barf with new Zotero 5.0.8 Firefox 54 MacOS Sierra MacBook Pro

jrgetsin
Report ID 1434525097.

Upgrade barfed. Creator fields jumbled. Search goes infinite hang fails to repaint window just spins the little ferris wheel forever.

1. Use Zotero 4.x for three years.
2. Purchase lots of storage.
3. Fall for excited email about the 5.0 upgrade that's really an unstable beta.
4. Install Zotero 5.0.8. Install Firefox connector.
5. Suffer consequences. Lots of data in database now frozen in hyperspace.

Look, I'll keep trying to get it to work. But grow up! Let people know when the release isn't really ready for prime time yet.
  • bwiernik
    https://www.zotero.org/support/forum_guidelines

    Zotero 5.0 was in beta for over a year. Upgrading has completed without issue for the vast majority of users.

    The volunteers on these forums and the Zotero developers will be happy to help you out if you actually describe exactly what you are seeing without the histrionics.
  • jrgetsin
    Yup, the reason the product doesn't work is because of stupid user histrionics.

    All I did was download 5.0.8 and the Firefox connection. The previous setup worked fine.

    How is this on me?
  • jrgetsin
    Say, you didn't happen to bother with the actual report, did you?
  • bwiernik
    I am a volunteer. I don’t have access to the reports. One of the Zotero developers will be able to look at that. But again, it is much easier to help you if you actually describe what happened.

    I cannot imagine any what hat the types of things you are describing would occur as part of the upgrade process, the upgrade process simply doesn’t touch your data in that way. So some more detail about what you are seeing would be very helpful.

    As an alternative step, make a backup of your Zotero data directory. Then, close Zotero and in the directory, find “zotero.sqlite.77.bak”, rename it to “zotero.sqlite” (replacing the existing file with that name), then reopen Zotero. The 77 File is the backup of your 4.0 database. This will redo the upgrade process.

    And again, please read the guidelines regarding etiquette and courtesy:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/forum_guidelines
  • jrgetsin
    I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Especially this late at night.
    For some reason, I thought you were a Zotero developer.
    I am not qualified to be a volunteer, because I have no idea how Zotero actually works.
    How do I get a Zotero developer to contact me?
  • bwiernik
    The developers read each thread on these forums. I am sure one of them will respond soon. In the mean time, I do recommend trying to re-upgrade the 77 backup (after making a backup copy of that and your current database).
  • DWL-SDCA
    edited August 7, 2017
    @jrgetsin When things go wrong it can be frustrating. "But grow up!" Exclamations such as that will not help you obtain assistance more quickly. Several of the most active supporters on this forum are volunteers. This forum works well because it encourages posts to be calm, polite, statements of the details of the problem. @bwiernik wasn't suggesting anything other than to take a breath, pause, and follow the file move / rename suggestion. Yes, something went awry but try re-upgrading the 77.bak file.

    edit: histrionics--exaggerated dramatic behavior designed to attract attention. The word doesn't imply stupidity or derangement.
  • dstillman
    Exclamations such as that will not help you obtain assistance more quickly.
    (Quite the opposite, in fact.)
  • RintzeRintze
    For some reason, I thought you were a Zotero developer.
    (off-topic, but it would be handy if the Zotero devs had a badge on their posts to indicate their status)
This discussion has been closed.