Lost my annotations.

mesmuri
I messed up and I'm assuming nothing can be done about it, but just want to make sure.

The computer that stored my library and annotations was sent in for repairs. Everything was wiped. I exported my library and put it on external hard drive before doing so, assuming it would include my files and annotations. I also set up sync for the first time.

In the interim I was using another computer and downloaded Zotero on there. I logged in and connected to sync and everything showed up, but because of a few books I had added locally on the new computer I was told I was over the limit and not able to access the books from the previous library anymore. So I figured it'd be better to store everything locally and deleted all the synced entries, then imported the RDF instead. Now I'm just realizing the RDF didn't store the files or annotations, I didn't save the sqlite file, and when I logged back into my account, instead of syncing those previous library I think it may have overwritten it.

Is there absolutely nothing I can do?
  • dstillman
    If you just did this, you may be able to restore from one of your automatic backups. Attachment files wouldn't be restored, but we may be able to relink any that had already been uploaded to your online library after you restore the data.
    but because of a few books I had added locally on the new computer I was told I was over the limit and not able to access the books from the previous library anymore
    This is a misunderstanding, though. Adding files on the new computer didn't do anything here — that just triggered the quota warning on that computer. If your files weren't available online, you were already at your quota and the files were never uploaded from the old computer, and you would've been getting the same quota warning there.
  • mesmuri
    How would I relink them? And I don't think I was getting the quota warning on my other computer, but if you say so. Maybe I didn't keep it up long enough to show.
  • dstillman
    As I say, we may be able to relink your attachments after you've restored your data. But you'd have to follow the instructions on the page I linked to first to actually restore your original data.
  • mesmuri
    I did. But what was restored was my library from the RDF file, not the sync.
  • dstillman
    It depends on when exactly you did this and the dates of the backup files. The linked page explains how you'd check this.
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