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[AoXoMoXoA]

I wish to continue to use MC20 for some functions while using and older version for other functions on the same PC.  I do not want either version to make any alterations to library, view, playback, or other settings in the other version.

Which older version do I need to use? Obviously newer versions will be more feature-rich and bug-free, so how far back must I go for this to work?
I have licenses for MC9 through MC20 so no issue there.

[BryanC]

Why?

[AoXoMoXoA]

Why? Because I wish to . . . . . and prefer to use Media Center than to have to install and learn another software package.

I need to keep a library that includes and lists ALL my files including those on removable drives, which totals several terabytes, so I can keep track of what I have and what I need to get.
Unfortunately MC does not handle that size collection too well.

So,
I wish to have one version of MC to simply catalog my collection in a concise and searchable format.
I will use the other version to manage and play the files on my laptop as well as rip and tag new discs to add to my collection.

I need to have each version independent of the other. In the past I have seen changes in one version's settings effect the settings in the other installed version, this is not acceptable.

I cannot simply use a second library in the same version as Media Center fails to keep settings independently for each library ( setting such as Import Folders get contaminated when changes are made in another library ).

I am hoping that using versions that are dissimilar enough will allow them to function totally independently with setting changes 'bleeding' across from one version to the other.

[Hendrik]

Running two versions of MC in parallel is not going to work very well.
MC needs to register a few system components to work properly, and everytime you launch a different version it will keep overwriting the other ones components.

As such, I  would greatly recommend against this plan.

[ferday]

.

I need to keep a library that includes and lists ALL my files including those on removable drives, which totals several terabytes, so I can keep track of what I have and what I need to get.
Unfortunately MC does not handle that size collection too well.

i certainly have no stake in how you use the program, but MC is handling my 12 Tb collection of media just fine without lagging or anything.  your statement is incorrect - maybe on your setup MC is not handling it well but as mine is working perfectly i just want to make sure anyone who reads this understands the situation correctly.

[blgentry]

^ Yeah, I've read over and over again that MC handles libraries with 500,000 files (and more) without any appreciable slowdown.  Maybe Mr AoX has a lot more files than that?  5,000,000 ?  Or maybe something needs to be tweaked in the configuration?

Brian.

[BryanC]

I cannot simply use a second library in the same version as Media Center fails to keep settings independently for each library ( setting such as Import Folders get contaminated when changes are made in another library ).

Are you creating a new library for each instance? By default the libraries will be stored in the same location, which is why they are being overwritten.

[AoXoMoXoA]

Been through the diagnostics on a much earlier thread, even sent a copy of my library to Matt who said it was the bulk of too large of a library causing my issues.

My other libraries were in separate folders so it was not an overwrite of the library files, it was an issue of MC not keeping each library's individual settings separate (i.e.: change the import folders on one library and other separate libraries have their import folders changed also).


edit - I reviewed the older thread and was mistaken, Matt never said that.

[blgentry]

Neither of those things make any sense.  How many files are in your library?  More than 1 million?

I have several libraries and their auto import settings are totally isolated.  I can change auto import on one library and it does not affect the other libraries.

Brian.

[AoXoMoXoA]

OK, in light of all those stating they have large libraries without the issues I have been experiencing, I decided to try to eliminate the possibility of this being due to some hardware/software/driver/system/set-up error outside of Media Center.
After having reinstalling Windows and MC20 I created a clean/empty library and then freshly imported all my files into MC from scratch.

SET-UP:
HP Envy / Intel core i7-4710 / 12gb RAM / Windows 8.1 x64
MC Version 20.0.132
Entries: 506236 files (8.0 TB)         includes: flac: 208041 files (5.6 TB) / mp3: 294775 files (2.4 TB)
the location of these files:
Local Drive:    flac = 102 files (2.7 GB) / mp3 = 6965 files (63.1 GB)   
USB drives:    flac = 207939 files (5.6 TB) / mp3 = 291230 files (2.3 TB)

Problems:
Get cover art from internet. save cover art to location, get artist image all causes noticeable slowdown and often severe lag . . . clicking on Interface during these times causes MC to turn white and Windows to throw the unresponsive software warning. 
On instances where the program crashes closed my set-up for viewing folders int he tree gets reset to default rather than my customized view column order and fields.

