New computer, two years of references gone?

SophiaWathne · January 28, 2020

Hi,

My old computer crashed, and I just bought a new computer and downloaded zotero again. However, now all the references that I have added over the last two years are gone both in the app, and online. As far as I can tell the "newest" books were added in 2017. On my old computer the app was set to sync, so I do not understand how this can happen. I have not used Zotero for about 6-7 months, but that should not mean that I loose data, should it?

Please let me know what I can do.

Sophia

dstillman · January 28, 2020

Unfortunately this just means you hadn't synced since 2017 on the old computer. You may have disabled auto-sync or might have been receiving a sync error, indicated by an error icon next to the sync button.

Your only option is to restore from a backup of the Zotero data directory, either from an external backup if you have one or somehow from the old computer's disk if you're able to access it.

emilianoeheyns · February 1, 2020

A crash can mean a lot of things, and there are a number of scenarios where either the data could be recoverable, or simply unharmed and waiting for you.

In this situation you don't want to experiment with the crashed system unless you really know what you're doing. Unfortunately, the upscale professionals who offer strong guarantees on their skills can be expensive, and the computer-assistance shops that pitch to the general public vary from very knowledgeable to downright dangerous, and it's hard to tell between them if you're not well-versed in the domain yourself. Amount of confidence in their own skills is not a good indicator alas.

Otherwise you'd have to find someone in your circle who is very accustomed to tinkering with computers; it may sound silly, but if they're using Linux, that's a decent sign, also of they've hand-assembled their own desktop computer that could be an indication, but absolutely not a guarantee -- system building isn't the challenge it was 30-40 years ago when I was a pimply-faced nerd.

This is all assuming you still have access to the old system of course.