Zotero freezes when doing a backup

Loderunner1987
Hi,

when I start Zotero, the program is frozen and ends up with an error message "Error encountered during statement execution: disk I/O error ..." I have restarted my PC and the newest Zotero update is installed.
I have sent a screenshot of the Zotero Debug Mode to support@zotero.org

Any ideas what is triggering this problem?

BR
  • adamsmith
    typically a disk I/O error means that Zotero can't perform basic actions involving your hard disk, either because of disk corruption or because something (most commonly a security tool) is preventing it. Is your data directory in a custom location? Do you have any security tools installed?
  • Loderunner1987
    Yes, Zotero database is located on our server, but we never had any problems with this setting. First time this error message occurred.
    Security tools are not installed.

    How can I solve this problem? What do you recommend?
  • Loderunner1987
    Additional comment to that problem:
    This error is occurring only with the most current version (6.0.10). Version 6.0.9 is working fine. Hence, it seems to be a problem with the newest version.
  • dstillman
    It's not a problem in 6.0.10. 6.0.10 will just do a backup at startup as part of a normal, required update to the database, and that's breaking for you. Network shares often don't properly implement full local filesystem behavior, which can easily break SQLite (used by Zotero and countless other programs), so the only thing we can suggest when people encounter these generic errors is moving the data directory back to the local disk.
  • Loderunner1987
    Thank you for your respone, dstillman.
    How is it then possible that it is working without any problems with 6.0.9?
    I have tried to reproduce the problem now: After installation of version 6.0.10, start of Zotero was not possible due to the mentioned "freeze and disk I/O error" problem. I then installed the 6.0.9 right after deinstallation of 6.0.10 and started the 6.0.9 - No problems, no freeze, no error! (I did this test 3 times in a row to make sure that the I/O error does not coincide with version 6.0.10 by chance).
    IMHO, this test shows that there is a dependance between the I/O error and version 6.0.10...
  • adamsmith
    It's related to 6.0.10 in that that version does something not all updates do, namely:
    6.0.10 will just do a backup at startup as part of a normal, required update to the database
    but that's still a perfectly normal thing to do and if your set-up disallows it, its broken for Zotero purposes.
  • Loderunner1987
    As far as I know, the 6.0.9 also does a backup at startup. But 6.0.9 shows no I/O-errors or anything else.
    That's why I assume that there is an dependance between version 6.0.10 and the I/O errors
  • adamsmith
    6.0.10 updates the database, 6.0.9 doesn't, i.e., the back-up routine differs.
    Beyond that, I'm afraid you'll have to take the word of the lead developer on this, that is
    the only thing we can suggest when people encounter these generic errors is moving the data directory back to the local disk.
  • Loderunner1987
    Okay that means that I can't use the data directory on a network drive anymore? Or is it possible to move the database to a local disk, do the update to 6.0.10 and then move it back to the network drive?
  • adamsmith
    You can certainly try moving it back and forth after the 6.0.10 update -- my guess would be that it will run at least for a while, but there's also always the chance that something unforeseen breaks going forward. Generally, running Zotero on network drives is neither recommended nor supported, so absolutely no guarantees.
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