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[Chasoscar]

Hey yall....
Is there a file/folder that contains ALL my MC14 settings (i.e.- MC Library, Playlist/Smartlist, View schemes, toolbars, ....etc)?

I want to install MC 14 on my new Laptop and transfer ALL MC14 settings from my Desktop PC. Can someone tell me the best way to do this or maybe point me to a thread that tells me the Best/Easiest way to accomplish this?

Will I need to re-license on Laptop...... do I just need to do a restore.

Thanks
Chas

[glynor]

All of the settings for MC are stored in either:

1. The Library itself.
2. The Windows Registry, at the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 14

If you want to transfer the settings over to your laptop, first, copy the library folder over to your laptop.  You can use the built-in MC Library Backup utility to do this if you want.  Get the library copied over to your laptop somehow, and make sure it is extracted to the same folder as where it was on the original machine.  Once that is done, then...

Then, on the original PC, open Regedit.  Navigate to the appropriate key (listed above).  Right click on the key name in the left-hand tree, and choose Export.  Give the file a name and save it somewhere you can find it.  Copy the REG file over to the Laptop and double click it.  Answer yes when it asks "are you sure" and say yes to any UAC prompts.

Install MC if you haven't done so already.  Get it licensed as needed.  Then, you're done!

PLEASE NOTE:  Do not try to copy over anything under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver.  These settings are machine-specific, and copying them over both won't work and may very well break stuff.

[sunfire7]

very useful info glynor, i know its been said before but not as easy as this, thanks!

[Chasoscar]

Thanks  a lot Glynor for the detailed information!

We are getting ready to go out of town for the weekend so I wont be able to tackle this before next week.  I have a couple of other questions. Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but this is the first time I have done this.

I havent even added the MP3 files to the laptop yet so I have to do that first. When you say “transfer the library folder over to the laptop”, are you referring to the MC Library Backup.zip file that is located in C:\Documents and Settings\chasoscar\Application Data\J River\Media Center 14\Library Backups or the folder containing the actual MP3 files?

I have yet to install MC14 on the laptop also so I assume that it would be best to do that first in order to have the same MC14 directory structure on the laptop, but Im a little confused....... since the Library backup file is a zip file and you said “Get the library copied over to your laptop somehow, and make sure it is extracted to the same folder as where it was on the original machine” do I need to extract the files from the zip file or just copy the zip file to the C:\Documents and Settings\chasoscar\Application Data\J River\Media Center 14\Library Backups   directory on the laptop once MC14 is installed. Again, I apologize for my lack of knowledge with this process.

I suspect that you might be referring to the location of the actual MP3 files being the same on the laptop as on the source machine so the Library Backup .zip file would be able to find the files in the same location..... right?  My problem there is the Laptop only has one partition, but on the source PC the actual MP3 files are located on a different partition(M:\) from the C:\ Program\MC14 files on the source. Is that a problem and if so, is there a solution?

Again, thanks for your advice and help with this........ I’ll let you know how it turns out
Chasoscar

[MusicHawk]

Depending on how you use MC, there can be more to save/copy, such as files that contain your customizations. If you've used MC as delivered, out-of-the-box, it's fairly easy (but not obvious) where to find things. But maybe not.

For instance, some elements are in MC's program files location.

Customized then saved View designs --  library views and playlists views -- are stored as files, and you might find them here:
C:/Program Files/J River/Media Center 14/Data/Saved Views

But on my system they are at M:\music\Saved Views because that's where I specified when I saved new customizations. I put them here, the same location as my library, for easy backup. Therefore, in a new MC instance, I have to tell it how to find them, info that seems to be then stored in Windows Registry.

Further, I want to share views between library and playlist, but MC keeps them separate. So after I tweak one as desired (usually a custom library view), I have to copy then hack it so it is recognized as usable by the other (usually a playlist view). And in some situations, MC overwrites customizations (such as Now Playing, Recently Ripped, etc) with its default designs, so I have to keep a separate copy to restore. (Or, possibly hack MC's method of identifying its default designs.)

