my sqlite file is corrupted and the back up is missing

squizle
I lost my sqlite file and retrieved it after a crash, but totally lost the backup file, however it is corrupted. I have the data from the storage folder, is it possible to get zotero to recognize the storage data? All the forms of database recovery I've read on the forum require at least a backup of the sqlite file
  • dstillman
    You need a backup of the SQLite file.

    Have you looked for other zotero.sqlite.* files in your Zotero data directory?

    See http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data for more information.
  • dstillman
    Also, what makes you say it is corrupted?
  • squizle
    Firefox tells me it is and replaced it with the backup which was a different version but I hadn't taken it out of the data directory, because I had to set up a new version of zotero, Also the sqlite from the new version which had a few entries is much larger than the sqlite from my lost version. I do not think a sqlite from my original is recoverable. Does this mean the data is irretrievable even though i have the storage files?
  • dstillman
    If you haven't yet, make an immediate backup of all zotero.sqlite.* files in your data directory.

    Then, one at a time, close Firefox, copy a database file into the data directory as zotero.sqlite, delete the zotero.sqlite.is.corrupt file if it's present, and start Firefox to see what's in that database file.

    You can also try the DB Repair Tool, but whether it will work depends on how corrupt the file is.
  • squizle
    Sorry to be a bit slow, but when you say database file I presume you mean one of the numbered folders in the storage directory is that correct,? Ooops ....Since the last time that I played with it (I upgrade to zotero 2) I now have an orphanedfile directory also which I hope contains my lost files. and a storage directory which contains the files that are active since I lost my original data . would seem to be an improvement!

    So I am moving up the folders from from the orphanedfile directory and renaming them as a sqlite file, this seems strange to me but I'll give it a go.

    ps i think the original sqlite file is totally kaput it contains 38kb of data as compared to 1889 kb in the sqlite version 1 zotero which had less data and 500kb in the new version 2 zotero sqlite
  • squizle
    Well I tried renaming the folder to a sqlite file but it didn't become a file and didn't show up in zotero when I reopened firefox. As for moving a file up from inside the folder .... which one? there are a lot there!

    On the other hand if you meant trying my other sqlite files I have tried them all and all I get is what I have entered after I lost data

    If everything depends on the sqlite file then I suspect I have just lost the data ...... though I was hoping to extract something from the storage folder files but so far can't really make any sense of them.
  • dstillman
    edited July 31, 2009
    when you say database file I presume you mean one of the numbered folders in the storage directory is that correct
    No. The .sqlite files are the database files.

    You should really read the Zotero data page if you want to understand what the various files are in your data directory. As explained there, the storage directory contains only attachment files (e.g., HTML and PDF files), not your library data itself. You can't restore from the storage directory.
    I now have an orphanedfile directory also which I hope contains my lost files
    It doesn't.
    On the other hand if you meant trying my other sqlite files I have tried them all and all I get is what I have entered after I lost data
    Were the timestamps on the files all after the date you lost your data? The timestamps should pretty clearly show you whether they'd contain valuable data. When you tried those files, did you copy them in and then name them zotero.sqlite, with no other extension?
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