Moved from windows to mac, now getting error message trying to load any of my projects

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
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I moved from windows 10 to a new mac mini. All of my scrivener project files were moved via network connect to the new mac. I finally got a chance to get the mac version of scrivener purchased and installed. Now every single scrivener project I have is giving me the following error: "There was a problem saving the project ‘project.scriv’. Not all recent edits could be saved. Files that could be recovered have been saved to /Users/…/…/project.scriv Recovered. The project will now close. When I try to open the “recovered” file, it’s a .rtf file with about a paragraph of text in it, and that’s it.

I no longer have access to the old windows computer. I’ve tried opening the backup files that were moved over, and get the same error that I got with the main project files. I’ve got about 400gig of storage free, so that’s not the issue, but I’m lost as to what to try next. Both computers were/are running the most recent versions of scrivener.

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Are you able to create brand new projects on the Mac?

Are you running any security software? This is the sort of thing that can happen if the operating system is denying Scrivener access to its own files.

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No, I’m not running anything that didn’t come on the Mac. I was under the impression that the change in operating systems would be a smooth transition. Guess the computer gremlins thought otherwise.

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Again, are you able to create new projects on the Mac?

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Sorry, yes I can create new projects on the Mac.

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Where are the projects are saved? Are they in your computer’s local storage, Dropbox, OneDrive…?

Were your backup files saved as ZIP files (you would have had to double-click them to create an unzipped copy to open if they were).

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Everything is on my local drive. The backups aren’t zip files, they were just saved to a secondary local drive.

I checked file permissions and everything is set to read & write access, so I don’t think that’s the problem? I’m new to Mac, so if there’s something else I need to check, please let me know.

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Welcome to the Scrivener Forum and your new Mac.

I don’t know what a “secondary local drive” is–a USB or networked drive? Please elaborate.

Please also be specific about the exact folder name (full path) you store your projects’ *.scriv file (which is actually a macOS “package” which looks like a file but is actually a folder just like you used to see in Windows.

Also, it is best you set your backups to be Zip files, and keep a number. I store my backups in ~/backups/Scrivener, keep 25, and set the automatic on “close”. Yes, this different from the default location, but is my preference to make it simpler to keep track of the backup zip files rather than be buried in ~/Library/* file structure. [the ~ is a symbol representing your home folder, e.g. /users/youruserid/backups/Scrivener.]

Finally, have you yet set up your TimeMachine backup of your new macMini. Please do. Apple provides full instructions for how to do that. Doing that backs up you full system including your precious Scrivener projects and backup zip files.

How did you move the files from Windows to the mac Mini? From the symptoms, it is possible that not all the files came across fully. I do hope you still have the Windows machine to re-do the copy across? If using a third party sync service, ensure the sync up from Windows device and then down again to Mac mini is complete.

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If the backups weren’t saved as ZIPs, that could explain why they are also affected by the issue. Generally, we recommended saving backups as ZIP files when possible as it’s a safer format.

Scrivener files are cross-platform compatible, so generally, switching from one platform to another is pretty seamless—you may have to play around with font and a few settings that are different, but nothing major. In this case, it seams that the files weren’t transferred fully or correctly, in all likelihood. It’s also a good idea whenever possible to test all major files before getting rid of the old computer—too late now, and not always doable in the case of theft, etc., but something to keep in mind for future computer changes.

I’d recommend taking a look on the backend to see if the data exists and the problem is with rendering the project or if the data just doesn’t seem to be there at all.

Locate a project in Finder, control-click, and select “Show Package Contents.” Click into the Files folder, then the
Data" folder. Click into any and all folders in the Data folder. Some of this will and should be empty, but open any instances of “content.rtf.” Do you find any of those, and if so, do they have your text or are they blank? If they do have your text, you can bring these files into a new Scrivener project file and manually recover the data that way, or copy/paste the contents elsewhere if desired.

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The secondary local drive was a networked external hard drive that was used for windows backups. The files were copied directly from the old windows machine to the new mac via direct network connection using Apple Migration Assistant. I no longer have the windows machine, so trying to go back and recover anything from it isn’t an option.

The files that were moved are currently sitting in a folder on the main drive, ‘/Users/Shared/Stuff/Writing/Scrivener Projects/’.

I haven’t set up Time Machine yet, but will as soon as I get the external drive connected.

Yes, there is some text in the content.rtf files, so thank you! It’s not everything, but it’s at least a start at rebuilding the 40K+ words I’m missing.

