Sync failure

Shahar

I've just signed up for some space on the Zotero server and have tried to sync my library, but got error report # 739818753. It seems the syncing got stuck after about 200 MB were sync (total library size is around 2.5 gb).
Thanks for your suggestions
Shahar

dstillman

What's the actual error in the dialog?

Shahar

It is "Unexpected status code 404 for request null/2CH3CHEX in Zotero.Sync.Storage.Session.ZFS.downloadFile()"

dstillman

Is this repeatable? Do you get the same error each time?

If you can reproduce it, please provide a Debug ID for the sync attempt.

Shahar

I've ran it again. This time it kept running all night and continued- seems to be stuck. The debug ID is D780019850.
Thanks, Shahar

Shahar

I've tried it again. This time the synch did finish, now with the same error as before. The debug report ID is D1068528632. The error message said "Unexpected status code 404 for request null/2CH3CHEX in Zotero.Sync.Storage.Session.ZFS.downloadFile()". I have also submitted the error report, its number is 997122844.
Help !
Shahar

dstillman

I've added some additional debugging info for this bug to the latest dev trunk build. It'd be very helpful if you could back up your data directory, install the Extension Trunk XPI, and generate a Debug ID another sync attempt using the dev build.

There've been some recent database changes on the trunk, and you won't be able to go back to 2.0b7.6, but the trunk is about to be released as the next official version, so, despite the warnings on that page, as long as you have a backup and you switch to the next version as soon as it's out, you should be OK. And your Debug ID will hopefully give us enough info to fix the bug before the next release. Thanks.

Shahar

Sorry, did not help. The debug log ID is D570318497 (over 270000 lines - good luck...)
The error message was as before "Unexpected status code 404 for request null/2E2G85M4 in Zotero.Sync.Storage.Session.ZFS.downloadFile()", its report ID is 57726425.
Thanks, Shahar

dstillman

That wasn't intended to fix it—it was to give us more information.

Are you connecting to the Internet through a proxy server?

dstillman

Also, it looks like you synced twice this morning from two different locations. Was this with the same computer, and, if so, had you restarted Firefox between the two syncs?

dstillman

So, best as I can tell, here's what happened:

You first synced this morning via a VPN connection. A number of files were successfully downloaded, and I don't see any obvious problems. That sync then ended. (I don't know if you received an error or not.)

A few minutes later, from the same connection, you did a "Restore to Zotero Server" but didn't upload any data. (Did you clear your library locally?)

The "Restore to Zotero Server" cleared all links to uploaded files.

A few minutes after that, you did another "Restore to Zotero Server", but this time you uploaded data. After that upload completed, Zotero began syncing files, but an information (HEAD) request for one of the files you downloaded in the previous session 1) never made it to the Zotero server and 2) appeared to be empty to the Zotero client. This should never happen and is the cause of the error you're getting.

The reason I asked about proxy servers is that Zotero itself is set not to cache HEAD requests, but somehow the request appears to be getting (incorrectly) cached. I've added some additional debugging info to the latest dev build, so if you update to that and can reproduce the error and provide another Debug ID, that might be helpful. But it'd also help if you could let us know whether you can think of anything that might be caching the request (proxy server, VPN software, etc.).

Shahar

The first sync was indeed while I was connected through a VPN client. It did ended with an error, and I thought it might be related to the VPN, so I tried it again without a VPN. Also, during that sync I have received about 200 requests to approve "conflicts" between file versions, and did not want to be doing this again, so have chosen the "restore" option (this is an unrelated issue - is it possible to add some option like "approve all conflicts" instead of having to approve each one separately ?)
So, to sum it up, the error I have reported happened while not connected through any VPN or proxie performing a restore function rather than a "real" sync.

I will try to install the new build and see what happened.

Shahar

Shahar

Tried again to sync with the new version of the dev build. Got a different error this time "Unexpected file registration status 201 Zotero.Sync.Storage._onUploadComplete()"- debug ID is D1920326608 and the error report ID is 1137394009.
The storage amount on the server is only 200 MB, so again no real file storage was done.
Thanks, Shahar

dstillman

Please update to the latest dev build and try again. (I've made another update to the debugging output.)

The storage amount on the server is only 200 MB, so again no real file storage was done.

Well, from your output it looks like 650 or so files were transferred. You should certainly report these errors so that we can figure out what's going on, but they're quite likely intermittent problems, and each sync attempt should successfully transfer more files.

Shahar

OK, here is the error when running the updated dev build : Debug ID is D258845091,
error message is "Unexpected status code 404 for request null/2CH3CHEX in Zotero.Sync.Storage.Session.ZFS.downloadFile()" and the error report ID is 482682479.

As for the size of the backup'ed library - I have by now synched maybe 10 times or more. and the used spaced has been always reported as a little more than 200 MB, which is about 15% of the size of the Zotero library on my computer. It does not seem that there is any increase in the number of files saved with each successive sync.

Thanks, Shahar

dstillman

Have you tried restarting your computer between these sync attempts? Are you getting these errors on different networks?

This looks a lot like a problem with network software on your computer (e.g., VPN software, perhaps even if it's disabled) or a proxy server. Zotero appears to be doing everything correctly, but some of the HEAD requests it's making aren't actually making it to the Zotero servers, and those are the ones that are causing the errors.

If the problem is with other software, a computer restart might help clear some cache.

It does not seem that there is any increase in the number of files saved with each successive sync.

I was referring specifically to the debug output you provided above, which did show ~650 transfers. This one shows it failing on the first request.

Shahar

Almost all these syncs were actually done on my laptop, which is turned off at the end of the day, so , yes, the computer was restarted each time anew. And while all the previous sync attempts were done from my home using my home network, the last one was done at work, so through a different network. One of the sync attempts was done from my desktop computer at home, so a totally different computer, on which I don't have any VPN or proxy installed.

dstillman

Are any of the Debug IDs above from the desktop computer? If not, can you provide one? (The issue here is with uploading files, so it should really only show up if there are files to upload on the desktop machine.)

Shahar

I've tried syncing from the desktop after installation of the latest dev trunk. After 6 hours, the sync icon was still running - no error messages, but according to the storage usage information, nothing was really done (still only 200 MB used). The debug ID is D1412098101.
Thanks, Shahar

Shahar

So I have installed the new version 2.0 and tried syncing, again receiving an error message - ID report 880957089. Quite frustrating as I am not able to use the storage space I have purchased.
What can be done to solve this ?

dstillman

No need to create new threads.

What's the actual error you're receiving? The error report from your other thread doesn't show any Zotero errors.

And don't worry about your storage space—if you haven't been able to sync, once your issue is resolved you can send an e-mail to storage@digitalscholar.org and we can extend your subscription period.