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[GROBEC]

Hi All.
I have music on 3 drives and want to consolidate all to one drive.
Question:
I have done a lot of meta corrections using MC, will I lose any of the changes if the file location is changed? Does MC reimport and revert to the original data?
thanks
G

[glynor]

In some cases it will lose the information if you move them externally.  It tries, though, and often can fix itself depending on how you do it.  One thing that will happen, though, if nothing else, is that you'll lose [Date Imported].

However... It is ALWAYS best to move them from within MC if you can, so that the links in the database don't get broken.  There are a bunch of ways to do this, but the most powerful is generally Library Tools > Rename, Move, and Copy Files.  You can also move whole folders from within Drives & Devices and MC will update the database, and there are a few other more esoteric options.

Rename, Move, and Copy Files though is an extremely flexible tool, and definitely worth checking out before you go through any external reorganization project.

[6233638]

I would also suggest that if you are using auto-import, that you disable the "fix broken links" option before making these changes.
 
That way if something goes wrong, the metadata will still be in your library, and you'll just have to point it at the correct file.

[glynor]

Well, that actually stops MC from being able to fix them itself.

But, if you're doing a big move from within MC, it is probably best to disable background auto-import entirely.

[6233638]

Well, that actually stops MC from being able to fix them itself.
But, if you're doing a big move from within MC, it is probably best to disable background auto-import entirely.

Well I'd rather the outcome of a bad move being "file is missing" with all your metadata still in the library, than Media Center "fixing" the missing file by removing it.

[GROBEC]

Thanks guys, good info.
I kept FLAC N HIRES where they were so majority of data remains same.
Is there a meta pgm that sets up master files that makes it "easier" for mc to get the data correctly?
Or, any suggestion of field set up for mapping?
Meta is such a whole frustrating and time consuming ordeal for large libraries.
Perhaps jr could finally create a standard since it has such a large customer base?
And then.... " the world shall follow".

[glynor]

Well I'd rather the outcome of a bad move being "file is missing" with all your metadata still in the library, than Media Center "fixing" the missing file by removing it.

When MC removes the files, it keeps all the metadata.

The Fix Broken Links feature, while it can be troublesome in some places (all you have to do is search for my posts on the subject) is smarter than just removing broken links from the database.  Any time MC removes files from the Library (whether through Auto-Import or when you do it manually), it tracks them (and all of their metadata) in the Removed Items database.  If it later sees the same file (fingerprint-based, I believe, but certainly not based on filename), it does not re-import the file, but essentially "undeletes" the file, and restores all metadata.  The main exception to this is [Date Imported] which will change to match the re-import date.

It actually works pretty well.  It can easily recover from things like moving an entire directory structure of media files from one volume to another, or consolidating files from a few locations into one.

But still... If you're doing it thoughtfully, I wouldn't risk it, and would just do it through MC and have no worries of lost data.

[glynor]

Is there a meta pgm that sets up master files that makes it "easier" for mc to get the data correctly?
Or, any suggestion of field set up for mapping?
Meta is such a whole frustrating and time consuming ordeal for large libraries.
Perhaps jr could finally create a standard since it has such a large customer base?
And then.... " the world shall follow".

I don't understand any of this.

[6233638]

When MC removes the files, it keeps all the metadata.

I seemed to remember that not being the case for files removed via "Fix Broken Links" as it was a problem any time I moved SACD ISO files. Perhaps I was mistaken, or perhaps it was being caused by another issue specific to SACD ISO.

[glynor]

I think that's entirely possible.  ISOs are handled very specially, and I can see this breaking on them.

I've done it before with reasonably simple switches and it came through just fine (except the [Date Imported] change mentioned above).  But... Like I said... If it was me, and I was consolidating from multiple drives?

1. Disable Auto-Import in the background (shouldn't mess anything up, but I'm cautious).
2. Do the moves via Rename, Move, and Copy Files.