"Reset File Sync History" corrupted my pdfs

torunn.briers

Hello,

I recently got a new laptop so I downloaded Zotero and synced my ID to the computer. However, I was not able to view PDFs on my new laptop and after performing a "Reset File Sync History" on my both my laptops, the PDFs are all corrupted and unaccessable.

1. After downloading Zotero, I synced with my ID.
2. I tried to access PDFs, but I kept getting the following message.

The attached file could not be found at the following path:
C:\Users\catal\Zotero\storage\7VQA35M9\Adams and Kleck - 2005 - Effects of Direct and Averted Gaze on the Percepti.pdf
It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero, or, if the file was added on another computer, it may not yet have been synced to zotero.org.

3. Clicked "Locate" ->"Zotero"->"storage" where there were many folders but they were all empty.
4. Went to the Zotero website and made sure all syncing options were correct.
5. Went onto my zotero.org and found that the pdfs were not available there either.
6. I did the "Reset File Sync History" for the library first on my old laptop and then on my new laptop. Now I cannot open any of the PDFs, even on my old laptop and only receive this message:
Invalid or corrupted PDF file.
PDF.js.8.0 (build: fdde957)
Message: The PDF file is empty, i.e. its size is zero bytes

Please hep me.

dstillman

It's extremely unlikely that "Reset File Sync History" did that, and we've never heard of anything like that happening. All "Reset File Sync History" does is cause Zotero to check every file to see if it exists online. It also shouldn't be necessary in normal usage. Unless you had disabled file syncing, were at your file-storage quota, or were using WebDAV and there was some problem with that, your files would've been uploaded as you added them, and none of those cases would require using "Reset File Sync History".

Are you using Zotero Storage or WebDAV?

If you right-click → Show File on various PDFs on the library, do they actually exist, and are they zero bytes on disk? What are the timestamps?

torunn.briers

Hi, thank you. I'm using Zotero Storage. When I right-click → Show File they do exist but they are zero bytes. Time stamps are from when I first uploaded them.

torunn.briers

It is possible for me to restore them with a recent export of my library but I still have the issue of syncing the files to my new laptop. The PDFs are not accessible though the website (zotero.org) either, next to them is a link symbol and they appear but are greyed out.

dstillman

Wait, something doesn't make sense here. Nearly every item in your online library has been added since July 17/18. E.g., the attachment you reference above was just added six hours ago. So I think you'd have to be leaving out some details here. The library you have online isn't a library you've been using.

Did you already wipe everything, reimport data from an export, and overwrite the online library?

It is possible for me to restore them with a recent export of my library but I still have the issue of syncing the files to my new laptop.

I mean, file syncing works. If you wipe your library, import, and sync with file syncing enabled, those files will sync to all your devices, as long as you don't hit your storage quota.

You could also just do the import on your new computer, of course.