INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 28 for Linux => Topic started by: cochinada on February 26, 2022, 07:00:36 am
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Hi,
I apologize if this was already answered but I've searched the forum with the most obvious keywords and couldn't find it.
I have a Windows license and an old MC22 that is running just fine but I'm sick and tired of Windows with it's never ending updates and interferences so I would like to give Linux a try.
As I read that "Media Center 28 for Linux is developed on Debian Buster - support for distros other than Debian Buster, e.g. like Ubuntu and Linux Mint are not officially supported by JRiver!", my choice would be Debian Buster.
Which exact version, I'm not sure because I also read that "Debian 10 has been superseded by Debian 11 (bullseye)."
First of all I believe I would have to purchase a new license but this time for Linux or upgrade to a Master License that works on all three OS's. Which one is cheaper I don't know yet.
What I would not want is to have to configure everything from scratch because of this migration, as it took me a really long time to get where I am now and moreover I forgot what and how I did it as it was years ago.
Not only I imagine the configuration/setting up of MC to be an issue, but also keeping the whole directory structure I have on disk untouched. BTW, I have two disks: one for the OS and the other for data.
This disk surely won't even be recognized with a different OS, so I guess I have to format it (maybe this will been taken care of during the Linux installation automatically?) and then figure it how to copy my backup data with the minimum fuzz.
Has anyone already gone through this same path? What were the obstacles and how to deal with them?
Thank you all in advance!
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You can purchase a Linux license as an upgrade from your current license.
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You can purchase a Linux license as an upgrade from your current license.
Nice to know.
I found it here:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,129290.0.html
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Nice to know.
I found it here:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,129290.0.html
Now all that remains is the ease of the migration (or not).
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As I read that "Media Center 28 for Linux is developed on Debian Buster - support for distros other than Debian Buster, e.g. like Ubuntu and Linux Mint are not officially supported by JRiver!", my choice would be Debian Buster.
Which exact version, I'm not sure because I also read that "Debian 10 has been superseded by Debian 11 (bullseye)."
Even though it's not officially supported, Media Center works fine in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian Bullseye. Even distros like Fedora (which is what I use), OpenSUSE, Arch Linux, etc. works just fine. Jumping to Debian Bullseye would be fine in this situation.
This disk surely won't even be recognized with a different OS, so I guess I have to format it (maybe this will been taken care of during the Linux installation automatically?) and then figure it how to copy my backup data with the minimum fuzz.
Actually, if the partition file system is FAT32, ExFAT, NTFS, or something else chances are Linux will support mounting and reading those partitions created in Windows. If I had to guess if you left the formatting option in Windows as default, it's probably NTFS and Linux has support for it. Supporting write on NTFS partitions might be a little tricky though, depending on Linux distro being used, however the Linux kernel recently landed a new and vastly improved NTFS driver but it hasn't landed in Debian, Ubuntu or Linux Mint yet (and likely won't land in Debian for awhile, so ntfs-3g would be the alternative). I'm using it in Fedora and the new NTFS driver works wonderfully. Regardless I'm almost certain that you won't need to reformat your drive and you should be able to mount it in Linux (via the Disks app if your distro includes it or manually via fstab).
As for migrating, it depends, you might encounter problems when migrating. The disc structure in Linux is different than it is in Windows, for example there's no drive letters or anything like that. There's a couple threads here on the forums with users detailing their experiences migrating from Windows to Linux, so it might be worth searching for those. Also even though Media Center for Linux is closer than ever at feature parity with Media Center for Windows but there are a few potential dealbreaking missing functionality, like Media Center for Linux doesn't support reading and ripping CDs yet.
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I've just confirmed and I'm using NTFS indeed.
I guess that if all those other OS versions are supported, I'll then probably choose the one that makes the migration the easiest. I will do some research about the differences between all those, especially the Fedora you are using.
I will also try to find those threads you mention although I wasn't very lucky earlier.
Is it possible to import the MC configuration from Windows into Linux or is it totally incompatible? If it was than maybe it is just a matter of changing or editing some details related for instance to letters not being used in Linux and perhaps replacing '\' with '/' or vice versa.
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I've just confirmed and I'm using NTFS indeed.
