Urgent! Zotero didn't start, now it won't install!

natealator
Since I don't have Zotero working in any form, I can't include any ID, sorry.

At first, Zotero simply said it could not start due to errors, so I restarted, and nothing changed. So then I disabled and re-enabled, with no luck. Then I tried downloading the latest version, which is what is giving me the errors now. Unfortunately, I didn't think to come here sooner, so I don't have any of the error messages from when Zotero was working.

I can't get to my data, so thanks for the help!

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Zotero is 2.0.2

Browser is Firefox 3.6.3 (About says "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.3) Gecko/20100401 Firefox/3.6.3 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)")

OS is Windows XP, Service Pack 3

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I see 3 messages in the error console:

1) No chrome package registered for chrome://zotero/content/include.js

2) Error: ExtensionManager:_finishOperations - failure, catching exception - lineno: 1596 - file: undefined - [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x80004005 (NS_ERROR_FAILURE) [nsIFile.moveTo]" nsresult: "0x80004005 (NS_ERROR_FAILURE)" location: "JS frame :: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Mozilla%20Firefox/components/nsExtensionManager.js :: moveFile :: line 1596" data: no]

3) Error: safeInstallOperation: failed to back up file: C:\Documents and Settings\natep\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\trx2i67w.default\extensions\zotero@chnm.gmu.edu\chrome\zotero.jar to: C:\Documents and Settings\natep\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\trx2i67w.default\extensions\zotero@chnm.gmu.edu-trash\chrome ... rolling back file moves and aborting installation.
  • natealator
    I want to add that I've tried accessing at least my citations from the word plugin, but that doesn't work either. No error messages, just no response when I click any of the buttons.
  • adamsmith
    would it be an option to back up your Zotero directory, uninstall Zotero, restart your computer, and do a fresh install of Zotero?
    It looks like the installation hangs trying to back up the old Zotero before installing.
  • natealator
    That would be fine, as long as I can import the data.

    It's the Zotero folder in my Firefox profile, right? Has a folder for storage, styles, translators, and zotero.sqlite?
  • adamsmith
    exactly that one, yes.
    If you back up that folder you have a full back-up and Zotero will look just like before when you restore it.

    Obviously I can't guarantee this will work to fix your Zotero installation, but it certainly won't hurt and is worth a try.
  • natealator
    OK, thanks Adam. So I've copied it to a different folder, now I uninstall, copy it back to where it was, and reinstall?
  • adamsmith
    1. uninstall.
    2. restart the computer.
    3. install Zotero and see if it works.
    4. Quit Firefox
    5. Replace the new Zotero storage folder with your back-up
    6. Start Firefox/Zotero.
  • natealator
    It won't even uninstall...

    Error: [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x80630001 [mozIStorageService.openDatabase]" nsresult: "0x80630001 (<unknown>)" location: "JS frame :: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js :: anonymous :: line 1058" data: no]
    Source File: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/zotero.js
    Line: 336
  • adamsmith
    edited April 23, 2010
    to be honest - I don't know - maybe someone else has a good idea - let's wait for a bit and see.
    I'm curious, though, do you have any idea what caused this? Are you using dropbox?
    Anything else unusual you have done with Zotero/Firefox or your harddisk?

    Edit: That doesn't mean it's hopeless - I just feel from here on I'd just be guessing so if someone has a more educated idea that's probably worth following first.
  • noksagt
    http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Unable+to+install+add-ons#Corrupt_extension_files
  • natealator
    OK, it's fixed. I had been using Pale Moon, and I thought I had switched back to Firefox and was experiencing the same problem, but it turns out that as long as you have Pale moon installed, it runs even when you click Firefox.

    Someone might want to try running Zotero on Pale Moon to replicate my issue, but I don't have a problem going back to FireFox.

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