Custom profile doesn't work after Ubuntu upgrade

mlacerda
Dear all,

I recently upgraded from Ubuntu 8.04 to 10.04. Since doing so, I can no longer access my Zotero library which is stored in a custom directory on a Windows partition (so that I can access the same library from both Windows and Ubuntu). If I click on the Zotero icon (which now has a triangle and exclamation mark), I get an error message stating "There was an error starting Zotero." And yes... I have mounted the drive!

I have also tried changing the custom directory to another location on my Ubuntu hard-drive, after copying the necessary files to the new directory. Still no luck! Zotero only works if I use the standard Firefox profile. I have tried re-installing to no avail.

Please help!! I love Zotero!

M
  • dstillman
    If changing the location through the UI doesn't seem to work, try going to the special URL about:config in the address bar, searching for "dataDir", and resetting the prefs that show up. Restart Firefox, and then try resetting the location to the new location. If you get an error at that point, you'll need to tell us what it is.
  • ajlyon
    As a person who did this for a few months, I can say that keeping the data directory on the NTFS-formatted windows partition made Zotero run much more slowly than moving it to the linux partitions. If you're syncing anyway, you might consider keeping the two copies in sync that way, unless disk space is really at a premium.
  • mlacerda
    Hi Dan,

    I did as you said, but still can't get Zotero to work with my custom profile. The message I get in the Firefox error console is:

    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: 341

    I am using Zotero 2.0.3 in Firefox 3.6.8 on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

    Your help would be greatly appreciated!
  • dstillman
    Not much to go on there. This is where, on the WIndows partition? If that's the case, well, "don't store it there" is pretty much all we can tell you, since it seems something about the filesystem isn't compatible.

    If this is a Linux partition, try disabling any security software you have (AppArmor, etc.).
  • mlacerda
    As I mentioned above, I cannot use the custom profile directory at all - on either the Linux or Windows partitions - so it surely cannot be file system incompatibility. I also do not have any security software running that I am aware of.

    "Don't store it there" is a disappointing recommendation as it implies that I MUST use the default directory whether I like it or not. This seems strange since the custom profile worked fine prior to the Ubuntu upgrade.
  • dstillman
    edited August 16, 2010
    I'm gonna wager that you have AppArmor installed, whether or not you're aware of it.

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1552233

    That person was actually experiencing a different issue, but if Firefox is unable to access outside of the Firefox profile directory, it's likely security software of some sort (AppArmor, SELinux).

    My point above was simply that custom directories in Zotero work fine generally, and something on your system is interfering—so that's something you're going to have to figure out.
  • mlacerda
    Thanks Dan... and sorry for my ignorance! AppArmor was the problem.

    Disabling it with:

    sudo /etc/init.d/apparmor stop

    fixes the problem!

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