I guess that if all those other OS versions are supported, I'll then probably choose the one that makes the migration the easiest. I will do some research about the differences between all those, especially the Fedora you are using.
I will also try to find those threads you mention although I wasn't very lucky earlier.
Is it possible to import the MC configuration from Windows into Linux or is it totally incompatible? If it was than maybe it is just a matter of changing or editing some details related for instance to letters not being used in Linux and perhaps replacing '\' with '/' or vice versa.
You can import a windows configuration on Linux, but you will need to update the file paths and make a few manual changes. Have a look at this post/thread for the manual steps that I took to do the conversion:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,128397.msg890849.html#msg890849
You can also try the "portable library" feature. That's worked for some folks, but is not how I personally did my migration.
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Thank you very much! I took a glance already but I'll have to read it carefully and also the other links as well.
So, does that mean that I can keep my data disk untouched and "just" adapt the MC configuration after importing it from windows to my new Linux system?
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Yes, you should be able to just mount your data disk in Linux (if you need read/write for NTFS, make sure you enable that) and change the paths of your files in MC's library to point to the new mount location.
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Well, I've bought the new license and have already installed Debian 11 but I have already to issues.
I was trying to install MC28 for Linux following the instructions here_
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,129788.0.html (https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,129788.0.html)
So, I opened a Terminal window and wrote this command:
curl -O https://git.bryanroessler.com/bryan/installJRMC/raw/master/installJRMC && chmod +x ./installJRMC
but I got the error that curl was not found, even when I switched to root user.
The 2nd issue is that my data disk was not mounted by default.
P.S. I never installed Linux before in my life so this is all very daunting to me!
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You probably need to install curl, this can be done from the terminal using a command like this...
sudo apt install curl
And it likely the storage drive won't be mounted by default, you'll probably need to do this yourself either in the Disks app (which provides a GUI) if you're using GNOME or manually from fstab. Honestly though, I would've recommended using Ubuntu 21.10 over Debian 11, as it's a little easier and it includes the Disks app.
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You probably need to install curl. sudo apt install curl
And it likely the storage drive won't be mounted by default, you'll probably need to do this yourself either in the Disks app (which provides a GUI) if you're using GNOME or manually from fstab. Honestly though, I would've recommended using Ubuntu 21.10 over Debian 11, as it's a little easier and it includes the Disks app.
Thank you. I'll give it a try. I installed Debian 11 as I thought it was the most compatible and also because I'm using Flirc and I don't know if it works without Debian:
https://support.flirc.tv/hc/en-us/articles/203633465-Installing-Flirc-GUI-on-Linux-Debian- (https://support.flirc.tv/hc/en-us/articles/203633465-Installing-Flirc-GUI-on-Linux-Debian-)
but if you say Ubuntu 21.10 works just fine I might give it a try.
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Ubuntu is based on Debian, so it'd work there too. In fact if you look at the screenshots in that Flirc tutorial, the person is using Ubuntu as those repositories in the screenshots are of Ubuntu's repositories. :P
However, that Flirc tutorial is way out of date though and shouldn't be used, on Flirc's site there's a much easier method...
https://flirc.tv/ubuntu-software-installation-guide
By using the following in a terminal...
curl apt.flirc.tv/install.sh | sudo bash
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Ubuntu is based on Debian, so it'd work there too. In fact if you look at the screenshots, the person is using Ubuntu (as those repositories in the screenshots are of Ubuntu's repositories). :P
OK. I think I will try just that because it's one obstacle after the other. I couldn't install curl as I got this error, although I've inserted my USB boot Debian disk which is the only one I got:
Media change: please insert the disc labeled
'Debian GNU/Linux 11.2.0 _Bullseye_ - Official amd64 DVD Binary-1 20211218-11:13'
in the drive '/media/cdrom/' and press [ENTER]
no matter how many times I press ENTER I get the same error...
(http://)
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Yeah, it's trying to use the CDROM image as the main software source. That can be worked around by setting up sources.list (if I recall correctly the Debian repositories are commented out or something, been awhile since I looked so not sure) and refreshing the software sources but honestly it's probably better to start over with Ubuntu if you've never used Linux before. I honestly don't recommend first timers to use Debian, instead it'd be better to use Ubuntu or Linux Mint. You don't have to jump through hoops adding yourself to the sudoers file like on Debian so you can use sudo, among other things.
