Data Disappeared when trying to create a back up

In following the directions to create a back up, upon restart of desktop Zotaro, I received an error message saying something to the effect that it wasn't linking to the right folder or directory. That error message is no longer appearing so I cannot screenshot it. Basically, I have a welcome page. I am one person, not part of an institution. I need help having misplaced weeks of work. The sync is not an option because it failed to sync all of my files. I find your instructions for back up lack clarity so I screwed up something.
  • I am receiving this message when I attempt to locate my data on my computer: You cannot select a Linked Attachment Base Directory within the Zotero data directory.
  • The instructions you link to are for _restoring from a back-up_
    Did you actually take a back-up?

    Note that the instructions for backing up Zotero explicitly suggest to not do this manually:
    Rather than backing up just your Zotero database, we recommend using a backup utility that automatically backs up your entire hard drive to an external device on a regular basis. Most modern operating systems offer such functionality (e.g., Time Machine on Macs).
  • I do not understand what you mean by Take a backup. I was trying to create a backup. I am using Windows 10 on a PC. Do you have a solution for recovering my data?
  • Right now I'm just confused what you were trying to do -- you say you tried to create a back-up, but the instructions that you link to and struggle with are for restoring from a back-up (it says so at the top of your Word doc), implying that one already exists.
  • Thank you for your patience. This all started yesterday when something went wrong while I was entering notes into the desktop. There is a separate thread from that.
    Today, I decided to make sure I had a back up and when I checked, I had not created one. I then Googled “Zotero Back up,” and found the page you reference above. I attempted to follow those instructions.
    I realize now that I jumped too quickly, but I was extremely frustrated over the fact that I may have lost hours and hours of work.
    I am one person writing a book. I do not have an institution containing other colleagues more experienced in Zotero or an IT Department where people can help me out.
    Nor do I have a background in computers and I get the feeling that your site’s instructions are aimed at those more knowledgeable about directories than I.
    I screwed up. I admit that. I misunderstood the instructions and tried to create a back up. I failed.
    What additional information do you need to help me out? I am in full blown problem solving mode now.
    This is what I see when I open Zotero: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OraYSQs3F5ZFb43WkPyZIBVD3oJYffEa/view?usp=sharing
  • The instructions are intended to be non-technical and are followed by non-technical users pretty regularly (and you can always ask if you don't understand something) but they do require, just like anything longer we write here, that people read them closely -- especially as it concerns your Zotero data, don't rush anything.

    On your specific issue:
    Do you have the folder you renamed to Zotero-old still?

    Start by making another copy of that and put it somewhere where you won't accidentally change or move it until you have successfully restored your Zotero database (say, an external harddisk/USB stick or somethign along the lines; you likely won't need it, but better to be sure).

    Then, run through the "Restore from back-up" instructions you used before: https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_data_from_a_backup1
    You'll need to rename the existing folder something different than Zotero-old (anything -- let's call it Zotero-temp for now).
    Your backup is the Zotero-old folder from above.

    So all you need to do now is rename Zotero-old that back to Zotero and make sure that it's in the same place as before.

    Then restart Zotero. If you see your data, you're done. If you get an error message that you don't understand, stop, don't click any of the options, take a screenshot, and ask here.

  • We are making progress. When I clicked "sync," all of my notes appeared along with the blank ones created by yesterday's glitch. But, I do not understand "data directory," in this context. In the directions it says "Next, copy the data directory from your backup to the original location (e.g., “Zotero”).What am I supposed to copy? Zotero? Zotero Temp?
  • I want to make sure that I have not screwed up the back up. My notes have all appeared in my desktop, but they are not appearing in My Web Library.
  • Are you saying that you currently have your data completely as you want it, fully up to date, in Zotero locally?

    If so, you can use Replace Online Library in the Sync → Reset pane of the Zotero preferences to force Zotero to overwrite the online library with the local version of the library.
  • edited June 11, 2021
    @txglennross: For what it's worth, though, from your other thread it doesn't sound like using Replace Online Library is necessary. It just looks like you somehow ended up with some new blank notes, in which case you can just delete them and let Zotero sync normally.
  • I tried the Sync>Reset. That did not work, possibly for reasons listed on this Google Doc: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wOaveXgDfT__-CmANf9mPqlb5oMB2R0p/view?usp=sharing
  • Why are you setting a base directory at all?
    I don't think you need this and it doesn't sound like you're understanding what it does (it's an advanced settings for people storing attachments as links and syncing those across multiple devises using another tool like Dropbox or GDrive).
  • I misunderstood your instructions. How can we fix this?
  • Can we take a step back here? What's the actual problem that you're currently facing? What are you trying to accomplish?

    If you want to sync, you just need to put in your username and password in the preferences.

    If you want to back up your Zotero data, you should just back up your entire computer, as the instructions say and as adamsmith quoted above. If you really want to just back up your Zotero data separately, the instructions are very clear that all you need to do is make a copy of a single folder. Our instructions don't say to do anything else, and they certainly don't say to do anything with the Linked Attachment Base Directory, which is a completely unrelated setting. So I really don't know what you're trying to do here.
  • edited June 15, 2021
    To answer your question, I want my web library to duplicate my desktop. It is not. The current state is that my web library is missing those 90 notes.

    On Friday, when I posted my comment that everything was restored, that included 90 notes. Yesterday, those notes were missing again. Now you tell me that I don't need to do anything with the Linked Attachment Base Directory, yet I was only doing what I was instructed by dstillman.
    I tried to follow Adamsmith's directions but I cannot rename the Zotero old folder to Zotaro temp as it is now read only. I did not realize that until I tried to make a copy of it.
  • Now you tell me that I don't need to do anything with the Linked Attachment Base Directory, yet I was only doing what I was instructed by dstillman.
    What are you talking about? I never told you to use that setting. No one did.
    The current state is that my web library is missing those 90 notes.
    As I said, if you want your local library and your online library to be in sync, all you have to do is sync. That's it.

