Can't open items successfully. Always in the condition of "Loading items".

  • edited November 20, 2024
    [Merged from separate thread]

    Report ID: 596149410

    I can't figure out how to use Zotero normally, because when using Zotero, "Loading items" become a fixed phase,and can't continue to open any item normally.



    Steps to reproduce:

    1. Click any item button in the Zotero toolbar.
    2. Stay in "Loading items" fixed phase, and can't continue to open any item normally.

    I expected to use Zotero normally and smoothly. When using Zotero, I can open any item normally and smoothly.

    Can you help me?
  • @keepfinding:

    (Please don't create duplicate threads for the same issue. It just makes it harder to help you. Merged back into your original thread.)

    Can you provide a Debug ID for Zotero startup, using the "Restart with Logging Enabled…" option?
  • Thanks for your reply.

    Debug ID: D1685863777

  • Not sure how you're getting this to occur. When Zotero starts do you see the item list? Does this happen when you change the collection in the left pane? Are you switching to a different library (from one group library to another, or to your library)?
  • When Zotero starts, I can see the items list, but when the error occurs, change the collection in the left pane, Zotero just stay in "Loading items" fixed phase, and can't continue to open any item normally. When the error occurs, the right mouse button is not working in Zotero.
  • Can you restart Zotero and wait for it to fully load up and sit without doing anything for a minute, then enable debug logging and produce another Debug ID for changing the collection?
  • Thanks for your reply.

    Debug ID: D738979160
  • This doesn't look right. Did you wait for the Zotero window to load? Was the item list displayed? Did you enable debug logging after that and click on a collection in the left pane?
  • Thanks for your reply.

    Debug ID: D1366358144

    Steps to reproduce:
    1.Open Zotero and wait for it to fully load up and sit without doing anything for a minute.
    2.Enable debug logging.
    3.Click on a collection in the left pane to change the collection.
    4.Produce Debug ID.

    Are these in the right order?
  • Can anyone help?
  • How big is the zotero.sqlite file in your Zotero data directory?

    What kind of disk is D:? Is it a network share? An HDD?
  • Thanks for your reply.

    My zotero.sqlite file is about 356 MB.

    My D: disk is an SSD.
  • Have you used Zotero on this computer before?

    Did you delete a very large number of items on this computer?

    Are you using the feeds feature, and do you have a very large number of feeds, or very high-volume feeds?

    You can ignore this part if you don't know how, but if you are comfortable downloading DB Browser for SQLite and opening the zotero.sqlite file in your data directory in that program, we'd be interested in the output for the following statements:

    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM itemDataValues;

    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM items JOIN libraries USING (libraryID) WHERE type!='feed';

    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM items JOIN libraries USING (libraryID) WHERE type='feed';
  • Thanks for your reply.

    I've been using Zotero for more than 3 years.

    I didn't delete a very large number of items before the error happened. After the error happened, I deleted some items, but the error still exists.

    I'm using the feeds feature, and I have about 44 feeds.

    Running the statements you provided, the output is as follows:


  • edited January 7, 2025
    Those are three separate statements. We need the output for each. (Just the number is fine.)






  • Hmm, OK. How about this:

    PRAGMA index_list("itemData");


  • And this:

    EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN DELETE FROM itemDataValues WHERE valueID NOT IN (SELECT valueID FROM itemData);


  • OK, thanks. So you can try running this from DB Browser for SQLite:

    DELETE FROM itemDataValues WHERE valueID NOT IN (SELECT valueID FROM itemData);

    This is the statement that's slow within Zotero, so this might take a while to run. (Not sure if it will tell you how long the statement takes, but it would be great to know approximately how long.)

    Then open Zotero and see if the problem is fixed.
  • Thanks for your reply.

    I couldn't finish the last step. I waited a long time, but it was impossible for the statement to finish running.
  • How long did you let it go? What happened?



  • Thanks for your reply.

    I waited for more than two hours, and the situation remained the same.
  • Do you see high CPU/disk usage from DB Browser?
  • About 10-16.5% CPU usage, and disk usage was not very high.
  • edited 26 days ago
    That probably means that it's still running, though I don't know why it would be so slow. DB Browser should be using approximately 0% when idle. So you may want to just let it run overnight if you haven't.

    If you've already closed it, though, if you check the DB integrity (Tools → Integrity Check), does it pass?

    If so, you can also try vacuuming the database with VACUUM;, which should reduce the file size.

    After that, if you're still having trouble and don't mind, ZIP the DB and, if it's small enough, upload it to the DB Repair Tool and provide the Upload ID here. You can ignore the download link the tool provides, but the Upload ID would let us run some tests on the DB to try to figure out what's happening.
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