, but very frequently) cause issues.
  • GiovanniS
    I am trying to change the position of that folder. The procedure that I do is:
    -move that folder in another position
    -start firefox-plugin-zotero-option-advanced-files and folder-data directory location-custom-> here I put the new position.
    -firefox asked to be restarted
    -I do it but when I go to check the data directory folder, it is not in the custom path.
  • adamsmith
    I do it but when I go to check the data directory folder, it is not in the custom path.
    meaning when you go back into the Zotero preferences, they point to the old folder or say default?
  • GiovanniS
    I meant that after restarting firefox the data directory folder is set to "use profile directory folder" and the custom field is empty. If I click on "show data folder" it always shows the old path.
  • GiovanniS
    I managed to solve the problem. I needed to uninstall zotero for firefox and standalone. Since I could not install again zotero for firefox, I needed to remove the zotero profile folder from the folder of firefox. Then I installed again zotero for firefox, I set the right path for the data direcotory folder an d executed the login. I checked if it was working and it was, thus I installed again Zotero standalone and repeated the same procedure for the folder. Also for the standalone version there are no problems. I thank you for your help!

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