Can't open zotero

wldlnr
I’m experiencing an issue with Zotero after the recent organizational update. Since the update, Zotero no longer launches on my Windows machine. Here’s a summary of what I’ve tried so far:

-Attempted to run Zotero from the command line using zotero.exe -ZoteroDebugText — no output or error is shown.

-Checked the Zotero profile directory — no extensions folder is present, only extensions.json.

-Renamed the profile folder to simulate a fresh start — no change.

-Performed a clean uninstall and reinstall of Zotero.
-Tried running Zotero in compatibility mode (Windows 8) and as administrator.

Despite all these steps, Zotero still fails to launch with no visible error or log output. I suspect there may be a deeper compatibility or security conflict at play.
  • dstillman
    What do you mean by "recent organizational update"?

    Can you confirm that you've tried to reinstall Zotero 7.0.19 from the download page? There was a specific problem with Zotero 7.0.16/7.0.18 not launching.
  • wldlnr
    Yes, I tried download 7.0.19 and installed. The installation is successful, but I still failed to launch Zotero on my computer, whether I installed it on C Disk or one-drive. The error is : Your Zotero profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible.

    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u4536400/172v5rujo8xcfmkw61s0.png
  • dstillman
    OK, that's a very specific error — that's not just Zotero not opening. I'm a bit confused, though — you originally said "Zotero still fails to launch with no visible error". Were you getting this before, or are you getting it now only after installing 7.0.19?

    You still haven't said what you mean by "organizational update", but in general, you would get this message if Zotero can't read or write to files in the Zotero profile directory (within Roaming).

    What happened when you renamed the profile folder? Was a new one created?

    You should also delete the cache directory within C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Zotero\Zotero\Profiles.

    If your IT department is using any third-party security software, that could also be interfering.

    Note that you should never run Zotero as administrator, even for debugging. That can cause this, or make it harder to fix, by creating other files that then can't be accessed by your regular user account.

    Beyond that, you'd likely have to speak to your IT department.
  • dstillman
    whether I installed it on C Disk or one-drive
    Also, what do you mean by this? Installed on OneDrive how? Zotero should almost always be installed to the default Program Files folder on C:.
  • wldlnr
    I received the error shown in the image after I installed 7.0.19.
    The organizational update means the regular updating of software and windows by my IT department. When I found my Zotero can't open, I see the files in the directory were updated recently.

    I have checked the cache directory within \Zotero\Profiles. After installing 7.0.19, nothing shows up in the directory.

    First I installed Zotero 7.0.19 to the default Program Files folder on C:, I receive this error. Then I tried to installed it to another folder, the same error occurred.

    I think for the newly installed 7.0.19, I didn't run it as administrator.
  • dstillman
    You didn’t answer my question about the profile folder, only the cache folder.

    But you should delete AppData\Local\Zotero altogether and try moving AppData\Roaming\Zotero out of the way. This would happen if either of those can’t be written to by your OS user account.
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