2079434474 - Does not sync on Laptop

Hi,

in our group we are using Zotero for our shared library and are in general very happy and think it is a great program.
Nevertheless, I have now a problem with the synchronization. While it does sync quickly and without problems on my desktop computer, the process hangs at "Getting updated data from sync server" on my laptop. Last sync was 2 days ago. I am using my Laptop even more than my desktop, so there should have been plenty of time with Firefox open to sync.

What might be the reason for this and is there a way to start the sync process anew?

Thank you for your help and with best regards,
Daniel
  • I am having a similar problem. The green arrow on Zotero keeps spinning indefinitely on my laptop but I am having no problems on my desktop. I first noticed the problem two days ago.

    My error report number is 1428085448.

    Firefox 3.6.10 and Windows 7.

    Thank you!
  • Having same problem as akira4489. Sync is hanging up and the green sync arrow just keeps spinning and spinning. This has been happening for the past two days. I thought I had permissions problems, but after troubleshooting file permissions none were found. Oddly I only have this problem on one of my computers.

    Computer with Problem:
    MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6.3, Firefox 3.6.11

    Computer with that is working fine:
    MacAir, OS X 10.5.8, Firefox 3.6.11
  • Dan, could you please help us out? My laptop still won't sync... it just stays on "getting updated data from sync server" indefinitely (and it definitely is not syncing).
  • Bump. Please help.
  • Does this still happen after restarting Firefox? There was a major upgrade to the server side of the sync system this weekend, and my understanding is that wait times and such should be drastically reduced. If this is a large initial sync, you may want to try running it at an off-peak time; the worst time is about 11 am to 3 pm EST.
  • ajlyon, thanks for the response.

    the problem persists even after rebooting my computer and restarting firefox. the green arrow has been spinning for three hours now with no noticeable progress in downloading anything from the server. please note that this is NOT a large initial sync.

    i've left the arrow spinning for 10+ hours before with no noticeable progress, so i don't think this is a "wait time" issue - there's something wrong.

    please note that the problem only exists on my laptop - my desktop has been syncing with the server without any problems...

    this issue is beginning to seriously affect my productivity, as i've become somewhat dependent on Zotero for moving files between my two computers. i would really appreciate it if someone could help me fix the problem.
  • Do you have any connectivity problems with the laptop? Perhaps a flaky connection? I don't know how robust the sync system is for computers that intermittently lose the connection.

    This sounds like a case that will need Dan to look at it -- I'm just guessing in the dark here.
  • Nope. No connectivity problems - it's on the same connection as the desktop most of the time.

    Dan - would sure appreciate some help. Thanks!
  • edited October 25, 2010
    akira4489: I see no active syncs for you, and I see data on the server as of a few hours ago. Is it still spinning? If so, restart Firefox and repost if it's still spinning.
  • There was a major upgrade to the server side of the sync system this weekend, and my understanding is that wait times and such should be drastically reduced.
    (Not quite yet. We did perform a major upgrade to the sync architecture, but that won't translate into performance benefits for at least a few more days.)
  • Dan, thanks for the response.

    I am currently on my desktop (which works fine with Zotero), which explains why the data on the server has been updated recently. It just occurred to me that on your end you may not be able to tell the difference between my laptop and desktop, since both are logged in as "akira4489." Sorry about that.

    I will log off Zotero on my desktop and run it only on my laptop for a little while. Hopefully that will give you the information you need.

    I'll repost in an hour or two once I've reconfirmed that the green arrow is still spinning on the laptop
  • Hi Dan,

    I just confirmed that the green arrow is still spinning on my laptop, with no noticeable progress syncing with the server. Unfortunately, there is no "error message" to report - it just keeps spinning indefinitely.

    I have to pack it up to take into the office now, but hopefully it has left whatever info you need on the server.

    Please advise.

    Thanks very much for your time!
  • edited October 25, 2010
    You have a queued download from half an hour ago. That doesn't indicate a problem. (By closing it you might lose your place in the queue, though, and have to sync again.)
  • I understand. But I've left my laptop running for several hours several times over the past week and it has downloaded ___nothing at all____ during that time. I don't think this is a queue problem. My desktop never has to wait that long to sync with the server.

    I'm planning on doing a restore from server on my laptop tonight, unless you can recommend something else.
  • It's now queued from 16 minutes ago. What happened 16 minutes ago? Did you restart Firefox?
  • Dan, no. I was using my laptop at various places and every time I closed the lid it logged off Zotero. That's why.

    I already ran it for several hours in a row several times over the past week to no avail, so unless you have something to suggest I'm going to restore from the server.
  • edited October 26, 2010
    Run it at an off-peak timeā€”like, say, now, when there's no queue. There's no reason to think that Restore from Server would work, since the only reason this is slow for you is that you're already doing an (automatic) full sync, and if there's an actual problem we should figure out what it is. But I'm still unconvinced that this is anything other than queuing, which was particularly slow last week.
  • Alright. Well, it's running right now on my laptop, and the circle keeps spinning. No sign of a download.
  • No sign of your download on the server. Restart Firefox and provide a Debug ID for about 10 minutes of syncing.
  • Has anyone figured out how to solve this problem of never ending syncing. For the past couple of weeks after numerous tries I cannot sync on on of my machines. The green arrow spins endlessly. I've let it sit for more than 24 hours with no success. As noted before:

    Computer with Problem:
    MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6.3, Firefox 3.6.11

    Computer with that is working fine:
    MacAir, OS X 10.5.8, Firefox 3.6.11
  • My desktop is not syncing to our group library, and it has been running for about three days. I have restarted the computer and firefox several times to no avail. I am also interested to know how to solve this issue.
  • I have the same problem of never ending syncing on my laptop. I recently updated my e-mail adress for the registrated account (following the instructions on the Zotero.org). I would much appreciate a response with a solution to this problem. Thanks in advance!
This discussion has been closed.