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Yeah, it's trying to use the CDROM image as the main software source. That can be worked around by setting up sources.list (if I recall correctly the Debian repositories are commented out or something, been awhile since I looked so not sure) and refreshing the software sources but honestly it's probably better to start over with Ubuntu if you've never used Linux before. You don't have to jump through hoops adding yourself to the sudoers file like on Debian, among other things.
OK.
Is this the correct choice? I have a 64bit CPU:
64-bit PC (AMD64) server install image
https://releases.ubuntu.com/21.10/ (https://releases.ubuntu.com/21.10/)
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ubuntu-21.10-desktop-amd64.iso is likely what you want. The server image is for those trying to actually setup a web server (which I don't believe is applicable here).
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ubuntu-21.10-desktop-amd64.iso is likely what you want. The server image is for those trying to actually setup a web server (which I don't believe is applicable here).
Damn! I never get it right the 1st time... :-X
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I've installed Ubuntu choosing the 1st option (the second mentioned 'safe graphics').
I've set the keyboard and defined a user and pwd and autologin.
Now after the installation is finished it won't let me change to root as the pwd is not correct.
I assumed the pwd would be the same as the one I defined for my user because it didn't ask me anywhere to enter the root pwd.
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Not only that but ignoring the fact I cannot change to 'root', after entering this command:
curl -O https://git.bryanroessler.com/bryan/installJRMC/raw/master/installJRMC && chmod +x ./installJRMC
I get this error:
chmod: cannot access './installJRMC' No such file or Directory
EDIT: I found out I was using -0 where the correct option is -O so now MC28 is installed.
The question is where? I cannot find it anywhere, much less run it :'(
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Baby steps...
I managed to register my MC with the new license and open it. However I cannot find where is this '"rename, move, copy" tool with the Update Path option ' mentioned below:
The basic steps are:
1) Export Windows Library and Import the library on Linux
2) Quickly turn off auto-import
3) Use the "rename, move, copy" tool with the Update Path option to fix the file paths and direction of the slashes. Try a few to test, then you can do the rest all at once.
4) Delete all your old auto import rules
5) Re-create the auto-import rules with the correct paths
6) Close JRiver and edit the Platform.jmd file under your JRiver library directory so that it says Linux rather than Windows (this one is important and can lead to mysterious problems if ignored)
7) Restart JRiver
8 ) Turn auto import back on.
I was also thinking about using my last backup in Windows in Linux but apparently this can't be done this way.
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Now MC froze and I had to restart my PC.
After restarting and running mediacenter28 again it just opened a blank screen in full screen and I can't do anything.
I've uninstall it:
sudo apt-get remove mediacenter28
then To Remove Media Center 28's Settings Folder
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/jriver/Media\ Center\ 28 && sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/jriver/MC28 && sudo rm -rf ~/.jriver/Media\ Center\ 28
Installed it again...
sudo apt-get install mediacenter28
but got again the same blank screen >:(
Looks like I will need to reinstall Ubuntu...
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Okay, let's start with the basics. What hardware are you using to install Ubuntu on? Specifically, what type of (integrated or dedicated) GPU is it running? Nvidia? AMD? Intel?
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Okay, let's start with the basics. What hardware are you using to install Ubuntu on? Specifically, what type of (integrated or dedicated) GPU is it running? Nvidia? AMD? Intel?
OK.
I don't have a GPU because I use MC only for audio. I'm using the onboard HW: Intel CofeeLake-S GT2 [UHD Graffics 630]
CPU: Intel Gold G5500T @3.2 GHz
ASRock B360M Pro4
I've reinstalled Ubuntu and MC is running again.
But before I screw things up again I will need help because I believe the issue was caused when I tried to use that very powerful rename option.
I'll try to upload some screenshots of my settings currently as I've already restored my Library using the last backup made on Windows but now have two Libraries: one empty and another one with all my music.
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https://ibb.co/TYc2xN3
https://ibb.co/7kfD6z4
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Question: should I delete the Library that is empty?
Where is this option for renaming the files that I cannot find anymore?
(https://i.ibb.co/0cgJJ7C/IMG-20220228-202813.jpg) (https://ibb.co/R9xHHF3)
(https://i.ibb.co/zrJw9Ng/IMG-20220228-202858.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6mB59NS)
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Well, I've deleted the 'empty' Library.