Modifying or creating view schemes causes MC noticeable slowdown and often severe lag . . . clicking on Interface during these times causes MC to turn white and Windows to throw the unresponsive software warning. 
On instances where the program crashes closed my changes may or may not have been saved . . . usually not.

File conversion - when converting flac files to mp3 files, audio playback (playback inside of MC or in a totally separate audio player) becomes unstable and stutters/drops-out/distorts/etc. CHanging the number fo files being converted at the same time does not remove the issue / nor does outputting through a different audio device.



I have no other issues with file handling or audio playback outside of those listed above (and only under conditions described above).
I have had the same issues with NO Anti-Virus software installed.
I have run Checkdisk and defrag and all my drivers are up to date and functioning properly.

[ferday]

Weird...I genuinely hope this can get sorted.  MC handles my largish library better than anything else I've used

One thing that I find helps immensely is to make view schemes that don't look at ALL the files at once.  I do have some all files views but I normally use much smaller chunks, makes a HUGE difference.  I've made tagging views as well that only look at audio files for example, and ignore the .log, .cue, .jpg etc which eliminates a lot of ancillary files bogging things down

I've never had stuttering with converting files, but if I'm ripping while listening I sometimes do.  These are processor intense operations though, if I have a lot to convert I let it run overnight

I never have issue getting art, etc. but I always do those in smaller chunks as well (I never select 30+ albums worth at a time...)

I've never had the views revert to default after a crash!  Sometimes after a crash my most recent changes don't get saved but it's never too far back before the crash

The biggest improvement I ever had with MC was when I put the database (library) on an SSD, and bought a bunch of 4Tb high rev internal HDD's that I use for main library, and switched the big USB drives to backup

[AoXoMoXoA]

Weird...I genuinely hope this can get sorted.  MC handles my largish library better than anything else I've used

One thing that I find helps immensely is to make view schemes that don't look at ALL the files at once.  I do have some all files views but I normally use much smaller chunks, makes a HUGE difference.  I've made tagging views as well that only look at audio files for example, and ignore the .log, .cue, .jpg etc which eliminates a lot of ancillary files bogging things down

I've never had stuttering with converting files, but if I'm ripping while listening I sometimes do.  These are processor intense operations though, if I have a lot to convert I let it run overnight

I never have issue getting art, etc. but I always do those in smaller chunks as well (I never select 30+ albums worth at a time...)

I've never had the views revert to default after a crash!  Sometimes after a crash my most recent changes don't get saved but it's never too far back before the crash

The biggest improvement I ever had with MC was when I put the database (library) on an SSD, and bought a bunch of 4Tb high rev internal HDD's that I use for main library, and switched the big USB drives to backup

I do have some View Schemes that show large chunks of the library, but rarely view those . . . . and most of my issues are not while viewing those.
I do expect my larger view schemes to load slightly more slowly than the smaller ones that include less files.

Actually most of my issues occur while in the Tree while viewing the Explorer section.
During those times I am in the folders looking at anywhere from 10 to 100 files (one to several albums).
Those are being tagged and set to have "rename files by properties" run and thus moved into my music library folders, then having cover art added and looked-up, and lastly creating an mp3 version to also be stored in the music folders.

[JimH]

AV software could cause such a problem.  Ripping while listening should never be a problem normally.

I don't think the problem is MC.

[AoXoMoXoA]

AV software could cause such a problem.  Ripping while listening should never be a problem normally.

I don't think the problem is MC.

I have had the same issues with NO Anti-Virus software installed.
I have run Checkdisk and defrag and all my drivers are up to date and functioning properly.

Jim I guess you didn't read where I said this re-occurred on a new windows and media center install with a fresh/clean library on a system with more than adequate resources and yet I still experience the same issues I had on my prior install and old library, even on my old i5 win7 machine as well.

So how is it not an MC related problem?

[JimH]

I don't re-read every post you've made, and I'm sorry if I've repeated myself, but this just isn't a common problem.

An up-to-date driver isn't necessarily a problem free driver.