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[Bengi010]

I'm reposting this from the MC21 forum since the only suggestion I've gotten so far there is to find a 3rd party program.  I could and maybe will have to do that, but since it is a function of MC I don't think I should have to accept that it just doesn't work.  Here is the original post:

I am trying to get my library compatible with iTunes and need to convert a large number of FLAC and other file types to ALAC.  I have been struggling with this for days now because the file converter sometimes works but often fails for no discernible reason.  This evening it looked like it was working great when I went to bed but checking it a few hours later I see that after the first few thousand (out of about 15,000) successful conversions it began failing again.
  I have tried converting to all the different file formats to see if it was just ALAC but they all fail.  I have tried converting 1, 3 or 4 files at a time but that made no difference.  I restarted the program and I restarted the computer but that didn't help.  As of right now it is failing every time no matter what I do.
  The files are on an hdd in an external drive enclosure connected with e-SATA, in case that makes any difference.  I saw one post that theorized the issue may be"due to multi thread contention on file accesses" and that "The issue may be exacerbated on slower HDDs (particularly USB HDD and NAS) where either the device or the OS may extend the duration of file locks (lock caching) for performance reasons." However since it did work successfully for quite a few (around 3000) conversions in a row this evening I don't think that's the issue. 

[JimH]

What version of MC are you using?  Did you try the latest?  It's at the top of the MC22 board.

If it's working some of the time and not all of the time, it's hard to know what the issue could be.

Trying local files would tell you if the problem is related to the drive setup you're using.

Antivirus software can always cause strange problems like this.

[dtc]

There have been previous reports like this and I do not think anyone figured out the problem. The solution seems to be to do the conversion in small batches, maybe a 1,000 or 2,000 at a time. Practical may be the best way to go here. As I said, I think others have had this problem before, with no definitive solution. From memory, so I could be wrong.

[Bengi010]

Thanks for your replies.  I am using MC21 (21.090) I did not upgrade to 22, which is why I originally posted in the MC21 forum.  File conversions are currently failing 100% of the time, even when I try to convert 1 file at a time.  All my music is on the same drive and the file naming structure is identical.  It is a networked drive and I suspect that might have something to do with it. To test I moved 1 file to a different drive (still a networked drive but where I keep video files) and tried to convert it successfully.  I'm not sure what about that fixed the issue or how to practically replicate it on a mass scale but it's a clue anyway. 

[JimH]

Try updating the firmware of the networked drive.

[Audiochris901]

I cant even get this to rip a cd, to wm format.

[JimH]

Use FLAC or any other lossless format.  Windows Media support was removed by Microsoft in Win10.  Try an Internet search to read more.

[Bengi010]

I figured out the problem and it was really silly.  My hard drive was full, like zero extra room.  It must have been close to full when I started the conversions and somehow (even though I don't think there is a big increase in file size between ALAC and FLAC) that must have pushed it over the edge.  I freed up some space and things seem to be working again.

[JimH]

Thanks for letting us know what happened.  MC's temp file folder might also be a factor.

[rodrigokoan]

Hey don't go away so easy just yet! I am having a similar problem trying to convert *.dsf tracks to something (HR) I can play in my SONY Walkman (NW-26AHN)...I am using MC in trial mode and so far I can only convert files to WMA, AIF, WAV and ALAC, however, the only files that my Walkman are recognizing are the WMAs! (although it is a HR player and ALAC, FLAC, AIF files are supported). I get a conversion fail whenever I try to convert the *.dsf or *.m4a files to FLAC or mp3...Anybody knows what can be the problem with the conversion?

also, my walkman would only accept up to 192 khz of sampling freq. ...which would explain why is not accepting the converted ALACs (700 khz) ...is there any way to configure the ALAC conversion so to be able to downsample the tracks to 192 khz? (the same would be desirable for FLAC and AIF conversions).

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Rodrigokoan