Now I think I found that rename option again.
I had to exit from Tools and select on the left my 'Popular' albuns under 'Audio'.
Then I think this should be the correct option to use as my data volume in Linux is called '/media/joaquim/New Volume'
(https://i.ibb.co/k37TfSH/IMG-20220228-210023.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8zCwp7K)
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It didn't work. ::)
My '(Various Artists)' folder is now gone.
Is still on disk but not on the Library anymore...
(https://i.ibb.co/LRBZhDG/IMG-20220228-211540.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GpG53fh)
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...
Then I think this should be the correct option to use as my data volume in Linux is called '/media/joaquim/New Volume'
...
Actually it should be '/media/joaquim/New Volume/' (missed a '/' at the end)
Nevertheless, after applying this operation to my entire Popular folder, all its content is gone.
Moreover, after I closed and reopen MC I have again the blank screen.
There is something very wrong with this Linux version and if I can't use it then I would like my money back.
After this text everything becomes blank.
(https://i.ibb.co/XFBGH7V/IMG-20220228-231514.jpg) (https://ibb.co/p4Dkqfn)
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Two quick notes:
1. You need to be using the "Update database" mode of the Rename, Move and Copy tool so you aren't actually moving your files around, only the database references to them. That's in the dropdown in the upper left of the tool.
2. It looks like you are launching into Theater View. Check your startup options so that you launch into Standard View instead. To exit Theater View, try hitting the Esc key a few times.
Once you get into a working configuration then maybe we can help diagnose your Theater View issues. I'd also recommend just restoring the library itself, and not the settings when moving from Windows->Linux (uncheck the settings option in the restore dialog). While technically possible it's more reliable to start with the Linux defaults so you aren't applying Windows path references in the settings configuration. If your library backup also starts up into Theater View by default then this would prevent that setting from carrying over, as well.
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Two quick notes:
1. You need to be using the "Update database" mode of the Rename, Move and Copy tool so you aren't actually moving your files around, only the database references to them. That's in the dropdown in the upper left of the tool.
2. It looks like you are launching into Theater View. Check your startup options so that you launch into Standard View instead. To exit Theater View, try hitting the Esc key a few times.
Once you get into a working configuration then maybe we can help diagnose your Theater View issues. I'd also recommend just restoring the library itself, and not the settings when moving from Windows->Linux (uncheck the settings option in the restore dialog). While technically possible it's more reliable to start with the Linux defaults so you aren't applying Windows path references in the settings configuration. If your library backup also starts up into Theater View by default then this would prevent that setting from carrying over, as well.
Thank you.
Yes, I also think I'm in a 'blank' theater view as this was my default view in Windows and before I was using rename, move and copy tool, I landed in Theater View screen where I was able to exit to standard view where after changing some paths this happened.
Any other idea how to come out of this without reinstalling Ubuntu? Simply uninstalling mediacenter and even all settings doesn't help as after installing it again, some how it 'remembers' this blank thing.
Hitting the ESC key didn't help. I cannot leave that blank screen.
I ended up reinstalling Ubuntu for the nth time and this is what I did and it still doesn't look good although I didn't change to Theater View this time nor I won't until whatever has happening gets fixed.
This is what I did step by step.
I've restored my Library without option 'settings'. I got this 'empty' information popup. Something is wrong with the graphic interface...
(https://i.ibb.co/XpKtRW4/1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/DkvQ21b)
Despite the 'empty' popup, the Library was imported as it always is but again this time without settings so I tried to rename, move and copy only my folder 'Various Artists' using the 'Update database...' option. The Original and New path looks fine. I didn't check the option 'convert Windows...' because the 'New' doesn't look good anymore...
(https://i.ibb.co/d5CqgVG/2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6W9xBTg)
After the above operation, I saw some thumbnails on my 'Various Artists' but after double clicking on it it gave an error and vanished...
(https://i.ibb.co/dWZb1vr/3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZL9HtrV)
(https://i.ibb.co/WpsFJHc/5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G3FkSdV)
I tried the same on the next folder '0-E' and the same exact thing happened...