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Humm. I’m kinda at a loss what to do. Sounds like the Migration Assistant missed some things in your /users/shared/* folders. But I don’t know and have no experience Migration Assistant from Windows to Mac. Immaterial now as you don’t have the Windows machine to go back. I’m wondering if the networked external drive you mention has backups from the Windows machine that are useful to you now if accessed from the new macMini. Long shot, I know.

@JenT from L&L has comments above.

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@JennW, I’d recommend using Dropbox for zipped backups if you can.

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FYI, I don’t recommend this as sync’ed files are not a reliable backup IMHO. If the files are corrupted or accidently/deliberately changed and/or deleted, then “poof” after next automatic sync they are deleted on all devices which are part of the sync. That is why I put backups on the local drive, and rely on TimeMachine (and other redundant backup methods per the 3-2-1 regime) to backup full systems and the Scrivener backups. Just me. Others can of course do differently.

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I’ve been doing this for six years and never had an issue, but you do you.

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Yep. That’s why I say what I do. Others can do something else. I have experienced crashed laptops over the years so I’m a believer in the 3-2-1 backup regime.

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Zipped backups are fine in a cloud service as they aren’t synced an updated the way unzipped files are. Putting zipped backups in a cloud service just makes them accessible off device, so it’s useful for cases of theft, hard drive failure, etc. A zipped backup won’t update when the original file is changed as in the case of a traditional file sync.

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Do you still have the external drive? It’s possible that the files were successfully saved to the external drive but not transferred correctly to your Mac computer. In that case, you could try doing the migration again, or access the files directly through the external drive and see if you encounter the same errors. I would backup a copy of what you have before trying again if you go that route just so you don’t lose any data available from the back end.

Glad you’ve found at least some of it that way! If the raw data is there (at least, some), you could also try creating a new project file and importing the old project into the new. From the new project, go to File -> Import -> Scrivener Project. This may or may not work, but it would be much less time consuming that reconstructing the RTF files.

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Well, I’m not going to argue the point. I’m just pointing out if, say, the backups on the local drive are accidentally deleted (it happens), they then disappear, almost instantly, from the sync servers and all other synced devices. I prefer to put the backups in a more secure-from-accidents with some level of version control location. For me, my backups from Scrivener go to the local drive, and the local drive is backed up to:
: NAS server on local network via TimeMachine
: USB Drive on machine via TimeMachine
: Backblaze via Backblaze’s continuous backup to make offsite
: Dropbox backup server (not sync service) with Dropbox’s backup service to make a redundant offsite backup
All the above available for easy access in the event of the scenerios you mention–but when a serious crash, fire, or theft is involved, restoring from easy place is the least worst problem, in my experience.

Again, this just me. I’m not telling anyone to do this. I’m just pointing out a possible risk of sync locations that may not be recognised. Everyone has their own risk tolerance.

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Thanks so much, that’s going to save a metric ton of copy/paste! It loses the images, but it’s better than losing it all.

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Using the Shared folder can be a little tricky on a Mac. When you put stuff into that folder, it doesn’t automatically update the permissions so that it can, in effect, be shared to the point of letting everyone on the computer edit it. They might be able to read it, but for some things, like Scrivener projects that cannot be opened without editing them (to some small degree), the error you are getting is not unusual.

There is a checklist for fixing read-only projects, on our knowledge base. I would however recommend doing so on a copy in your actual user folder, rather than continuing to use the Shared folder like this. Not only can be a bit problematic, but nothing in there is protected from prying eyes, by definition.

Thanks so much, that’s going to save a metric ton of copy/paste! It loses the images, but it’s better than losing it all.

That shouldn’t normally happen, but some things that might cause that are using linked images originally, or using a file format that worked in Windows but not on Mac. Linking is one of the things that really cannot be easily made cross-platform compatible, given how very different addresses are between systems (never mind the path itself probably being different).

Fortunately, mass broken image links are a lot easier to fix on a Mac. On Windows you’re pretty much toast because none of the recovery or methods for fixing them were implemented. On the Mac, under some conditions you might never even noticed they were broken as it has self-healing code. In cases where that doesn’t work, broken image links are printed as regular text in the editor, which can be fixed all at once with a global search and replace, and then reloading the project.

Refer to §15.6.4, in the user manual PDF, for more detail on how the above works, starting with subheading, Links on Multiple Devices.

But, if it is a matter of incompatible image formats, there isn’t a good way around that other than going back to the originals and converting them.

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