Upgrade StorageUrgent: need recovery steps — duplicates, orphaned files, incomplete online library
Hi,
I need practical recovery steps as quickly as possible. I'm not looking to investigate the cause — I need a reliable way to get my library working again.
**Current situation** (Zotero 10, macOS):
- My local zotero.sqlite became corrupted ("dead objects" error). Following the documented procedure, I renamed it and re-downloaded my library from the server. The integrity check now passes.
- Despite that, many items appear as exact duplicates in My Library.
- Numerous PDFs are physically present in my storage folder but are no longer linked to any item.
- A reader tab displayed three mismatched things at once: tab title, the PDF shown, and the metadata in the right-hand pane — three different articles.
- Searching for an author whose PDF is visibly open returns zero results in My Library.
- My online library at zotero.org is also incomplete — some PDFs are missing there too.
Report ID: D590369826
I have a full copy of my data directory (including storage) saved elsewhere, and I have not merged or deleted anything.
**What I need, in order of priority:**
1. The safest, fastest way to reconnect the orphaned PDFs in storage to their corresponding items.
2. Whether it is safe to bulk-merge the duplicates now, or whether something must be fixed first.
3. Whether the current local database can be trusted going forward, or whether I should rebuild from scratch — and if so, the recommended procedure to preserve my annotations and notes.
4. What I should stop doing immediately to avoid making things worse.
This library is central to my research work and I need it usable again quickly. Step-by-step instructions would be very welcome. Thank you.
I need practical recovery steps as quickly as possible. I'm not looking to investigate the cause — I need a reliable way to get my library working again.
**Current situation** (Zotero 10, macOS):
- My local zotero.sqlite became corrupted ("dead objects" error). Following the documented procedure, I renamed it and re-downloaded my library from the server. The integrity check now passes.
- Despite that, many items appear as exact duplicates in My Library.
- Numerous PDFs are physically present in my storage folder but are no longer linked to any item.
- A reader tab displayed three mismatched things at once: tab title, the PDF shown, and the metadata in the right-hand pane — three different articles.
- Searching for an author whose PDF is visibly open returns zero results in My Library.
- My online library at zotero.org is also incomplete — some PDFs are missing there too.
Report ID: D590369826
I have a full copy of my data directory (including storage) saved elsewhere, and I have not merged or deleted anything.
**What I need, in order of priority:**
1. The safest, fastest way to reconnect the orphaned PDFs in storage to their corresponding items.
2. Whether it is safe to bulk-merge the duplicates now, or whether something must be fixed first.
3. Whether the current local database can be trusted going forward, or whether I should rebuild from scratch — and if so, the recommended procedure to preserve my annotations and notes.
4. What I should stop doing immediately to avoid making things worse.
This library is central to my research work and I need it usable again quickly. Step-by-step instructions would be very welcome. Thank you.
https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/517225/#Comment_517225