Lost library after computer crash

dstillman
This discussion was created from comments split from: Lost all my library after transition to standalone.
  • jenajames
    Help! My entire computer crashed last night and when I just reloaded Zotero my pretty large library of research articles for my dissertation seems to be gone. I can't find it online or when I downloaded the app. As it wasn't being stored on my hard drive, where has it gone?
  • dstillman
    Could you say more? Is this a new/cleaned hard drive, or do you still have your old files? What version of Zotero are you running now, and what do you see in the library? Were you previously using Zotero for Firefox or Zotero Standalone? What's the value of the data directory location in the Advanced → Files and Folders pane of the Zotero preferences?
  • jenajames
    This is not a new hard drive, I did a reset (Windows quit working), but saved all files. I'm on Zotero 5.0.11. In my library I only see about 4 documents from the first time I used Zotero. I had established a whole library, with 80-100 documents associated wtih my dissertation on leadership. I have been using Zotero Standalone, albeit I have also used it on FireFox and just tried to pull it up on Chrome. The data directory location currently is: C:\Users\Jennifer.DESKTOP-SF8S8O3\Zotero.
  • dstillman
    OK, so if you look in your Firefox profile directory (or the one from your backup, if that's what you're using), do you see a 'zotero' directory, and if so does it contain a larger zotero.sqlite and a 'storage' folder with more files than the one in C:\Users\Jennifer.DESKTOP-SF8S8O3\Zotero ?
  • jenajames
    In my previous comment I said I only had about 4 documents, that is not accurate, about, there is a total of about 20, but not the library that is most important to me tied to my dissertation. Does this mean something did not get sync'd?
  • jenajames
    What does "larger" mean. I found a sqlite, but not sure it is anything other than the "run" for the progam.
  • dstillman
    The file size. And look in 'storage' too, which contains PDFs and webpage snapshots, to see how many there are compared to the data directory you're using now.
  • jenajames
    No zotero in Firefox profile directory, at least not as a main folder/item
  • dstillman
    If you had a data directory in the default location before, it would be a 'zotero' directory in either your Firefox profile directory or your Zotero profile directory. You should check both directories. Note that there'll be a prefs.js file in each profile directory, which is how you can know if you're looking in the right place.
  • jenajames
    Alright, I found some larger Zotero.sqlite files, but now it is asking me how to open them. How do I see what's in them?
  • dstillman
    Where did you find them?

    You can't open them (though you can open PDF/HTML files within 'storage'), but you can point Zotero at another data directory from the Advanced → Files and Folders pane of the Zotero preferences.

    Make sure you have a backup of everything before proceeding.
  • jenajames
    Yeah... that's not working. I have to go to a meeting, but will re-engage with you another day, unless you have step-by-step directions that might work
  • dstillman
    You'd have to say more about what's not working. It's still not clear to me what happened to your hard drive or where your various previous files are, but basically, you have an active Zotero data directory (C:\Users\Jennifer.DESKTOP-SF8S8O3\Zotero), which might have been migrated from an earlier version of your database from Zotero Standalone or Zotero for Firefox. If you find another, more recent Zotero data directory with more data in it (which should be clear based on the files in 'storage'), if you point Zotero at it, you'll see that data. (We can deal with moving it to a better location afterward, but for now the goal is just to find your data.)
  • adamsmith
    Essentially this is like restoring from a back-up. You can use Zotero's own documentation https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_library_from_a_backup1
    or if you prefer screenshots, this is pretty good: http://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/zotero/backup

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