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[timwtheov]

I've had the above problem for the last couple-three versions of MC 25 (I'm on 26.0.69 64 bit now). I will shut the program down to restart it, sometimes when it's hanging, but more often when it's gotten slow, which happens sometimes when I'm connected to my TV instead of my desktop monitor (someone wrote about this issue a while back: that the program gets progressively slower when it's been on a while; that's what happens here). When I re-open the program, my library has none of my custom views, etc., and I have to restore the library and then spend at least a day rebuilding thumbnails, plus reimporting, sometimes updating files from the library that I'd tagged, etc. It's happened to me at least 4 times in the past couple of weeks. It's not a huge deal but definitely annoying.

In terms of antivirus, I only have (a tamed) Windows Defender for Windows 10.

I can send a log to Matt or whomever, but it's apparently too large to attach here.

[wer]

When I re-open the program, my library has none of my custom views, etc., and I have to restore the library and then spend at least a day rebuilding thumbnails, plus reimporting, sometimes updating files from the library that I'd tagged, etc. It's happened to me at least 4 times in the past couple of weeks. It's not a huge deal but definitely annoying.

I don't know what the root problem is, but I'd suggest two things to avoid all the rework until you can get things stabilized:

-More frequent library backups, especially after you do tagging etc

-Implement a reliable system backup.  I'd recommend taking nightly snapshots with Macrium Reflect; for me it's been bulletproof and a lifesaver.  You can restore from Macrium and it's like nothing happened.

Good luck...

[timwtheov]

Thanks Wer. I use a cloud service to back up all audio; video . . . if I lose it, I lose it, since 85-90% of it is mkv blu-ray rips and thus too big to back up without some kind of massive influx of money for drives, etc.

I save nearly all tags in the files, so once I run auto-import, pretty much everything's back; but since I have quite a few files (about 260,000, give or take), it takes nearly a whole day to rebuild thumbnails. Again, it's mostly just an annoying inconvenience, but it's new: never had this happen before (and I'm a user since version 15).

[wer]

I'm not suggesting you backup the media files.  I'm talking about snapshoting the partition (or at least folders) where MC is installed and where your library exists, and your appdata directory.  That would eliminate lost tags and rebuilding thumbnails.

[RoderickGI]

When I re-open the program, my library has none of my custom views, etc., and I have to restore the library and then spend at least a day rebuilding thumbnails, plus reimporting, sometimes updating files from the library that I'd tagged, etc.

That is extremely unusual. It sounds like the Library that you are opening a different Library from the one you think you are, and it is an old Library that doesn't include all you changes. But even then, the next time you restart MC it should have all but your most recent changes... Unless you are using a MC Client to do all that work. You aren't, are you?

If not, something is amiss. Check your MC Startup settings anyway, to confirm that the correct Library is being opened.

If all looks good, start describing your environment, in terms of what MC installation(s) you have, hardware, how it is connected (NAS, USB drives?), confirm exactly where the MC Library is stored (not the media files, the Library files, which should be on a local SSD drive), and so on.

[timwtheov]

As you can see from the attached image, MC is set to load the default library, which is my main one, i.e., I don't have other libraries. What opens is one with nothing in it, no custom views, nothing, like the one you get when you first install MC after purchasing it.

As I said in my original post, I'm running 64 bit MC 26.0.69, and it's the server, not a client.

Media is connected via various USB drives, and the MC library is stored on the local SSD C drive.

[RoderickGI]

What opens is one with nothing in it, no custom views, nothing, like the one you get when you first install MC after purchasing it.

If it is a completely empty Library, then it sounds like something is deleting the Library when you do a restart. MC will recreate the Default Library when it starts if it doesn't exist, so if it ever gets deleted then MC can still run. MC won't run without a Library to open.

I suggest that you check the Default Library directory in "C:\Users\[UserID]\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 26\Library" before restarting MC. Specifically note the size of the directory and the latest "Date modified" including the time of the files in there. Then do a Library Backup and restart MC as you normally do. Then check the Default Library directory again. Does it change size, becoming smaller? Do the most recent file times change to when you restarted MC? Basically, have the real Library files been deleted and replaced with a Default set?

While resolving this, as Wer says, do lots more Library Backups. In fact, do one immediately before each restart. You shouldn't lose anything.



I see you have three other DLNA Servers running on your network, so you do have a busy environment. But I don't think they would be contributing to this issue, as long as the MC Library is set up correctly. Frankly, I can't think what would be deleting the MC Library just because of a restart, unless the restart process you are using includes something that explicitly deletes the Library, perhaps in a modified MC shortcut?

Also, I thought the "slow down over time" issue that creates the need to restart had been resolved, or at least reduced significantly. You do have a large Library though, at 260,000 files. The slow down you see also hints at something else going on, perhaps interfering with MC writing Library files or tags, or analysing files. You may have to do some serious investigation to work our what is affecting MC.

[timwtheov]

RoderickGI, thanks for the suggestions. Your description of what's happening with the library sounds accurate. If/when this happens again, I'll note those numbers from the Library folder in AppData.

I wonder if Malwarebytes did something. I installed it against my better judgment at my bank's urging and had nothing but problems till I uninstalled it last week, even after attempting to "tame" it for MC: audio glitches + Windows lags and just general annoyance. If it keeps happening, I'll maybe try uninstalling/reinstalling MC.

I didn't see much of a solution for the slowdown in that original thread, other than a plugin for one person at the end (I have no plugins that I'm aware of). My problem was like that for RD James: Standard View slow downs with the Win. 10 PC running all the time, and my AVR and TV (connected via HDMI and with a Dr. HDMI, or whatever it's called, EDID emulator) shut off. I have an Nvidia GTX 970 with standard drivers. I always thought maybe it was the Dr. HDMI or my 25 foot HDMI cable or even the Marantz AVR that was the issue. I have another monitor at my desk connected via VGA, and this slow down doesn't happen at all. And as some folks said on the original thread, all thumbnails are built, and all audio is already analyzed.

[RoderickGI]

I wouldn't be surprised if some security software was involved, if the Library was being deleted. It certainly could have been Malwarebytes. So maybe this issue is gone.

I'm not going to start up the slowdown thread again, but if I was seeing that I would be looking for a utility to track resources being used by MC, such as memory, threads, PIDs, Handles, etc. to see if there was something that progressively built up until failure. I'm sure there are utilities that could track such resources over time, log them, and then present the results. I used to use some a long time ago, but suspect there would be better and more available now. Maybe even some of the System Internals stuff will log the resources for analysis later. I haven't checked. Worth a try for you and others that have the problem though, I would think.

[timwtheov]

Thanks again Wer and RoderickGI! I'll keep digging.