Also somewhat buried are plug-ins and visualizations, such as at C:/Program Files/J River/Media Center 14/Visualizations. Of course, if you don't add or customize you don't need to worry about copying them. But I use a customized visualization based on Noire Viz, so I have to take care to copy it. (I customized it to show what I want to know when a track is playing, such as more/different track info, different font sizes/colors, multiple columns of info, etc.)

(A big MC wish is that some or all of the user-customizable elements could all be stored where I specify, such as in my library location, rather than at MC's hidden/buried folders. AND I wish that ALL MC paths and configuration could be viewed and changed in ONE central screen. Right now it takes several screens, some not obvious, to discover and control where a user's files are located. And it takes some Registry hacking to customize some of them.)

[MusicHawk]

My problem there is the Laptop only has one partition, but on the source PC the actual MP3 files are located on a different partition(M:\) from the C:\ Program\MC14 files on the source. Is that a problem and if so, is there a solution?

That's actually a pretty big problem, because some aspects of MC want to find a file exactly where it was last located -- same drive letter, path, etc.

My solution is to always put MC's library and media files on the same drive letter and same folder on desktop and laptop. I also do this on my third MC computer: I use one for home ripping/editing/management, one for home playback (I don't use library server, instead I automatically update all the library files from master to playback PC nightly), and a laptop for mobile listening.

Running MC on multiple PCs can be done in many ways. I do this:

Simplest is to have a second drive. Assign it a letter that Windows won't change when another drive or device (internal or external) gets connected "ahead" of it. I set up my desktop's second internal drive as "M:". A second drive is by far the easiest, and also lets you choose a large drive, and get max performance. I put every possible MC library file on it (saved views, library design/custom fields, media files, cover art files), so I can easily use them on my laptop.

Or, if adding a drive isn't feasible on one computer, but you want MC to see the same drive letter, probably you can use the DOS SUBST command to assign a second letter to an existing drive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subst.

A third way is to update MC's library, after opening it on the "other" computer, using search/replace to change the stored drive letter/path of ALL the records in MC's database. This is brute force editing of the entire library so I avoid it.


For my laptop, I plug in a portable USB drive and assign it the same letter as my desktop drive (I like "M:") so MC uses it identically to the desktop drive.

A second benefit is that I can move this drive to my desktop to copy all my MC files and music files and cover art files for later use connected to the laptop. This lets me use a much larger drive than my laptop contains. (My portable drive is 500GB, soon to be 1TB -- I have a large music library.)

Of course a disadvantage is the external drive is one more thing to lug around and connect/disconnect.

[glynor]

I haven't finished reading all of MusicHawk's replies, but I have a few minutes and I thought I'd reply directly to you, Chaoscar...

Yes, you will want to add the MP3 files to the laptop first.  Preferably, you will want to move these over to the same "path" as where they were located on the original machine, though this looks like this isn't possible due to your partition issues.  I'll get there in a second.

When I say "transfer the library" I am NOT referring to the MP3 files themselves.  In MC's terminology, the "Library" is the database that MC uses to display, sort, and search all of your music files.  It contains all of the tag data that can't be embedded directly in the files themselves.  It is a set of relatively small files, mostly of the type JMD, and is specific to JRiver's MC.  By default, the library is stored here:

Windows Vista/7: C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 14\Library
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\J River\Media Center 14\Library

However, you can have multiple libraries and libraries in non-default locations in MC, which are defined via the Library Manager tool found via File -> Library -> Library Manager.  Assuming you have NOT changed from the default library, then you will want to copy the this folder (the Library folder listed at the path above) over to the new laptop.  If you are going from XP to Windows 7, you will copy it from the XP location over to the new Windows 7 location.  There's no problem with this, you just have to put it in the right place.

You can also accomplish this same goal using the Library backup and restore tool.  If you don't know what you are doing, this might be easier.  On the original machine, simply go to File -> Library -> Back up Library and save the ZIP file somewhere you can find it (like on your desktop).  Copy this ZIP file over to the new computer.  Then, in that copy of MC, go to File -> Library -> Restore Library and find that ZIP file you copied over and choose it.

