Lost Zotero archive?

philaroots76
I was about to update my Zotero archive after a four month hiatus. When I click on the Zotero App, though, I get nothing but the window one sees with a new, empty account. On my external hard drive I can see a folder that contains subfolders entitled Pipes, Locate, Styles, Translators, and Storage form the last time I opened Zotero. I assume this means that the data is still available. I just cannot seem to access it. Any solutions?
  • bwiernik
    In Zotero, in the Advanced pane, under Files and Folders, does the location of your Zotero data folder match the location on your external drive?
  • philaroots76
    Everything in that window is blank, even with the external drive connected. The only option checked is USES PROFILE DIRECTORY but the "choose" option is empty
  • bwiernik
    You are using a very old version of Zotero. Start by updating to the current version. Download from https://Zotero.org/download and install (no need to uninstall first).
  • philaroots76
    OK, thanks. I've installed and run the new Zotero, but upon running the new program it has opened up an old data bank from earlier in 2019, not the one I can updated at the end of December 2019. Is there a way I can locate that archive?
  • bwiernik
    Look in the Advanced pane like I describe above. Is the Zotero data directory path pointing to the correct spot on your external hard drive?
  • philaroots76
    No, it is not. Both the BASE DIRECTORY and the DATA DIRECTORY LOCATION are blank. Should I enter the location of the files on my external drive? If so, in which box should they be entered?
  • dstillman
    edited May 1, 2020
    The base directory is unrelated.

    If you're using a custom data directory, the data directory setting needs to point to that location for you to see your data.
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