Upgrade StorageRestore library without backup but with storage
Hello,
on the day before yesterday (18.6.) I wanted to start syncing my library to save it undependet from my local computer and in that way I destroied all sqlite and bak files.
Now I want to make sure there is nowhere in windows where I can search for an old version and want to ask what else I can use from the storage beside the pure pdfs.
The names, sizes, and dates of all files beginning with “zotero.sqlite” in your current data directory
- zotero.sqlite 1.060 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:37 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
- zotero.sqlite.1.bak 1.056 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:50 change date: 19.06.2024 8:38 (realy!)
- zotero.sqlite.bak 1.060 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:57 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
- zotero.sqlite-journal 92,6 KB / 93 KB Creation date: 19.06.2024 20:54 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
Whether there's a 'storage' folder containing subfolders with dates corresponding to your previous usage of Zotero:
Yes, with 692 folders. That should fit to the status of the evening of the day before yesterday.
Whether your current data directory is in the default location (“Zotero” in your home folder)
No, I changed it immediately after I installed Zotero in my new Laptop to use the old dates from the old Laptop, which worked. The default location was not touched for 9 months now. It is still there with a minimal sqliete-file and no storage folder.
When you last used Zotero on this computer, and what happened on your computer since then:
On the evening the 18.6. I thought I should save all my dates for a case of emergancy. So I registered to sync the library. However, before I confirmed the registration with the incomming E-Mail I allready used that not yet ready account to log in with my local Zotero. After I confirmed my Mail adress, the program anounced, that that account is not right and syncronisation yould not start. Yet I was logged in, so I wanted to log out to log in again. Maybe in that moment I did something wrong like reseting but even though it was late it could not be reseting but only disconnecting. Because it was late I and I did not want to do something wrong I did not procede but left the computer in stand-by.
On next morning there were two Zotero windows rotating and loading, I did not know what. I once confirmed to procede even though one pdf was used by another program. After loading for hours, I closed the two windows and after opening Zotero again everything was blank. I am now disconnected from my account and the online library is empty as well.
What you've tried so far
I closed the program once or twice again. Looked into the windows folder to find the situation as desribed above, but with only one backup and no journal file. I asked the specialist at my university and read the instructions how to restore the library. But as I don't have any backup previous to that accident, I cannot do anything. There is also nothing in the bin, beside three pdfs which I deleted manually from the storage. Finally I made a copy of that zotero folder not to delete anything further.
So my first question is more a Windows and less a Zotero question:
Is there another way to search for a backup file from the point before the accident?
And my other question, as there is only the point to import the pdfs and the actual citations with Reference Extractor:
Can I import the whole storage folder at once, or each pdf individually?
Can I use other files such as html as well?
What about citations where I donot have any file attached to? Can Zotero use the cache files?
I hope this long introduction was helpful. Thank everyone for some sugestions!
on the day before yesterday (18.6.) I wanted to start syncing my library to save it undependet from my local computer and in that way I destroied all sqlite and bak files.
Now I want to make sure there is nowhere in windows where I can search for an old version and want to ask what else I can use from the storage beside the pure pdfs.
The names, sizes, and dates of all files beginning with “zotero.sqlite” in your current data directory
- zotero.sqlite 1.060 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:37 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
- zotero.sqlite.1.bak 1.056 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:50 change date: 19.06.2024 8:38 (realy!)
- zotero.sqlite.bak 1.060 KB / 1.03 MB Creation date: 19.06.2024 8:57 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
- zotero.sqlite-journal 92,6 KB / 93 KB Creation date: 19.06.2024 20:54 change date: 19.06.2024 20:54
Whether there's a 'storage' folder containing subfolders with dates corresponding to your previous usage of Zotero:
Yes, with 692 folders. That should fit to the status of the evening of the day before yesterday.
Whether your current data directory is in the default location (“Zotero” in your home folder)
No, I changed it immediately after I installed Zotero in my new Laptop to use the old dates from the old Laptop, which worked. The default location was not touched for 9 months now. It is still there with a minimal sqliete-file and no storage folder.
When you last used Zotero on this computer, and what happened on your computer since then:
On the evening the 18.6. I thought I should save all my dates for a case of emergancy. So I registered to sync the library. However, before I confirmed the registration with the incomming E-Mail I allready used that not yet ready account to log in with my local Zotero. After I confirmed my Mail adress, the program anounced, that that account is not right and syncronisation yould not start. Yet I was logged in, so I wanted to log out to log in again. Maybe in that moment I did something wrong like reseting but even though it was late it could not be reseting but only disconnecting. Because it was late I and I did not want to do something wrong I did not procede but left the computer in stand-by.
On next morning there were two Zotero windows rotating and loading, I did not know what. I once confirmed to procede even though one pdf was used by another program. After loading for hours, I closed the two windows and after opening Zotero again everything was blank. I am now disconnected from my account and the online library is empty as well.
What you've tried so far
I closed the program once or twice again. Looked into the windows folder to find the situation as desribed above, but with only one backup and no journal file. I asked the specialist at my university and read the instructions how to restore the library. But as I don't have any backup previous to that accident, I cannot do anything. There is also nothing in the bin, beside three pdfs which I deleted manually from the storage. Finally I made a copy of that zotero folder not to delete anything further.
So my first question is more a Windows and less a Zotero question:
Is there another way to search for a backup file from the point before the accident?
And my other question, as there is only the point to import the pdfs and the actual citations with Reference Extractor:
Can I import the whole storage folder at once, or each pdf individually?
Can I use other files such as html as well?
What about citations where I donot have any file attached to? Can Zotero use the cache files?
I hope this long introduction was helpful. Thank everyone for some sugestions!
Removing local data would normally remove your 'storage' files as well, but if the deletion got interrupted somehow — I'm not sure what happened there with the multiple Zotero windows you describe — it's possible it would have only managed to delete your zotero.sqlite files and not the 'storage' folder.
In any case, since your data isn't actually synced, I'm afraid your only option would be to restore from a backup you made. The 'storage' folder is just your attachment files. You can move that out of the way, do a search in your OS to get a list of all PDFs within that folder, and drag those to a new Zotero library and let it try to retrieve metadata, but those would be completely new items unconnected to citations in any word processor documents. Same with Reference Extractor — that can extract any items you've cited, but those will be new items. We're working on a way to make it possible to relink new items to items in existing documents, but that's not available yet.
(Also, this is assuming you didn't actually have another account. Switching sync accounts does also show a prompt to delete all local data, with a warning to make sure you're either fully in sync or you've backed up your local data. In either of those cases, you would be able to get your data back.)
So I was sure, there was no other way than to go chronologically through the folders to safe the download dates.
Thank you!