Unable to sync libraries from Firefox extension to ZS

cegeh

From WIN XP machine with Zotero extension, I am unable to transfer or sync libraries to
WIN 10 ZS - maybe two accounts ... XP is now crashing constantly - need help !

LiborA

We need a more info from your side. Follow this instruction, please: https://www.zotero.org/support/reporting_problems

cegeh

Report ID: 182349391
Cannot sync/transfer libraries from Zext on XP machine to ZS on WIN10

adamsmith

This is still too little detail. We neither know exactly what you mean by sync/transfer (what exactly are you doing?), nor exactly what you refer to as a crash (error, program shutdown, freeze?), nor which Zotero versions.

cegeh

Account on XP with Firefox extension can no longer be used because of this machine crashing. First unable to move/sync that account's libraries to Zotero standalone 5.06 on the WIN10 machine. I have now copied files from "XP profile" to the assigned Zoterofolder onto the WIN10. Libraries now "in place", but I am getting popups about data will be deleted because of diff between accounts "cege" and "cegeh".
Have not restarted the program as of yet ...

adamsmith

the message suggests you're trying to sync with a different account than previously on that machine. Is that on purpose?

cegeh

Yes ! For reasons unknown, it was impossible to sync the libraries from the XP to MY WIN10 because of the diff in accounts, "cege"/"cegeh" , (but somehow this worked for my wife's WIN10 machine .. which is another story ...)
Now, I want to keep the main and current work (the transferred files) for the ZS on MY WIN10. Unsure of deleting the "wrong" account.
It was impossible (years ago) to change email-address for my "old" XP-account, so
I had to open a new account on the WIN10 machine.
Let's hope the currents files overrides the old ones ... !

adamsmith

I don't think I quite understand the situation, to be honest, but make sure to keep a copy of your data folder prior to sync as a back up just in case.

The popups should allow you to tell Zotero to go ahead and sync. They're also designed to be quite informative and precise, so read them closely to understand exactly what's happening/going to happen.

cegeh

I understand the purpose for the popups to "informative and precise", but when you are confronted with them, options may arise ...

adamsmith

my point is that if you say "I'm getting popups about data will be deleted" -- that's certainly not exactly what they say, and their exact content matters.
If you need help understanding them, you can post them verbatim (without translation or paraphrasing) here.

cegeh

... synced from different acount ...
"
If you continue will data connected with the account "cegeh" be deleted from this machine
BOX delete existent data
CHANGE ACCOUNT (grey)
CANCEL (active) "

Should I delete existent data or should I change account ? Why is CHANGE ACCOUNT not active ?

dstillman

This is the message:

This %1$S database was last synced with a different account (‘%2$S’) from the current one (‘%3$S’). If you continue, data associated with the ‘%2$S’ account will be removed from this computer.

And then there's a "Remove existing data" checkbox you have to select before you can click "Switch Accounts", to confirm that you understand the consequences.

cegeh

OK, should' ve left the message as is:
Zotero databasen synkroniserades senast med ett annat konto ("cegeh") än det nuvarande ("cegeh"). [SAME ACCOUNT]
Om du fortsätter kommer data kopplade till kontot "cegeh" att raderas från denna dator.
I want to keep the new synced data from thr XP-account cege (underscore cege) in my WIN10 account cegeh (underscore cegeh)
The choice in the popup leaves me with the choice to delete (all) my account !
Account on Zotero.org do not show the libraries in ZS

dstillman

Hmm, that's odd. Can you provide a Debug ID (different from a Report ID) for a sync through this dialog? You can then click Cancel.

cegeh

Debug ID 40674425
Cancelling the popup about sync from account(s) cegeh

dstillman

That's a Report ID, not a Debug ID.

cegeh

sorry about that, this is the ID :
D968648157
Cancelling the popup about sync from account(s) cegeh

dstillman

OK, so I'll have to look into why it's showing you the same username twice — that's clearly a bug — but basically, if you continue, it's going to remove all your local data and pull down data from the one you've entered credentials for in the prefs ("cegeh"). You can see the data in each of the accounts by looking at them online here.

It's not currently possible in 5.0 to merge local data from one account into another the way it was in 4.0. If you want to do that, you can either use export/import (though be aware that that will lose any links with word processor documents) or create a group that both accounts belong to and use it to transfer items between the accounts.

We might restore the ability to merge data in this way, but it was often done by accident (even with a warning) and is somewhat problematic technically.