Unable to open Zotero (FF50)

hannah.fakley
Hi,

I've recently begun using Zotero and have found it wonderful, but have just encountered my first massive problem.

I opened Firefox, which had not been shut down properly, or crashed, or some other sub-optimal end-of-essay-research situation. When trying to open the Zotero pane, I get the message "There was an error starting Zotero."

I restarted Firefox, then made sure I had the latest version of Firefox (50) as well as the latest Zotero. I've copied the error message from the console, as per the instructions about reporting start-up issues.

I would be extremely grateful if anyone can help me get my Zotero back! I'm mid-essay for my MA and really do need to get this done asap!

Thank you for any help anyone can give.


Error text:

[Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x80630002 (NS_ERROR_STORAGE_IOERR) [mozIStorageService.openDatabase]" nsresult: "0x80630002 (NS_ERROR_STORAGE_IOERR)" location: "JS frame :: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js :: Zotero.DBConnection.prototype._getDBConnection :: line 1119" data: no] (unknown)
Zotero.DBConnection.prototype._getDBConnection chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:1119:22
Zotero.DBConnection.prototype.test chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:91:2
_initDB chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js:753:4
_initFull chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js:532:7
init chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js:468:8
ZoteroService jar:file://///hoevalleyschool.org/ud$/staff/gillh/AppData/Roaming/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/775nenrm.default/extensions/zotero@chnm.gmu.edu.xpi!/components/zotero-service.js:311:5
XPCOMUtils__getFactory/factory.createInstance resource://gre/modules/XPCOMUtils.jsm:387:19
chrome://zoteroautoexporting/content/core.js:15:22
  • adamsmith
    First step would always be to try restarting your computer. Have you tried that?
  • hannah.fakley
    I have restarted twice. Still no change.
  • adamsmith
    this is on an office computer? We've seen instances of this where the Zotero data folder is on a network drive. Is that the case here? Any way you could have that on a local C drive?
  • hannah.fakley
    Yes, I have located the data folder but am unable to open the zotero plugin in order to access it. I guess I could open it via the standalone version but I am used to using the FF embedded version & find it easier as I'm reading.
  • hannah.fakley
    Would it work to move the Zotero folder to the main Program folder for Firefox?
  • adamsmith
    @Dan%20Stillman may have better advice, but I'd try to manually set a new path for the data directory by going to about:config in Firefox (just paste about:config into the URL bar) and then modifying the extensions.zotero.dataDir preference to point to a new filepath.
    You don't want that in the program folder, no -- ideally it'd be somewhere easy to find on your local C drive.

    Obviously this is a bit hack-ish and you want to make absolutely sure you have a backup of your data folder (https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#backing_up_your_zotero_library) but with that, there isn't much that can happen
  • hannah.fakley
    Already backed up as soon as I located the data.

    "modifying the extensions.zotero.dataDir preference to point to a new filepath"?

    I found that preference but how exactly would I modify it?
  • adamsmith
    right-click ---> Modify and then paste the new filepath into the pop up (and then, obviously, restart Firefox).

    If Zotero then does open, but opens with an empty database, don't panic, you can just restore from your backup.
  • hannah.fakley
    Have successfully got My Library into Zotero standalone (hurrah!) but the FF add-on is still not functioning.
    Is my only option to uninstall & reinstall FF then install the add-on again? I cannot do this myself as have not got admin status on this PC.
  • adamsmith
    did you try re-directing the data folder in Firefox? Would you be able to re-install the Zotero add-on in Firefox?
  • hannah.fakley
    Re-directed and all now working. Thank you for your help.

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