Downloading Zotero

amy_timmins
I am having trouble with downloading my Zotero files to the hard drive of my computer.
Last week, my computer was infected with malware and I had to erase everything and reload my computer. I backed up all my files on a back up drive, and then everything was erased and reloaded. I tried to download all of my Zotero files from the cloud, following the instructions on the website. Unfortunately, that is not working. I can see my files, but I can't open them. Can someone help?
  • adamsmith
    could you say what you actually did and what's working and what isn't? I'm not clear, e.g., which instructions you were following, where you can see files, if you actually mean files or Zotero items, and what exactly happens when you try to open them.
  • amy_timmins
    Hi There,

    I followed these instructions from the site:

    Restore from Server

    First, check your Zotero library on zotero.org to verify that it contains all of your data. To view your library, log in and then click the My Library tab.

    Next, if you have Zotero's auto-sync enabled, open the Zotero preferences without opening the Zotero pane. Go to Firefox's Tools menu, select Add-ons, and select the Extensions tab. Select Zotero in the list that appears and click the Preferences button.

    Once in the Zotero preferences, click the Sync pane and the Reset tab within that. Select “Restore from Zotero Server”, and then click the Reset button.



    After I did that, I could see all of my files again. However, when I clicked on them, the message would read this:

    The attached file could not be found.

    It may have been moved or deleted outside of Zotero.


    Thanks for your help.
  • adamsmith
    if you go to your library on this page (click on My Library at the top left), can you access the files from there? Don't just check whether you see it listed--try to see if you can open it.
  • amy_timmins
    I can't. I just get a URL that leads me to a page that wants me to pay for the document even though I am already logged in to my university account on my computer.
  • amy_timmins
    It also said this:

    Forbidden

    You don't have permission to access /store/10.1598/RRQ.43.3.4/asset/RRQ.43.3.4.pdf on this server.

    I downloaded everything legally from my university library account onto my computer.
  • adamsmith
    yeah, that's the item on the publisher's webpage. That's a different story.
    But it sounds like your files may never have synced to the Zotero servers. Note that Zotero items and the attached files have separate sync processes. There are a number of reasons why this could have happened, including that you disabled file syncing and/or that your quota for free file sync was exceeded (you would have gotten a message about that).

    But you say you have a back-up of your harddisk. Any reason you couldn't just use that to restore?
    https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_library_from_a_backup
  • amy_timmins
    I have found the storage. I don't know about the zotero.sqlite. I copied the storage to the desktop. Where would the active data directory be?
  • adamsmith
    great, you won't need the sqlite, since you've got the data from sync.
    Just replace the storage folder in the active data directory with the one from your backup.

    You can find the active data folder by clicking on "Show Data Folder" in the Advanced Tab of the Zotero Preferences under Files and Folders.
  • amy_timmins
    Okay. We are getting closer. Thanks so much, but I am still unclear. So where do I copy the data into? The general Zotero File or one of the files inside that bigger file like "storage" or "locate"?
  • adamsmith
    so you've found a folder called "storage" in your backup, correct? And if you open that, you see a lot of folder with weird names like QSYUWL31D?

    Each of those holds one attachment.

    Now you take that folder from your back-up and use it to replace the folder with the same name--storage--that's in the Zotero data folder (i.e. the folder called "zotero" that contains a number of folders--locate, translators, storage).

    Makes sense?
  • amy_timmins
    Okay! I have most of my data back in. The data that I had just put in the past three days is gone but easily retrievable. Thank you!!!!!!!
  • aurimas
    In your backup, where you found the "storage" directory, there was no zotero.sqlite file? There should have been a couple similarly named files. That would contain the most up-to-date copy of your library and you could easily restore it.

    Also, how did you stumble upon the "Restore from Server" instructions above? Just curious, because that's not the recommended way to restore your library (though it's harmless on an empty library)
  • amy_timmins
    when I backed up my computer, I just backed up my files/documents. I was afraid that the malware was hiding somewhere I couldn't see.

    The "Restore from Server" instructions suggestion was given to me by the reference librarian at my university because I didn't know how else to try. She was unsure as well.

    I was wondering if you could tell me a safe way to make sure that all my PDF's are up in the Zotero cloud.

    Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    I was wondering if you could tell me a safe way to make sure that all my PDF's are up in the Zotero cloud.
    read through
    https://www.zotero.org/support/sync
    to make sure you understand the basics of syncing. Then make sure that you have file sync checked in the sync tab of your Zotero preferences and that your syncs go through without error.
    Depending on the size of your library that may require that you either buy additional storage from Zotero or use a 3rd party WebDAV service.

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.

Sign In or Register to comment.