ALL MY FILES ARE GONE!!!

earobinson2
All of my saved folders and research stuff is gone! I had to repair my computer and now the information is not there, including what I had synced to the site. What can I do to recover my files????
  • adamsmith
    Can you see your library--all of it, some of it--when you click on "My Library" on this webpage?

    Do you have a back up of your harddisk from before repairing your computer?
  • earobinson2
    I cannot see any of my library from either end. And yes I have a back up of my hard disk from before repairing my computer. I tried recovering the files by searching the backup drive but nothing came up referring to my library. All that came up was the exe file to install Zotero.
  • adamsmith
    If there's nothing on the server, then you almost certainly never synced, at least not with your current username. Are you sure that's the username you used to sync? The "2" would suggest you had/have multiple accounts.

    As for the back-up. Look at this in general:
    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data
    and specifically
    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_library_from_a_backup1

    those should help.
  • earobinson2
    First of all the username (2) has nothing to do with multiple accounts on Zotero of which I do not have. It has to do with a number I chose in order for a workable username and something that I would remember. Second it was synced because I made sure of it. Third please do not make assumptions of people and usernames. Fourth, these instructions for using Zotero are and have been extremely unclear. I should know; since my possible future job options for myself would have to do with working with and writing instructions for clarity. I'm extremely disappointed that my valuable research for schoolwork is gone. Currently I am considering to stop using Zotero all together and letting my future coworkers know as well as to the faults of Zotero so that they do not lose their work as well. If the matter is resolved and I see that the changes are apparent, I will reconsider my usage.
  • adamsmith
    So, I tried to help you promptly and courteously, but I don't react well to insults and threats. Maybe someone else does... best of luck in your future endeavors.
  • earobinson2
    Is there a number I can call to rectify the situation?
  • arggem
    No, sorry. There is no telephone support. Just these forums. But the level of technical support here is phenomenal, adamsmith being one of the foremost posters.

    Please read https://www.zotero.org/support/forum_guidelines#etiquette then feel free to post back according to the guidelines. People here really do want to help, and really are capable of doing so.
  • dstillman
    Given your response to adamsmith, I'm not going to be helping you either, but I'll just note for the record that you absolutely never synced to the account you're posting from (which has only even existed for a few weeks). From the sound of it you also wiped out your own files, so blaming Zotero is a strange choice, particularly when you're trying to get people to help you for free.

    Anyway, if you have a backup of your whole hard drive from before the repair, you almost certainly still have your data and you're just looking in the wrong place. If there's something in the restoring-from-backup instructions you don't understand, and you can manage to ask in a civil manner, someone might decide to help you, though at this point I'm not totally sure why.

This is an old discussion that has not been active in a long time. Before commenting here, you should strongly consider starting a new discussion instead. If you think the content of this discussion is still relevant, you can link to it from your new discussion.

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