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[staytonm]

I've been having an intermittent issue with my library for quite some time (over the last 2 or 3 major versions).

Problem:
Files will be missing from my library. Upon a manual run of auto-import, it will import 1000s of "missing" files that were previously in the library. This is quite annoying as one of my main views sorts by date added. The only way I've found to "resolve" this is by restoring an older library backup and import again. Sometimes this requires me to try 3 or 4 different backups until I end up on one that doesn't re-import older files that were previously in the library. I've only seen this issue on audio files so far. This is problematic as it erases lots of other crucial library fields.

Background:
Currently, I'm running MC 23 x64 on Win 10 as my main library that runs 24/7. However this issue has persisted across a few versions and even a couple OS upgrades (from Win 7 on both machines). I also have a client connected to the same library running on another machine in my living room that's also running Win 10 that's only run when I'm using JRiver in my living room.

My library has about 43K audio files and about 6K video which total to about 16TB. I've been using the same library since I first got JRiver in 2011. The files are hosted on a combination of Windows Server 2008 R2 SMB shares and local drives. All drives are  on RAID 1 controllers and encrypted using VeraCrypt. The drives never become disconnected or anything while JRiver is running. Anytime I need to dismount a drive or restart a computer, JRiver is always closed first.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Spike1000]

Check these settings as what you're seeing isn't normal:

Code: [Select]

Tools | Options... | Library & Folders | Configure auto import | Tasks | Fix Broken Links | (set it to NO if you use NAS, I leave it set to YES as I make changes outside MC)

Tools | Import. . . | Configure Auto-Import
Fix broken links Yes (protect files on missing drives)
Don't auto import.
Check additional tasks that Auto-Import should perform

Spike

[staytonm]

I just disabled Run auto-import in background assuming it won't update the library unless I manually run the auto-import. Here are the rest of my settings.

Analyze audio for for audio files: Enabled
Analyze audio for video files: Disabled
Build thumbnails: Disabled
Get Cover Art: Enabled
Get movie & TV info: Enabled
Ignore files previously removed from library: Disabled
Update for external changes: Enabled
Fix broken links Yes (protect files on missing drives): Enabled.
Write file tags when analyzing audio, getting cover art, and applying folder-based tags: Enabled

[blgentry]

I would set Fix Broken Links to NO.  You are having a weirdo problem (not unheard of at all, just strange), and that setting is known to cause it.  It would be a good troubleshooting step to have Fix Broken Links off. 

Brian.

[staytonm]

I'm assuming that setting just checks for files being moved to another location? Any other downsides to disabling?

In any case, I'll try it out and see how it goes.

[blgentry]

I'm assuming that setting just checks for files being moved to another location? Any other downsides to disabling?

Not exactly.  That setting tells MC what to do when it thinks a file is no longer in the library that *used* to be.  So if files on the E: drive are not accessible, this tells MC what to do.  With it set to YES, MC silently removes all of the files it can not locate!  This is a VERY bad thing for drives that are intermittently inaccessible.  For example, NAS drives that are slow to spin up, or temporarily offline, or other combinations that make MC think these files are "gone".  With FBL set to YES, MC removes the entries from it's database.

This is why I recommend setting it to NO.  The only thing this setting is good for is for someone that likes to remove files from his drives WITHOUT telling MC he is doing so.  That's the only reason this setting exists.  Well.. that, and someone who likes to move files around outside of MC, without informing MC.  This is also problematic, even with FBL set to YES.

Unless you routinely do either of these things, setting FBL to NO is a good setting for you; especially considering that you keep having files disappear from your library.  I think this setting is probably the culprit.

Brian.

[staytonm]

That definitely sounds like it could be the issue. Thanks a lot for everyone's help! I'll report back after I give it a bit to sit.

[staytonm]

Only a day in, but so far so good. Added some new files and ran auto-import manually a couple times.

[drmimosa]

Hello! I just wanted to check in and see how this problem was going. Did you solve the issue and get the system stable?

I had a similar issue in my Windows system with disappearing and reappearing files on a NAS drive.

I found a set of files with unusually long file names that occasionally failed to import. They were under the threshold for Windows filenames, but the additional characters needed for networked drive path ( \\Pi\Music...) seemed to cause problems over the networked drive. These were really long classical titles with fifteen word Italian movement titles and album names with five artists listed.

Once I rooted out and renamed the files, I changed my network drive path to include fewer characters. Then, I restricted auto import to a smaller folder with fewer files.

So far no disappearing files since I implemented these changes. Hope this helps!

[staytonm]

That's interesting as I do have some files that are approaching the windows max path length.

In any case, with the settings changed on auto-import, I haven't had any issues since the change. I think the main setting that did it was described above regarding fixing broken links. It's a bit annoying as I did like to move files and have MC automatically pick them up. But it's not the end of the world to do move operations within MC.

[blgentry]

Doing moves *within* MC has distinct advantages.  The biggest one is that MC retains all custom library fields (even ones that aren't in the file's tags), playlist entries, etc.   The one of these that you will possibly notice the most is Import Date.

Every time you move a file outside of MC, and MC detects it, it thinks two things have happened:  First, the old file is gone.  So it deletes that entry from it's database.  Second, a brand new file appeared in a new place, so it imports that file fresh and new.  With a new import date!  So every time you move files outside of MC, MC thinks they are brand new.  This screwed me up a good bit until I figured it out.

Now I do all of my moves from within MC.  If they are really big moves, I do them outside of MC, then use the Rename, Move, and Copy files tool in UPDATE MODE to tell MC that I moved them externally.  That way the database stays consistent and nothing with the metadata changes. Including the import date.

Brian.

[drmimosa]

Today I had about 1400 files go missing again in my library. Running JRiver 23.0.78 on Windows, files on an NAS drive on IdPi

Auto-import found them again, and they all seem to have long file names. Could something about a long file on name on a network cause them to disappear and reappear?

For example, "\\PI\ExternalStorage\B\M\flac\Bluegrass and American Folk\Sons of the Pioneers, The\Cool Water\01 - Cool Water.flac"

I've been troubleshooting this for almost six months and can't figure out the cause. I tried switching hardware for NAS and hard drives and still same result, occasional files missing after auto-import . I'm going back to a local drive for the time being. Thanks for any suggestions!

[JimH]

MC has an option that allows it to update (or not) when a drive is missing.