Zotero archive partially disappears after Firefox update

ZacharyNowak
I had a similar but not identical problem to what was reported here [https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/18450/zotero-seems-to-have-disappeared-after-firefox-update/]. After updatin Firefox recently, I had to reinstall Zotero and resync. After syncing, though, my archive looked like it did about eight months ago: most of my files were there, but not the most recent (and most important) ones.

The "Old Firefox Data" folder is on my desktop (where Firefox put it automatically), and then there is a folder inside of it called "nbjshfv6.default," and then inside that is the Zotero folder. When I opened that folder I found the following:

-locate (a folder)
-storage (a folder)
-pdfinfo-Win32 (an application)
-pdfinfo-Win32.exe.version (a Version file)
-pdftotext-Win32 (an application)
-pdftotext-Win32.exe.version (a Version file)

That was it, no squil files. I tried to reveal hidden files, and no new files appeared.

I'm wondering first of all how to restore my entire library, and also in the meantime if I can continue saving to Zotero or whether a future restore will wipe any new files/entries. Thanks much for the help.
  • adamsmith
    yeah, I honestly have no idea what to do about this. Without the sqlite, there is no database. We've never seen this happen, though I suppose it's possible that Firefox didn't copy the old folder properly. Without some other backup of your harddisk from before the FF refresh, I really don't see how we can restore your database. (The reason they're not online is that your sync didn't go through at some point)

    In any case, you can gather new materials. Most likely, just syncing after restoring your database will work to merge the two, but for the worst case you can also just export all newly added items (to Zotero RDF) before restoring your library.
  • ZacharyNowak
    I have Carbonite, but I think the idea there is that it is constantly updating, so I can't ask them for that file from, say, two weeks ago. I don't see, however, how it hasn't been syncing for eight full months. I put my username and password in at the every beginning and have never re-installed it. There's nothing else I can do?
  • ZacharyNowak
    Did following the standalone directions for losing data have some effect on this?
  • adamsmith
    It shouldn't, given that you say you didn't touch the Old Firefox folder (as long as you're sure about that).
    If you're on windows, you could see if Carbonite saved an old version of the file:
    https://support.carbonite.com/articles/Personal-Pro-Windows-Restoring-Previous-File-Versions
  • ZacharyNowak
    Thanks, I was just Googling that. The zotero.sqlite file was backed up four days ago, so I restored that version to my desktop. The "old" version (i.e. the one now in my data directory, on the Advanced tab of my preferences) is only 46.9MB, while the restored version of the zotero.sqlite file is 134MB. I'm guessing that means it's the version that will have all of the stuff I've added in the last three months. Should I just now paste it into the data directory folder to restore everything?
  • adamsmith
    That sounds very promising, yes. Proceed as follows:
    1. Open the data directory
    2. Close down all instances of Zotero
    3. Move the current zotero.sqlite out of the data folder to a temporary location.
    4. Copy (don't move) the restored zotero.sqlite version to the data directory.
    5. Restart Zotero and verify that everything is there. In particular, you'll also want to check the attachments of items that were missing after the Firefox reset. If these are inaccessible, you'd also have to replace the "storage" folder, proceding as above.
  • ZacharyNowak
    Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! That did indeed restore everything! I guess I should be sure that there is always a sync going on, at least once a week, but the back-up sqlite file from Carbnite saved me. Many, many thanks!
  • adamsmith
    I'm not sure what happened with the sync. The recommendation is to have it set to sync automatically and then to keep an eye out for sync errors, which show up as a red exclamation mark next to the green sync arrow. Hovering over the arrow also tells you the time of the last sync. (IIRC, the next version of Zotero will have more prominent warnings for failing syncs).

    Very glad you have this back; nice to see those backup strategies we're always preaching pay off.
  • RintzeRintze
    (IIRC, the next version of Zotero will have more prominent warnings for failing syncs)
    Dan created a ticket for that, yes, based on a previous report (https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/57949/help-lost-threemonths-bibliography/?Focus=250563#Comment_250563): https://github.com/zotero/zotero/issues/941
  • PaulP53
    I have a similar problem. It seems as if my complete library has "disappeared". I use Mac (OS 10.11.6). I have tested the path that adamsmith (here above) has recommended with the 5 steps, but so far without result. I have copied the restored zotero.sqlite version to the data directory, but after restarting Firefox and Zotero, my library data still were not in place. In the preferences (sync, reset), I found the option to restore the library from the sync server, but there was a warning that resetting might cause other problems. What to do? Paul Peeters
  • PaulP53
    I tried again (tested also to restore from a backup) and now adamsmith's path worked fine!!! Thanks a lot! Paul
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