SyntaxError: illegal character

chiuluk
I just installed Zotero with Windows 10. When starting Zotero, the error message appears. Any idea to solve this issue?
  • dstillman
    Could you either copy and paste the full text or, if that's not possible, take a screenshot of the error, upload it somewhere (Dropbox, imgur, etc.), and provide a link here?
  • hunter5347890
    Hi, I have the same problem as chiuluk. I have just updated my old Zotero to the latest version. Unfortunately, I got the same error message when the new Zotero is restarted. So I can't do anything now with Zotero as it requires me to check update but this is already the newest version!!!! Please see the attached link for a screenshot. And please help!!!! Thanks! https://www.dropbox.com/s/7hqo90qmdj0asvf/Zotero error page.jpg?dl=0
  • dstillman
    Are you able to provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup? If that doesn't work, see the Error Console section at the bottom.
  • hunter5347890
    I tried to find the Debug ID or Error Console following the instructions on the link you provided, but I still got the same error message, no such information pupped up as you requested.
  • dstillman
    You're sure you tried the -jsconsole flag? That should really cause the Error Console to pop up before anything else happens (even before the Zotero window loads).
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 21/08/2017 12:01:38
    Warning: unreachable code after return statement
    Source File: resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/util.js
    Line: 201, Column: 4
    Source Code:
    eval(obj);
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 21/08/2017 12:01:40
    Error: illegal character
    Source File: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/dataDirectory.js
    Line: 406
    Source Code:
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 21/08/2017 12:02:18
    Error: NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED: Component returned failure code: 0x8000ffff (NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED) [nsIPrefBranch.getIntPref]
    Source File: chrome://global/content/bindings/findbar.xml
    Line: 376
  • hunter5347890
    The above is the error info I got from jsconsole.
  • dstillman
    What version is this? Are you sure you have 5.0.16?
  • dstillman
    Also, do you have your Zotero data directory in the normal location, or have you moved it elsewhere?
  • hunter5347890
    I installed Zotero in early 2016 and did not update much until Aug 2017. So I just updated it a few days ago to the latest version and then came the problem I presented here. I did not move the data directory before the update.
  • dstillman
    We don't normally recommend this, but have you tried simply uninstalling Zotero and then reinstalling it? Uninstalling won't affect your data (as long as you don't check the checkbox to delete your data).
  • hunter5347890
    I have just tried uninstalled Zotero, downloaded the latest version on this website and reinstalled it twice,using both the default setting up option and personalised option. I had also rebooted my laptop (Win 10 system) but the same error persisted. OMG, it's really frustrating.
  • dstillman
    Can you provide the startup errors again in the latest version?

    Does your Windows username include extended characters?
  • hunter5347890
    Could not read 'file:///C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/Zotero/extensions/zoteroOpenOfficeIntegration@zotero.org/components/zoteroIntegration.xpt'.
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 23/08/2017 20:06:32
    Warning: unreachable code after return statement
    Source File: resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/util.js
    Line: 201, Column: 4
    Source Code:
    eval(obj);
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 23/08/2017 20:06:32
    Warning: unreachable code after return statement
    Source File: resource://gre/modules/commonjs/toolkit/loader.js -> resource://zotero/bluebird/util.js
    Line: 201, Column: 4
    Source Code:
    eval(obj);
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 23/08/2017 20:06:33
    Error: illegal character
    Source File: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/dataDirectory.js
    Line: 406
    Source Code:
  • hunter5347890
    1503490021666 addons.xpi WARN Add-on autozotbib@rtwilson.com is not compatible with application version.
  • hunter5347890
    Timestamp: 23/08/2017 20:07:07
    Error: NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED: Component returned failure code: 0x8000ffff (NS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED) [nsIPrefBranch.getIntPref]
    Source File: chrome://global/content/bindings/findbar.xml
    Line: 376
  • hunter5347890
    my windows username only contains two english characters
  • dstillman
    edited August 23, 2017
    Could you email the file C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero\zotero.jar to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread? (This is part of the application and doesn't contain any of your data.)
  • hunter5347890
    edited August 24, 2017
    My email can't get through. Here is the message I got from the email service:

    [error removed — D.S.]
  • hunter5347890
    I have instead uploaded the jar file on Google drive and shared with the email you provided. Please check.
  • dstillman
    It's OK — we have the file. Thanks.

    So the file this error says contains an illegal character is unchanged from what it should be, so something else is going on here. I'm not sure how this would cause problems, but can you try creating a new Zotero profile and seeing if that helps? You can follow the same steps as for Firefox, but use C:\Program Files (x86)\Zotero\zotero.exe instead of the firefox.exe line. See if you can at least start up to an empty Zotero library in a new profile.
  • hunter5347890
    edited August 25, 2017
    Thank you. The new profile method does work! I can start Zotero program normally now with an empty library. So how can I recover my previous library files?
  • dstillman
    edited August 26, 2017
    Do you have a custom Zotero data directory location set in the original profile? If you point the new profile at the same data directory, does it work, or does the same error occur?
  • hunter5347890
    I have found my original profile. No more problems at present. Thanks for you help.
  • dstillman
    OK, if anyone is still seeing this, we tracked this down to a corrupt Firefox preferences file when Zotero was trying to migrate preferences from Zotero for Firefox. This should be fixed in the latest 5.0 Beta, and the fix will be included in 5.0.19. (If you use the beta, you can switch back to 5.0.18 after upgrading.)

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