Lost references after changing computer

Serner

Hi all.
I have recently change my computer (both microsoft surface pro).
All my references from the period I had my previous computer are now gone although I am using the same login.
What can I do to recover these references?
I do not have access to my previous computer.

dstillman

If you don't see those items online, then you simply never synced them on the other computer and would need to sync that computer first. Generally, see Changes Not Syncing.

Serner

Thank you.
Ouch! I was under the impression that Zotero synced this automatically.
I do not see the missing references in my web library, and my previous computer is lost.
Does this mean the missing references are also lost or is there hope to restore them some way?

adamsmith

If you have documents in which you cite them, you can re-import them using https://rintze.zelle.me/ref-extractor/
but otherwise I'm afraid they're lost.

(Zotero prompts you to set up syncing when you start using it but it doesn't do it automatically; you can use it entirely locally)

dstillman

To be clear, Zotero syncs automatically once you set it up — but you have to choose to do that.

Serner

Thank you both and thank you for the link, I'll try that. It should be very useful.

I realized that the reason they have not been synced to the web library is likely that I have reached my file storage quota. I had not noticed that before. So the references have likely been saved on my computer only and not in the web library.

dstillman

It depends what you're talking about. Items sync regardless of quota as long as you have syncing set up. Attached files will sync up to your quota, and Zotero will show a warning icon after syncing if you're at your quota.

Serner

Thanks Adam Smith. The link worked great.

dstillmann, I have it set for automatic sync, so I still do not understand the reason for the missing references.
As i can work backwards with the extraction of refs, I'll be free of my biggest issues, so I don't think I'll be putting more effort into figuring out how it happened.
But I will check weblibrary from time to time from now on.

Thanks again both

dstillman

The page I linked to explains various reasons the changes might not have been syncing. The most likely is simply that you were getting some sort of error — e.g., caused by some overly long data in a field — as indicated by an error icon to the left of the sync icon. As long as you set up syncing properly, that's the main thing you'd want to look out for going forward. There's no particular need to check the web library as long as syncing is completing without error.

Serner

Yes I looked through. Only reason i could find was the error message on the storage issue.
There may have been other errors on the previous computer, but alas, I will move forward.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

dstillman

There may have been other errors on the previous computer

Yes, that's the point — the error would've been on the other computer.