(Archived) internal database error then the file name is invalid

[murimurano 0]

Hello everyone,

i've been having some issues that i can't seem to resolve with the help of the support ticket.

Evernote would crash when i was trying to scan documents into it with my scansnap s1300 scanner.

I would receive an error "Internal database error has occurred that prevents Evernote from functioning properly." I was still able to access EN but i wouldn't be able to scan anything into it.

I decided that maybe i need to update to the latest version. After updating, I wasn't able to login at all so i decided to delete everything and reinstall EN.

I copied (for the purpose of backup) all the data from the library/applications support/evernote folder to an external drive (i only use local notebooks so no cloud syncing necessary) then deleted it and put EN in the trash then emptied the trash.

I tried a complete reinstall for a fresh start, and now i'm getting an error "the file name is invalid" and i can't even open EN at all. I submitted a support ticket and their suggestion failed as well. See below what they recommended me to do:

We would like to have you completely delete all traces of Evernote and then try to install again. First verify that all your notes have synced.

If you have unsynced or local only notes you will need to export these and back them up in another location prior to uninstalling Evernote in this manner. Failure to back up local only or unsynced notes will result in the loss of these notes. Once ready, please download and use the following program to uninstall Evernote:

http://onnati.net/apptrap/

Reboot your computer. Once you’ve rebooted, Simply drag the Evernote application to the Mac Trash and AppTrap will detect that you are uninstalling and remove all the correct files.

Reboot your computer.

Then, download and install the latest version of the Mac client:

http://www.evernote.com/about/download/get.php?file=EvernoteMac

When you open our installer, make sure to drag the Evernote icon into the Applications folder instead of running it from within the installer package.

Eject the disk image and delete the installer file before you run Evernote.

At this point i don't know what to do, i can't even get Evernote to run at all. If anybody has a suggestion, please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.

I use Mac OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard if that matters.

Thank you all

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

hi murimurano. i am afraid i cannot help. i have no experience at all with this kind of problem. however, their advice does seem to be the best solution, and if it were me, i'd probably end up reinstalling the operating system just to make sure i had gotten rid of everything that was causing problems. i guess that is my fallback position on any machine, windows or osx.

i am curious as to why you only use local files and do not sync at all. evernote is certainly a powerful app, even if you don't sync, but it seems to me that something like voodoopad or some other mac-specific software would be a better solution, because evernote's real strength (in my eyes) is its cloud support and accessibility across platforms. not that there is anything wrong with evernote + local files, of course, but it seems to me you lose so much functionality that way, it is sort of like using an ipad only as a digital picture frame (some people apparently do!).

[murimurano 0]

hi murimurano. i am afraid i cannot help. i have no experience at all with this kind of problem. however, their advice does seem to be the best solution, and if it were me, i'd probably end up reinstalling the operating system just to make sure i had gotten rid of everything that was causing problems. i guess that is my fallback position on any machine, windows or osx.

i am curious as to why you only use local files and do not sync at all. evernote is certainly a powerful app, even if you don't sync, but it seems to me that something like voodoopad or some other mac-specific software would be a better solution, because evernote's real strength (in my eyes) is its cloud support and accessibility across platforms. not that there is anything wrong with evernote + local files, of course, but it seems to me you lose so much functionality that way, it is sort of like using an ipad only as a digital picture frame (some people apparently do!).

Reinstalling my OS is not an option just to get EN up and running. It works fine otherwise.

I mainly use EN with my fujitsu s1300 scanner to store and organize scanned documents that i keep on my computer, no need/desire to sync to a cloud. If there's another good program you may know of that is free, i'm open to suggestions. Programs like Devonthink are too costly. Thank you.

[Metrodon 2,188]

At what stage do you get the error - "the file name is invalid"? When you launch the app? Try to scan?

[murimurano 0]

At what stage do you get the error - "the file name is invalid"? When you launch the app? Try to scan?

at launch...i can't even get EN to load up.

[Metrodon 2,188]

Have you tried downloading from the App Store? (remember to delete everything first (again)).

[murimurano 0]

Have you tried downloading from the App Store? (remember to delete everything first (again)).

yes i've tried downloading from both app store and evernote.com.

i would like to try to install an earlier version which worked fine but i can only find the latest release for download.

[rsweetland 2]

This may or may not be the case with you (there are probably many reasons for this error), but mine was due to a partially complete upgrade. 

 

When there is a new Evernote version, if you're on OSX, you are given an option to download and install the new version after you quit / relaunch the app.

 

It appears the version is downloaded and kept in this directory:  ~/Library/Application Support/Evernote/ under a folder called "Evernote 449191" (or whatever number it is for you).

 

I found the latest version of the Evernote app there, copied it to my Applications folder, deleted them from the folder above and it just worked.

 

I was running low on disk space at the time, so that's probably the reason why things got strange.

 

Hope that helps anyone else here!