You also will need to copy over the media files themselves.  Since you can't put them on the new computer on the same drive letter, you will have to do some maintenance on the Library when you are done.  This shouldn't be a huge deal, really.  The most important thing is to keep them in the same "relative" organization and location.  So, if you have all of your media files currently at: M:\music\, then the easiest thing do do would be to copy the entire "music" folder over to the new computer and put it at C:\music\.  Just make sure you keep all of the subfolder structure and file names "underneath" the "music" folder the same when you copy it over (don't re-organize your music folder while you transfer it over).  Then, fixing MC to look for C:\music\blah\blah.mp3 won't be a big deal at all.  If you describe in detail exactly where your files are now, and where you want to move them, I can explain this further.

So, here are some steps for one way to do it:

1. Transfer all of the MP3s over to the new computer.
2. Install MC.
3. Copy the Library folder over to the new computer.
4. Do the "registry" transfer I explained above.
5. Open MC and fix the library to point at the new files.

For step 5, let's assume that you are doing it as I described above.  Say that originally, your music was all found at M:\music\ with maybe Artist and Album subdirectories or something.  So, one of your original music files might be found at "M:\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3" or something like that.  In this case, the easiest thing to do would be to move the whole \music\ folder over to your new computer and keep it on drive M.  However, you might not be able to do that, so you might need to move it to C:\music\ or something like that.  That's okay, as long as you keep the \Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3 part of each filename the same.

Even if you want to move it from M:\music\ on the original computer over to C:\Users\<USERNAME\music\ on the laptop, that's fine, so long as the files end up being C:\Users\<USERNAME\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3 in the end.

Then, once you are all done, open MC up.  You'll notice that everything looks the same as it did on the original computer, except that nothing will actually PLAY.  All of the files are "broken" and will get little red Xs over the icons.  You need to fix this.  This is simple using the Find & Replace tool.  Simply select all of the files in MC, and right-click and choose Library Tools -> Find and Replace.  Then, in the Find And Replace dialog box, check ONLY the Filename tag box in the list on the Left.  Then in the Find what box, you want to type in what part of the filename you want to replace and in the Replace box, what you want to replace it with.  So, if you need to turn:

Original: M:\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3
New: C:\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3

It is simple.  Just type "M:\" in the Find What box and "C:\" in the Replace box, and hit go.

If you need to turn:

Original: M:\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3
New: C:\Users\chaoscar\music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\2 - On The Run.mp3

Then that is still easy, just put "M:\" in the Find What box, and "C:\Users\chaoscar\" into the Replace box, and hit go.  Once you do this, MC will go through and change the filename (path) for EVERY file that you've selected to the new location, and "fix" them.

[marko]

All good advice Glynor, only thing I see needs adding is the fact that by default, background auto import is turned on and will need to be turned off to protect the library contents while it's being fixed.

Chacosar, to do that, on the laptop, go to "Tools > Options > Library and Folders > Options > Run Auto Import in the background" and unselect it, otherwise, the auto import system will "fix" all those broken files by deleting them from the library.

Once you've fixed your file paths, you can safely turn auto import back on again.

-marko.

[glynor]

All good advice Glynor, only thing I see needs adding is the fact that by default, background auto import is turned on and will need to be turned off to protect the library contents while it's being fixed.

Chacosar, to do that, on the laptop, go to "Tools > Options > Library and Folders > Options > Run Auto Import in the background" and unselect it, otherwise, the auto import system will "fix" all those broken files by deleting them from the library.

Once you've fixed your file paths, you can safely turn auto import back on again.

That is sorta true, and is probably good practice for this operation, especially for a novice user.

