Wholesale Collections Missing from my Library

xieyihaostar
Hi Zotero community,

I recently got a new PC and, after downloading Zotero and syncing with my account, realized that a bunch of my collections have gone missing. They were all added after 2016, and I am pretty sure I was logged on to my Zotero account when I added them on my previous PC, which had auto-synchronization turned on. I am also positive that I did not delete any sub-libraries from it.

It seems more than just a syncing issue since I'm also unable to locate these collections and the entries in my library online. Interestingly, however, a few entries that were added after 2015 do show up as "uncategorized" in the library.

Has anyone experienced the same issue before? I'd really love to recover my beloved libraries...Thanks so much!
  • bwiernik
    It sounds like your changes hadn't been syncing to this Zotero account for some time on your old computer. Do you still have access to the old computer that you might be able to get it to sync properly? Also, do you perhaps have a different account that you were using on the other computer?
  • xieyihaostar
    @bwiernik Thanks for the fast response! I also recently reinstalled the OS on the old computer and wiped the C drive clean :-( . I won't be able to retrieve the data folder from there. As far as accounts go, I don't think I have a second account.

    Also, I'm raising this because as I mentioned, some (not all) files were indeed synced, between early 2016 and 2017, though only a tiny fraction of what I actually added to the library. So I'm guessing it's more technical than...human error on my end?
  • bwiernik
    @dstillman may be able to look at your sync history on your account to see if there was an usual pattern of syncing there. But based on your description, it sounds like your old computer may not have been syncing correctly for some time.

    Do you happen to have a backup of your old computer at all?
  • xieyihaostar
    @bwiernik I'm afraid I don't have my zotero data folder backed up from my old computer... still, thanks for your responses!
  • xieyihaostar
    @dstillman Would you be able to help? Thank you so much!
  • dstillman
    Yeah, I'm afraid there were no uploads after November 2015.
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