All data and Files gone Zotero 5.0

When I opened Zotero today all my files were gone and my library was empty. I already checked the Storage "Zotero" and the files on my Computer are still there. When I click Show Data Directory It is showing the right folder. However it doesn't import the files from there. Can anybody help me please?
  • What exactly do you see in Zotero? What do you see in the left-hand pane?
  • And how big is the zotero.sqlite file in the data directory when you click Show Data Directory?

    (Don't try to import or sync anything.)
  • I just see the standart interface (library, etc) and the sqlite file is 5,5 MB.

  • And many thanks for your help!
  • And unfortunately i already tried to sync but the online library apperently is empty as well
  • "just the standard interface" -- could you be more precise about this? What exactly do you see?
    It should not be possible to see a completely empty library with 5.5MB sqlite
  • I'm sorry! Since it's the German interface I can only roughly translate what it says so here it goes... My library > my publications, Duplicate Items, Unfiled Items, Trash... But if I click on any of those theres nothing else
  • It even says "welcome to Zotero" and acts like I've never used it before
  • Problem still isn't solved :/
  • What are the sizes and timestamps of the other zotero.sqlite.* files in that directory?
  • And to clarify, do you see a Zotero Quick Start Guide item in the middle pane, or is the entire middle pane replaced with a welcome message? If the former, what's the Date Added of that item in the right-hand pane?
  • The timestamp of the Zotero.sqlite file says Today 22:24, the Zotero.sqlite-journal is 427kb and also Today 22:24.. The timestamp on the storage folder is yesterday, 22:59 and it doesn't show me the size
  • So- when I click on "library" on the middle panel I can see "Welcome to Zotero" - below it says "View the Quick Start Guide to learn how to begin.... " "Already using Zotero on another computer? Set up syncing..." There is no item in the right hand panel
  • And there are no other zotero.sqlite.* files in that directory? But there are folders within 'storage'? If so, do the dates of the folders correspond to the length of time you've used Zotero?

    See https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/data_missing_after_zotero_5_upgrade. Do you see a 'zotero' folder in your Firefox profile folder? If so, what files are in it?
  • There is also Zotero sqlite.bak with 5 mb last changed yesterday. The dates correspond to the length, yes. However there are 4 files supposedly added the 13.01.18 which I don't remember adding.

    On Saturday the 13.01.18 I used a Mac program to clean my Macbook. Maybe that caused the problem? Do you think it would help to reset the computer to an earlier date? I just really need Zotero to work since I'm writing my thesis at the moment...
  • And I don't see a Zotero folder in my Firefox profile
  • Do you have a backup (e.g., from Time Machine) of this directory from before you ran that program?
  • I'm not sure. Does time machine do backups automatically? I've never used it before
  • Okay so no I don't have a backup... Is there really no way I can restore my libary? If not, how can I prevent this from happening again?
  • I'd recommend searching your computer for other zotero.sqlite or zotero.sqlite.bak files. But it sounds like the program you used may have deleted the Zotero database.

    Zotero creates automatic backups in its data directory named zotero.sqlite.bak and a zotero.sqlite.1.bak, which should date back about 2 days. If you only have the former, it means either you were using a different data directory before yesterday (in which case I'm not sure how you could have folders within 'storage' from earlier) or all the zotero.sqlite* files were deleted sometime before yesterday.

    Do you have your data directory in the standard location (/Users/:username/Zotero) or in another location?
  • edited January 16, 2018
    yeah i have them in the same location -> I guess I'll search for the pdf in the Zotero files and add them manually to my Zotero and rebuild my library...
  • You should move that directory out of the way with Zotero closed, let Zotero create a new empty directory, and then start adding files back. Otherwise you'll end up with orphaned folders in your data directory.

    Obviously I would strongly recommend using Time Machine with an external drive to automatically back up your computer on a regular basis. You might also consider using Zotero syncing, which would have allowed you to pull down your data from the online library.
  • Thanks for your help! :)
  • @Didem95, can you also tell us which program you used to clean your Mac? It would be good if we knew which programs cause these kind of issues.
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