Motherboard crashed - how to get online library onto a different computer?

JohannaSteele
I can't find any documentation on how to get my library that is synced into zotero.org onto a new computer. I understand how to use my old computer and my mozilla profile, but now I need to get what I have stored online on the computer I am using now.

I installed zotero on the computer I am using now before I enabled online syncing with zotero.org. The library I have on my new computer is blank, so I don't want to risk just syncing because I'm afraid my current blank library on the laptop I am using now will overwrite what is synced onto zotero.org.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Time sensitive. Thank you! Johana
  • adamsmith
    The library I have on my new computer is blank, so I don't want to risk just syncing because I'm afraid my current blank library on the laptop I am using now will overwrite what is synced onto zotero.org.
    that's an unfounded fear. Just sync, that's what it's for.
    Zotero will only delete items on the server that you have specifically deleted locally.
  • RintzeRintze
    Just fill in your account details and sync. Items on zotero.org are only deleted when you delete them on your computer and sync. Since you're starting out with an empty library that's not the case.
  • JohannaSteele
    Okay, thanks both I synced and it worked. The .pdf's are not accessible, though. Not a huge deal, I can look them up again with the article titles, but is there a way to fix this? Thanks.
  • adamsmith
    Are they accessible online on zotero.org? If so, they should be downloaded, yes, and we can help you troubleshoot if they're not.
    But file syncing runs separately from data syncing - it may not be enabled by default (don't remember) and it's only free up to 100MB of files, so you may never have synced the files to your account.
  • seneca_tunde
    my hard disk just crashed! I'm devastated. I tried to get my stuff from the online library but the library does not contain recently added stuff. I guess i exhausted my 100MB of space. My question is: did zotero store all the other additional stuff i added after I exhausted my space and can I get them back by buying additional space? Thank you!
  • adamsmith
    the 100MB only refer to attachments - item data will continue to sync regardless of whether that's exhausted or not. If your recent additions aren't online, they never synced properly (could be for any number of reasons - e.g. you unchecked automatic syncing, there was a sync error that you ignored...) and there is no trace of it on the Zotero server, so no way to bring it back from there.

    If you don't have any type of back-up of your HD or any way to rescue the contents of your HD, unfortunately whatever is online currently is all that you'll get back.
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