Can't stop sync/syncing failure

kj30
I have a group folder that I am the only current member of that I was trying to first depopulate (failed), then delete. I was able to delete online, but it still shows locally. When I first open Zotero it is the folder that is selected, and I see the 500 items, but if I click on anything else it shows "loading items" for at least 20 minutes.

I try to quit Zotero but I have to force quit to actually shut it down. Or, it will after some time pop up with "Zotero unexpectedly quit" message

While it is "loading items" I'm not able to view any of my other folders (group or otherwise). I can click on a folder and it highlights, but it too shows "loading items," and I'm not able to expand them to see subfolders.

I've tried to stop the sync, but the stop button disappears as soon as I click it and the sync keeps going.

I've deleted and re-installed Zotero, still the same issue.

This all started when I selected all from the group folder's trash and tried to permanently delete.

I'm desperate (!!!) for help. Many thanks!

Kelly
MacOS 10.15.7
Zotero 5.0.95.3


This is part of the "Zotero quit unexpectedly" report that pops up, it seemed like it may be the most relevant info but I have no idea what I'm looking at.

Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal: Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process: exc handler [1393]


  • dstillman
    (While it shouldn't make a difference for this, note that if you want to delete a group you can just do that. You don't need to delete all the items first.)

    If you disconnect your computer from the internet before starting Zotero, does that fix the problem? (In other words, is it the sync that's breaking things?)
  • kj30
    No, it does the same thing if I disconnect. I am so frustrated.

    I was originally trying to completely depopulate because I use that folder as a default junk folder, so that I can see what level of deduplication there is from multiple searches. Then I just delete the items. The problem started when I went in to the trash folder to get rid of all of the records (I don't know why I did this, I should have let it be). I selected all and tried to permanently delete, but it just wouldn't...do anything. It's like I hadn't even tried. I thought it would solve the problem if I just deleted that junk folder altogether, but nope.

    Thanks for your help!
  • dstillman
    Can you provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup through a few minutes of the "Loading items…", using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option (but submitting it before it freezes and you lose control)?
  • kj30
    I tried using "restart with logging enabled" but it couldn't restart, it did the same thing as when I just tried to quit it (it took a few minutes then popped up with the "Zotero quit unexpectedly" report), then I manually restarted and captured this. I hope I let it go long enough for you to see what's going on:
    D1259262241
  • dstillman
    How long have you actually let it go, without clicking on anything?

    It looks like it potentially has to purge a huge amount of data due to the deleted items, and it might just need more time. If it's crashing, restarting your computer and trying again with no other programs loaded might help.

    Can you start Zotero with logging via Terminal and let it go until Zotero either crashes or succeeds? Then, in Terminal, go to Shell menu → "Export Text As…", save to a file, right-click → Compress the file, and email the zip file to us at support@zotero.org with a link to this thread?
  • kj30
    I have tried restarting my computer, nothing there.

    When Zotero opens it is already sitting on that folder, where I can see its contents. I can click on individual records successfully, it's not until I try to open another folder that things fall apart.
    I've now opened through Terminal - should I just let this run through the night to see what happens or should I force the issue?
    Thank you!
  • dstillman
    Let it run.
  • dstillman
    @kj30: Assuming the sync icon is spinning, you should know when it's done when it stops. There's a cleanup operation at the beginning of syncs, and in your case it may just take a while if you deleted a huge amount of data previously.
  • kj30
    Turns out I was unknowingly impatient, everything was fine this morning. Many thanks (as always) for your help!
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