file sync error

elisabeth.badenhoop · October 16, 2013

Hi there, I currently experience problems with file syncing (error report ID: 404768016). Prior to the problem ocurring, I changed the data directory location. First, I created a new (empty) "Zotero" file in My Documents, the hard drive that is backed up by my institution. I then set the data directory in my preferences to custom and selected the newly created "Zotero" folder. I then closed Firefox browser and copy/pasted the initial folder set up by zotero to the newly created one. I was asked if I wanted to merge the two and I clicked Yes. I opened Firefox again and zotero took a long time to sync. After one hour the green arrow was still spinning and indicated that the last sync was 1 hour ago while file syncing continued but without progress (the icon bar indicated a constant 4% and 0KB to download). I disabled Adblocker but this did not change anything. I checked and noticed that zotero included all items of my library but the new "Zotero" folder had a smaller size and included less items and files than it should. I closed Firefox and restarted it. While Zotero was still syncing Firefox no longer responded. I closed Firefox, downloaded zotero standalone using another browser. Zotero standalone showed the same as zotero had previously showed in Firefox: the correct amount of items but a continously spinning green syncing arrow and the icon bar indicating 4% progress. This was still the case after three hours so I sent an error report (404768016). What is the problem and how can I solve it?
Thank you very much.

dstillman · October 16, 2013

I then set the data directory in my preferences to custom and selected the newly created "Zotero" folder. I then closed Firefox browser and copy/pasted the initial folder set up by zotero to the newly created one. I was asked if I wanted to merge the two and I clicked Yes. I opened Firefox again and zotero took a long time to sync.

It sounds like you did this wrong. If you did this correctly, there shouldn't have been anything to sync — Zotero would just open your existing data directory at the new location. I'm guessing you copied the old 'zotero' folder into the new folder rather than copying the contents of the old folder into the new one. Close Zotero/Firefox, delete everything in the new folder, and then copy all the files in the old location — that is, zotero.sqlite, 'storage', etc., not the parent folder — to the new location.

elisabeth.badenhoop · October 17, 2013

Hi Dan, thanks for your quick help and suggestion. I did as you described (closed zotero/firefox, deleted content in new folder, copied the contents of the old location and pasted it to the new folder. When opening zotero/firefox again, the same thing happened again: a continuously spinning green arrow and icon bar (this time indicating 5% but all the same greezing). After the arrow indicated "last sync two hours ago" I closed Firefox and re-opened it. Zotero would do the same and Firefox no longer responded. Any idea of what went wrong?
Many thanks! Elisabeth

dstillman · October 17, 2013

Was your library not in sync in your old profile? I still see your client doing a full sync, which suggests that either your old profile wasn't in sync or you still haven't copied the right files. How big is the zotero.sqlite file that you're copying? How many folders are in the 'storage' subfolder?

The ultimate problem you're facing seems to be that file sync is stalling in the middle of many file transfers. That shouldn't happen, and we could debug that separately, but I'm still not convinced that this sync should be necessary at all. Have you tried temporarily pointing Zotero back to the old location? If you were in sync before, then the sync should go through immediately.