    The empty notes — which, again, have always been empty, and never contained any text you created — are in your trash online, and would be in your trash locally as well after syncing. Just sync and forget about this.
  • >>What are you talking about? I never told you to use that setting. No one did.<<
    I followed these directions:
    adamsmith 4 days ago

    "Then, run through the "Restore from back-up" instructions you used before: https://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data#restoring_your_zotero_data_from_a_backup1
    You'll need to rename the existing folder something different than Zotero-old (anything -- let's call it Zotero-temp for now).
    Your backup is the Zotero-old folder from above.

    So all you need to do now is rename Zotero-old that back to Zotero and make sure that it's in the same place as before.

    Then restart Zotero. If you see your data, you're done. If you get an error message that you don't understand, stop, don't click any of the options, take a screenshot, and ask here."

    That's what led me to that setting. Because I think we both agree that I sure as Hell couldn't find it on my own.

    >>If you want to sync, you just need to put in your username and password in the preferences.<<

    I am logged in. When I go to Preferences>Sync I see a box that has my user name and a button that says, "Unlink Account," so I am assuming I am correctly logged in. However, my now 96 notes are NOT showing up. Nor do they show up when I click the curved green circle that says, "Sync with Zotero." These are child notes of a book called "Lucky Lady: the World War II Heroics of the USS Santa Fe and Franklin." If you look in the web library, you'll see that's the fifth title listed. When I click on it, it opens "Myilibrary log in page. Why is that? Note that I have never entered data directly into the web library and I'm not sure why that takes me there. Shouldn't I see my notes here? Or am I missing the point of the web library? Isn't that where notes are back up to when you sync?

    >>The empty notes — which, again, have always been empty, and never contained any text you created — are in your trash online, and would be in your trash locally as well after syncing. Just sync and forget about this.<<
    The empty notes are NOT this issue. They were an outcome of the original issue. Yes, at first I thought these notes had content and that content had disappeared. I'm not sure how they were created. I don't care about that any more.

    This issue is still unresolved. Happy to "forget about this" when I can get sync to work.





  • Sorry, it remains a bit tricky to help here, because you're doing things that aren't at all related to what we suggesting and the descriptions of what you're seeing are hard to follow. I completely sympathize with finding technology difficult, but we really can't help if you just do things that aren't even mentioned anywhere. The instructions may sometimes be confusing (and it's fine to ask), but they are written very precisely. If they wanted you to do something with the Linked Attachment Base Directory, they'd say exactly that.

    So moving along:
    Let's start with the Linked Attachment Base Directory field:
    That's not mentioned anywhere on the back-up page nor in anything dstillman or I wrote here. Just click on "Revert to absolute paths" and don't touch that setting again unless you know exactly what it's for.

    Then, I don't think either dstillman or I understand whether you're currently seeing the 96 notes in question anywhere. If you are, could you please describe exactly where?
    If you're not, since my previous understanding was that they were lost prior to backing up or syncing, I would think they might just be lost.
  • However, my now 96 notes are NOT showing up.
    There are 105 child notes with content below "Lucky Lady" in your online library. There are also 83 empty child notes in the trash. So I don't know what you're saying the problem is.
    If you look in the web library, you'll see that's the fifth title listed. When I click on it, it opens "Myilibrary log in page.
    I don't know what you mean by that. We'd have to see screenshots.
  • I found the notes. Thank you. I do appreciate all of your help. You have kept me as a customer and I am sure that, at some point, I'll become a paying customer as I haven't even scratched the surface of the research I need to do. So, you haven't gotten rid of me (Bwa ha ha! :-) )

    Now, let me give you some feedback (not criticism). I won't bore you with my bona fides, but I have experience in customer service, customer experience and de-escalation techniques. We had some communication breakdowns on both sides of this conversation. I'll take the blame for the majority of them, but there are a few things you might try next time. For example, my assumption was that the web library would be a mirror of the Zotero desktop. It's not. I expected to see my notes in the web library below the entry in the same way they appear in the desktop. In fact, in your most recent post, you wrote:>> "There are 105 child notes with content below "Lucky Lady" in your online library. There are also 83 empty child notes in the trash. So I don't know what you're saying the problem is."<<

    I did not find the notes "Below Lucky Lady." In my web library they were off to the right and not immediately visible as the Info tab is open when you highlight the book. Let me also suggest you replace that last sentence with "Can you help me understand more about your problem?"

    You might want to send someone a screen shot indicating where the notes are found. Had this happened, we might have finished this conversation last week. I did a quick search for "Web Library" and didn't see anything that pointed out the differences.

    Secondly, I'm sure you have limited resources, but had you the ability to remote in to my computer, this would have been resolved in 20 minutes or less and I'd be favorably comparing your customer service to Zappos. I'm sure it's a time vs money thing.

    Lastly, you mentioned, perhaps more than once, how well your documentation was written and that it worked for most people. Most but not all, there will be a small set of people like me, that for whatever reason, inattention to detail or disability-learning or otherwise-that don't get it. These people may not be worth the resources it takes to clarify your documentation but documentation can always be improved. I can't be the only one that ever had difficulty with the documentation. Generally there are 26 instances of customer dissatisfaction for every complaint a company receives.

    Thanks again. If you're half as exhausted as I am, then we all need a vacation and a few adult beverages. Stay awesome!
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