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[MHarrison]

Using MC12 on my computer at home.  I want to install a second copy & all music files on my laptop to use when traveling.  The two computers will never be used at the same time.   1 - Any issue with licensing?  2 - After copying the music files (I'll use the same file structure) what MC data files have to be copied to bring over all the tag info, Playlists, etc?  3 - Is there a way to copy over the setup / config files for MC12?

Thank you.

[John Gateley]

Hi MHarrison,

You can use the same license. The easiest way to copy the music files and data files is with MC's library sync feature.

j

[MHarrison]

Our company firewall may not permit that.  Is there a way to copy - or backup & restore?  Thanks.

[Alex B]

Create a library backup file on the home PC:
File > Library > Back Up Library...

Restore the zip file on the work PC:
File > Library > Restore Library...

If you use cover art and keep the image files in a single folder (the default cover art location option) you need to copy the cover art files too.

[MHarrison]

Thank you -

[John Gateley]

Just do the library sync when you are at home.

Start Library Server on your home machine.

On the laptop, File->Library->Library Sync...

Wait several minutes, hours, or days depending on how large your library is and whether or not you convert files. (You can stop and restart without losing your place).

Repeat as needed to update your laptop with new music from your home machine.

No hassle with company firewalls.

j

[MHarrison]

I backup daily to a USB drive - so that it will be much faster to BU to that, connect it to the laptop & restore.   Or is there a way to use the Library Server functionality using the USB drive?

[John Gateley]

Well, there's a way, but it's rather complicated: run two copies of Media Center on your home PC, the first is the server, the second has a library on the USB drive, and do the library sync. Then run two copies of MC on your laptop, the first is the server accessing the USB drive, the second is with the "good" library syncing to the first.

If you don't do conversion, you are limited to the network speed at home, which should be fast. The big advantage of library sync is that it does all the steps for you.

j

[AoXoMoXoA]

Hi John,

As we can see here this is an awesome feature which can be extremely useful to some of us.

Others, like myself, have rather large home libraries (RAID arrays, network storage, etc) but are of course severely limited by drive size on the laptop (or even secondary PC).

Will there be further development of this feature in the future, so as to allow this to work with part of the main library, i.e.: a single drive, a single folder, a playlist/smartlist?

[MHarrison]

Sounds like it will be easier to do a BU & restore.  Should I separately copy the media files?

[Alex B]

Sounds like it will be easier to do a BU & restore.  Should I separately copy the media files?

You need to copy the media and cover art files separately. The library backup file contains only the database files (including the configured view schemes and playlists). It is intended to be small and fast so you can always create a new backup file before and after any major database changes. MC creates periodically an automatic backup file, but this may not contain the latest changes.

If you don't already have a good program for copying the media files, I would recommend trying the following:

Karen's Replicator
SyncBack Freeware V3.2.14
SyncBackSE

These program's can keep two separate directory structures identical and copy only the needed files (changed or new).

[MHarrison]

I've been using FileBack for years for all local & network backup.  Works great, very configurable & not very expensive.  Thanks -

[benn600]

I use the paid SyncBackSE and it's okay.  I think the interface is much to complicated and it likes to bug me a lot but it does work.  I use it to automatically make backups of my server's files.

The RAID 6 array copies files to a separate RAID 5 array three times a week so I have three copies of all our files plus our pictures directory on demand.

Be careful with too much automation or your backup will get overwritten.  BTW: I have another off-site backup for the same and more data.

[John Gateley]

Others, like myself, have rather large home libraries (RAID arrays, network storage, etc) but are of course severely limited by drive size on the laptop (or even secondary PC).

Will there be further development of this feature in the future, so as to allow this to work with part of the main library, i.e.: a single drive, a single folder, a playlist/smartlist?

I think this is handled better by portable device sync (which can sync to a disk device) - doesn't this do what you want?

Library Sync is for the entire library, and p.d. sync is for when space is limited.

j

[benn600]

Yes, I use handheld sync for this type of request too.  I sync certain songs to my flash drive and then at that point, you can use any old player (VLC) on any computer.  But if it's your own computer and you have MC, just auto-import your flash drive or folder on your hard drive.

[AoXoMoXoA]

I think this is handled better by portable device sync (which can sync to a disk device) - doesn't this do what you want?

Ooops I guess it would, I must have had a momentary lapse of reason