Sync issue: Lost all my "new" bookmarks

A Former User @Guest

@juicedaniel So that's it, right? No chance to get my bookmarks back? "Removed for some reason." Bad luck. Not our problem.

Thanks, Opera.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@juicedaniel Unfortunately this is the main problem of any synchronization service and the reason why they shouldn't be used as a backup: If anything goes wrong, the error may propagate and you will lost your data on all devices connected to the sync service.

It seems that at some point Sync understood that those bookmarks were to be removed and did it. To restore them you need to use a backup, if you have one.

zalex108

zalex108 @Guest

@juicedaniel

You can check at your Opera profile for a Bookmarks.bak file.

If exist, maybe they are still there.

To find the route to your profile:

Follow the Opera Reset / Back up signature's link for your OS.

To load them:

Close Opera
Rename the current Bookmarks to anything else
Make a copy of Bookmarks.bak
Disconnect from iNet
Rename the current Bookmarks.bak to Bookmarks
Open Opera - Check the Bookmarks

If they are there, do whatever you need, modify, remove..., then make another file backup and then use Sync.

After that make back ups of any browser/program profiles/settings.

--
If no luck,
look for System Restore Points on your OS.

Windows 10 (x64) | Anniversary Update
Opera Stable · Beta · Developer

Opera Test profile | Opera Reset / Back up Linux · Mac · Win

"You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you". · Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

A Former User @zalex108

@zalex108 Thanks for your detailed answer - sounds helpful. It's funny: I got to the same point that you wrote about without reading your answer - by trying to search for and recovering the bookmark file. And guess what? I could successfully recover the Bookmarks.bak-file. It's size is 4.742kb (vs. 2.668kb of the current size (so you can see by the file size how many links I lost).

I just thouroughly followed your steps trying to get my bookmarks back. Unfortunately nothing shows up when I open Opera after your instruction. And: When I open Opera, the file "Bookmarks" gets overwritten and the size is again only 3kb (fresh installation). So is there another way to load the Bookmarks.bak file in another way? (Unfortunately I couldn't recover "BookmarksExtras" since it was already overwritten and irreversibly lost and therefore not possible to recover.)

A Former User

Ok I just realized that the file might not be recovered correctly. When I open it with notepad, I see mostly "NUM" symbols instead of urls/links. So I guess recovery wasn't successfully. Too bad. I was so close. (I still don't understand why Opera deleted them from sync.)

zalex108

zalex108 @Guest

@juicedaniel

On the current Opera Profile, Right Click on the file, properties/Previous Versions?

But I don't know if they are pointing to an specific file Id.

"You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you". · Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

A Former User @zalex108

@zalex108 You mean the windows feature, right? Nothing there, unfortunately.
(About my previous post: I meant "NUL" instead of "NUM".)

zalex108

zalex108 @Guest

@juicedaniel

Then I don't know how to recover them from your old laptop, maybe you can try using a program to recover deleted files, but if you didn't delete any profile maybe you will not find any Opera file.

Your Sync data at Sync.Opera.com is wiped? - Not sure if I've read about that -
Your New but broken laptop will be Formatted? - Despite could delay for a week -.

"You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you". · Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

A Former User

I just lost mine too. I only uninstalled & reinstall opera, I did this before, there weren't any issues. This time somehow, it's all gone. This sucks so much!

quicksite

quicksite @Guest

@ashiquerai I've lost mine as well. (May 2018). This happens so frequently.
And yet, like most users, we don't understand how Opera engineers or Moderators can't comprehend that their users are not all uninformed or even "stupid". Opera sync messes up all the time, that's the fact. And it's also a bad, confusing interface. Which is a drag because everything else about Opera 52/53 is superb. It is almost a perfect browser.

(1) You look on your browser top-right, see the user icon, click, it's the sync panel, sign in, there's a link to choose what to synchronize. But it never works, it just activates sync without choices. So it's already syncing before you could choose which items to sync.

(2) You click on the grey cog wheel top-right, and come not to SYNC preferences, but to all opera preferences. Totally bad information design. The expectation is to see SYNC prefs, because that's the tool you're on... But fine, you're at overall Opera prefs/settings, and you see "Synchronization"... then under it you see "Advanced Configuration"— but Advanced Configuration is greyed out. So there IS no ability to get to any advanced sync choices. So why confuse people by suggesting that there ARE choices?

(3) Now, where does a user see or know to go to a web interface to see what the server shows? Where is the information within the Sync panel in browser to "See bookmarks on server"? That would be the simplest most logical place to inform the user. But that would make too much sense. So omit it all together. Better, say the Opera engineers. Keep it a mystery. But OK, someone in a forum tells you to go to https://sync.opera.com/web/ ...

(4) This is what I see-- It's not helpful.

alt text

It's all unintelligible, designed by an Opera staff who already know the mapped out information design and drill-down as opposed to approaching from the user's unknowing mindset of "where are my bookmarks? where are my speed dials?". If you are at this server page to begin with, it means you've lost something, and that means, if you'e a normal person, you are panicked.

When I see "Speed Dials", I expect to click on that and SEE my speed-dials. And then a simple set of actions like "PUSH SERVER SPEED DIALS TO BROWSER", or "MERGE LOCAL SPEED DIALS WITH SERVER SPEED DIALS".

This very mysterious "Reset your sync data" is terribly unintuitive. What does that mean? (1) Reset your local speed dials and replace them with Server Speed dials? -- or (2) Reset your Server Speed Dials and replace with my current local speed dials. No, Opera engineers, it is not obvious no matter how many times you may push that out to users. Why is it so hard for you to understand that it is inherently confusing? If something is inherently confusing, then the solution is to be clear with what it means. THIS is not being clear:

You can reset your sync data at any time. No data will be lost from your devices.

Do not argue to us that this IS clear. "UX Design 101" precept is that the user is always right. If the user tells you something is not clear, it is, stop pushing your counter-narrative. Fix it to be clear please.

And you know what, the place to tell people "TIP! "Export your bookmarks" as a safeguard against period sync problems" is in the SYNC PANEL on the browser. It's so obvious even a 6 year old could tell you. And yet all you have there is some dumb generic image:

alt text