However, marko... The default setting for Auto-Import's Fix Broken Links is "Yes (Protect Network Files)".  With that setting, MC won't obliterate the whole library unless it sees the parent folder is there, but the subfolders/files don't exist.  So, you'd be fine unless you did have a M:\music\ folder on the new machine, but there wasn't anything in it (or different stuff was in it).  If it doesn't see the "parent folder" (M:\music\ in this case) there at all, then the assumption is that it could be a network or removable drive that is just missing, and it leaves the files alone.  I move files around this way without turning off the Auto-Import all the time and it works.

Again, though... I agree with Marko that this would be a good precaution to take, just to be safe.

[Chasoscar]

Jeeez Guy!!!
This is ALOT of good information....... almost too much. I am getting old and after reading a couple of paragraphs I tend to "drift off" and forget what I have read ?.

I am just getting back home from the weekend so it will take me awhile to go thru it all and figure my options and best choices. I thought about it over the weekend and had just about decided to do a clean install to the laptop and just set everything thing up again, but I kinda hate to have 2 different "setups" for MC. I think I can get around the partition problem using partition magic by creating a new partition on the laptop for my music files and mapping it the same as on the source PC.

I want to thank you ALL for going into such detail explaining what options I have and going out of your way to help me because I really needed the advice. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thanx
Chas

[jack_knowle]

I'm in the process of moving my MC14 settings, but in a slightly different scenario.  MC14 will stay on the same machine, but I'm moving from Vista 32bit to Windows 7 64bit.  I have installed Windows 7 on a spare hard drive, which means I can leave the current Vista install alone on the original hard drive until everything's working fine on Windows 7.  All the media files (mp3 etc.) are on a second drive, so this doesn't need to change.
So, I need to export all my MC14 configuration in Vista so that I can then import on the Windows 7 install.  I'm happy that I've exported my library to zip file, as per this thread, but I'm a little confused over the other MC14 settings.  You see, I have my ASIO and other output formats configured for specific sound cards etc. plus my remote control commands set up just how I like.  I want to take all those settings across too, so I don't have to set them up manually.  If I've understood correctly, glynor has said these settings are in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver.
However, I don't see my settings in that key, BUT I do find them under CurrentControlSet\Users.  Forgive me, I should have noted the actual key where I found them , but it was certainly something similar to that.  There were a number of subfolders under users, so I picked one which turned out to be the currect one (I know this because one of the parameters listed a path to the C:\Users\... folder corresponding).  Within this user key was a JRiver subfolder where there were a lot more parameters and sure enough I came across some specific ones, such as ASIO configured for my EMU soundcard.
So, my question is am I correct in my assumption that it's actually this CurrentControlSet\Users... key that needs to be exported, not the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver.
Has anyone successfully transferred all their settings across?  Is this the way to do it, or am I missing something?
Currently, my plan is to compare the registry key in Windows 7 with that I've exported from Vista to see if it's safe to merge the Vista key.  I don't want to cause more problems.  One possible concern would be any paths to program files, as in Vista the path would be C:\Program Files\ but in Windows 7 64bit this would be C:\Program Files x86\ (or something similar).  I suppose a registry backup prior to the merge would be the obvious precaution, so I can return to a good state.
If it's not there already, a facility in MC14 to export all settings would make life a lot easier.  What if the worse happens and you have to rebuild your system or your last backup isn't current?

I'll let you know how I get on with this...

[newsposter]

having said and read all that, a nice future-feature for MC might be.....

a) one click slow-sync of libraries and settings between machines
b) one click quick-n-dirty brute-force copying of libraries and settings between machines

option b), if implemented with unc paths in mind, could also be a quick-n-dirty backup method.

[jack_knowle]

having said and read all that, a nice future-feature for MC might be.....

a) one click slow-sync of libraries and settings between machines
b) one click quick-n-dirty brute-force copying of libraries and settings between machines

option b), if implemented with unc paths in mind, could also be a quick-n-dirty backup method.

.... by tomorrow morning would be great  

I'd be happy with a file method so I could just export and import settings.  Maybe even consider having a separate standalone executable for this, so it wouldn't need to be incorporated into the MC14 build and doesn't need to be installed.
To be practical, would it be necessary to stipulate that both MC14 installs are of the same build revision?