There was an error starting Zotero

bartlas
Hi there!

Today, out of nowhere my Zotero did not open anymore. I tried to look for the source of the problem but I did not manage. I also looked up and down in the Forum but did not encounter this specific issue.

- For the record, I am using Zotero with my work computer which has been working fine for years. Also, yesterday I upgraded to version 7, which has been working fine too, until today.

- I read in a thread, that having the library stored in the "user" folder of a work computer might have something to do with this, but I could not confirm or reject that theory.

Could anyone help me out here, please?



<< Error msg >>

There was an error starting Zotero.

You can report this problem in the Zotero Forums.

[Exception... "Could not open connection to \\(server)\Homes\(user)\My Documents\Zotero\zotero.sqlite: 2153971714" nsresult: "0x80630002 (NS_ERROR_STORAGE_IOERR)" location: "JS frame :: resource://gre/modules/Sqlite.sys.mjs :: openConnection/</< :: line 1336" data: no]
openConnection/</<@resource://gre/modules/Sqlite.sys.mjs:1336:23
From previous event:
Zotero.DBConnection.prototype._getConnectionAsync@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:1197:45

<< End error msg >>
  • dstillman
    That's a generic error trying to access the database on the network drive. You can ask your IT department, but otherwise the best we can suggest is moving the data directory to the local disk if that's an option. Network drives should generally work, but they don't always behave normally.
  • bartlas
    Thanks for the advice!

    At first, I was not able to change the directory location, but then I uninstalled Zotero 7.0 and re-installed the 7.0.1 version. I'm not sure if it's the newer version or just a clean install but this time I could change the Directory location back to default(!). I have no idea how it was not on default from the beginning.

    Long story short, I just copied my backup into the new(-old) default directory and my collection was back!

    Follow-up question just to entertain my curiosity: do you have any idea why the network drive got selected as the location for the directory?
  • dstillman
    Follow-up question just to entertain my curiosity: do you have any idea why the network drive got selected as the location for the directory?
    @bartlas: Assuming you installed Zotero yourself, you would've had to have set it there.
  • bartlas
    Nope, never got the option to choose to directory folder during the installation. That's why I found it strange. Nevertheless, my problem is solved. Thanks again!
  • dstillman
    edited August 16, 2024
    It's not during installation — I just meant that if someone else set up Zotero, they might have configured a custom data directory. If you installed Zotero, this is something you set in the Advanced pane of the settings at some point in the past. ("Default" really does mean "default" — it didn't get set to a location within your My Documents folder by us.)

    You should make sure that whatever new location you chose off of the network drive is a reliable location that is being backed up, that you'll continue to have access to through system re-imaging, etc.
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