unexpected sync error after upgrade to 4.0.6

slow500

Hi

after upgrading Z-Standalone 4.0.6 I get the error message:

My library
Invalid last sync id ''

when clicking on the red circle next to the green
rotating sync icon.

Sync to the webdav database is reported as being set
up correctly.

Error ID: 962224504

Any suggestions, please?

Thanks......Stefan...........

PS: I also noted that the colors on the tags are not being
imported from my standalone on another computer.

PPS: It seems that Zotero has lost the link to the attachments
during the upgrade as well. Randomly selected pdf attachments cannot be opened

"The attached file could not be found.
It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero."

but the folder "storage" is still in the same place and has not been touched.

Error report:

PAC file installed from http://www.york.ac.uk/proxy.config

[JavaScript Error: "no element found" {file: "http://stefan%2Eweigert%40york%2Eac%2Euk:********@dav.idrivesync.com/zotero/" line: 1}]

dstillman

Can you provide a Debug ID for a sync attempt that produces this?

PS: I also noted that the colors on the tags are not being
imported from my standalone on another computer.

PPS: It seems that Zotero has lost the link to the attachments
during the upgrade as well. Randomly selected pdf attachments cannot be opened

The first one wouldn't be related, and the second one wouldn't be if the file was previously available on this computer. You can start separate threads for these issues. For the latter we'll need a Debug ID for a file opening attempt.

slow500

Hi Dan

thank you for your helpful suggestions.

Debug ID for syncing problem: D2139069136

Regarding the PPS: the issue seems related to the syncing since
files previously existing on this computer actually do open up; only recent files are missing.

Thx.........Stefan................

dstillman

This could happen if your WebDAV server returns a 200 instead of a 404 for non-existent files.

Is there a lastsync.txt file in the 'zotero' directory on your WebDAV server? If so, what's in it?

slow500

Hi, thanks.

No, I do not see a file called lastsync.txt in the zotero folder of the WebDav server.

dstillman

If you have Firefox handy, try to load the lastsync.txt page in that, and then go to Page Info and click on the Headers tab. In the bottom half, you should see a RESPONSE line. Does it say "200 OK" or "404 Not Found"?

(You can do this in other browsers too, but it's easiest in Firefox. In Chrome, you can go to View -> Developer -> Developer Tools, click on Network, and then load the page. For the top line, under Status, it should say 200 or 404.)

dstillman

Zotero 4.0.8, now available, tries to check for this in Verify Server. I'd be curious to know whether it still passes for you.

slow500

Thanks.

1. Where would I find the lastsync.txt page? I do not seem to have that file on my WebDav repository.

2. Would your Firefox suggestion work with only Zotero standalone installed?

PS: Shall I dare to upgrade from Standalone 4.0.3 to 4.0.8 on the other computer which still works fine?

PPS: Will be able to try your suggestions only next Monday since until then I'll have no access to the computer with Z-4.06 which
fails to sync.

Thanks. Stefan

dstillman

1. Where would I find the lastsync.txt page? I do not seem to have that file on my WebDav repository.

You'd have to load the URL for where it would be if it existed, but now that 4.0.8 is out with a check for this you can just try Verify Server with that.

PS: Shall I dare to upgrade from Standalone 4.0.3 to 4.0.8 on the other computer which still works fine?

You can always downgrade to 4.0.3 by modifying the download URL. If Verify Server fails in 4.0.8, though, then your WebDAV server is broken and you should talk to your provider or switch to a different one (or use Zotero File Storage). We don't recommend using old versions of Zotero, since new versions fix important bugs and add features.

slow500

I have now tried your suggestions using 4.0.3 (the working Standalone):

- loaded the page:

https://www.idrivesync.com/zotero/lastsync.txt

the file is not found in the directory

- box at the bottom (Chrome) says:

Name: /?p=%2Fzotero/lastsync.txt

Method: GET

Status: 200 OK
Type: text/html
Initiator: other
Size: 12.88kb

Does that tell you something?

I'd obviously prefer to upgrade but am confused as to why 4.0.3 and 4.0.6 would simultaneously seem to "not work" and "work", respectively.

dstillman

That's not the actual WebDAV URL—that looks like maybe you're in their front-end interface? The WebDAV URL would be what's entered in the Zotero sync preferences, ending in "/zotero/lastsync.txt".

dstillman

Specifically: http://dav.idrivesync.com/zotero/lastsync.txt

dstillman

I'd obviously prefer to upgrade but am confused as to why 4.0.3 and 4.0.6 would simultaneously seem to "not work" and "work", respectively.

The way Zotero determines whether to try to download new files changed in 4.0.6, in order to work around an issue with other WebDAV providers, and your WebDAV server is breaking the new method. The issue with those providers was more subtle, which is why we worked around it. Your server, if it's doing what I think it's doing (returning a 200 instead of a 404 for a missing file), is just downright broken, which is why there's now a check for this in Verify Server. It's possible we could work around this, too, but it's really for your provider to fix (again, assuming the issue is what I think it is).

slow500

Apologies, am just a front-end consumer...

Logging in and using http://dav.idrivesync.com/zotero/lastsync.txt
I see:

Name: lastsync.txt

Method: GET

Status: 200 OK

Type: text/plain
Initiator: other
Size: 222B

Any better?! :-)

dstillman

That's it. And, unfortunately, it's what I suspected—the server is claiming that the file exists when it doesn't. You should contact their tech support and point them to this thread. This is something they should fix.

I'll think about whether we can safely work around this. In the meantime, if you create a lastsync.txt file with a random 30-character alphanumeric string—say, "a984kebnhefw7309fnfo0ekjrhnf2r" (without quotes)—that might persuade Zotero 4.0.8 to work.

slow500

Hi Dan

you seem to know your stuff - thanks for taking the time to investigate, and the suggested temporary solution which I'll
try on Monday.

I'll follow your advice and contact idrive to inform them that
"the server is claiming that the file exists when it doesn't", and alert them to this discussion.

Thanks again. Never experienced support like this before with any software, paid or free. Great compliments.

Bye.....Stefan..............

slow500

Hi,

1. used the workaround with a lastsync.txt file successfully for a few days; verifying the server under 4.0.8 told me at times about the problem of the non-existing file.

2. Today Idrivesync came back saying that they solved the problem at their end, and indeed, upon verifying server, the problem no longer is mentioned; however, now I get the statement "An uploaded file was not immediately available for download. etc" but all seems to work normally.

All in all: the problem appears to have been solved! Thank you.

The only open question now is the colors of the labels not syncing across from one computer to the next. Will open another thread on that when coming back from a holiday.

Thanks.........Stefan...................