(https://i.ibb.co/DL67ZjZ/4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wYbKf2f)
(https://i.ibb.co/WpsFJHc/5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G3FkSdV)
This is the difference when I select the option 'Convert Windows File Path...'. Looks like it doesn't work...
clear:
(https://i.ibb.co/FWwzWdz/6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VNSTNkT)
set:
(https://i.ibb.co/CVyJ4yw/7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ss45c4g)
This one has also disappeared on the left pane but it is still present on the center until I double click it, where I'll get the same error again...
(https://i.ibb.co/8xZjBBf/8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FYTBWWy)
Now I notice that on the center pane I'm looking at Locations (D:\Musica\Popular\) but since I've renamed a few folders already to /media/joaquim/New Volume, it's logical they disappear from this 'old' location but then, where can I see them???
So, where are my renamed files and why is the database not able to see them especially after showing me the thumbnails after the renaming was done?
And what is wrong with the popups that don't show any information?
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Are all your media files in the New Volume folder? If not, they need to be. In fact, in this case I'd recommend renaming New Volume to something else. By following your example above with your Windows path try renaming it to Musica or something, that way you can do it like this...
Find what: D:\Musica\
Replace with: /media/joaquim/Musica/
This *should* work, assuming your music files are in the new folder location (with folder hierarchy intact, e.g. Popular, etc.). Media Center does NOT backup your media (music, video, image, etc.) files, so you'd have to do that yourself and make sure all your media is moved into the new directory before using that tool to change the paths in the library. Having read+write permissions on the folder is likely required too.
I'm going to be perfectly blunt and honest though; seeing how this has been going thus far, if this migration is becoming too overwhelming for you, maybe you might reconsider moving away from Windows. Linux isn't Windows and requires a more hands on approach and users who never used Linux before will encounter issues transitioning whereas Windows it just works and tasks are pretty easy compared to Linux. You don't have to mount drives with read+write permissions using fstab or a GUI app like Disks, you don't need to set read+write permissions on folders, etc. in Windows. You'll have to ask yourself if transitioning to Linux is worth these hassles and the learning curve involved. I honestly don't recommend users who have never used Linux or any other OS besides Windows before to just jump to a Linux distro. I'd always recommend them trying Linux on a different, old machine or in a virtual machine to get a feel for it first before committing.
Good luck though, if you decide to continue with the transition! You're probably going to need it, honestly. :P
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Is all your media filters in the New Volume folder? If not, they need to be. In fact, in this case I'd recommend renaming New Volume to something else. By following your example above with your Windows path try renaming it to Musica or something, that way you can do it like this...
I'm not sure I understood the question but everything I have is in that disk that is pretty almost full. It is a separate disk that was named D: in windows but is now mounted as '/media/joaquim/New Volume'.
I've tried to rename it before but I can't. Perhaps there is another way to do it?
(https://i.ibb.co/3FYGNjk/9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pKrGzMn)
(https://i.ibb.co/LzbD7hy/11.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GvBfS3D)
(https://i.ibb.co/7jfx3wP/10.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YPC45zm)
Find what: D:\Musica\
Replace with: /media/joaquim/Musica/
This *should* work, assuming your music files are in the new folder location (with folder hierarchy intact, e.g. Popular, etc.). Media Center does NOT backup your media (music, video, image, etc.) files, so you'd have to do that yourself and make sure all your media is moved into the new directory before using that tool to change the paths in the library.
What you mean by "make sure all your media is moved into the new directory"? I don't want to be moving my data anywhere. This is my entire goal: keep the data in the same untouched disc and just changing whatever settings on mediacenter so my Library is recognized.
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Hit the stop button to unmount it, then select Edit Mount Options after it's unmounted, from there you can change the mount point. Then re-mount it at the new location. You probably need to make sure the folder exists first and has read+write options, e.g. something like this from the terminal...
sudo mkdir /media/joaquim/Musica/ && sudo chmod 777 /media/joaquim/Musica/
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Hit the stop button to unmount it, then select Edit Mount Options after it's unmounted, from there you can change the mount point. Then re-mount it at the new location. You probably need to make sure the folder exists first and has read+write options, e.g. something like this from the terminal...
sudo mkdir /media/joaquim/Musica/ && sudo chmod 777 /media/joaquim/Musica/
I'm sorry but I have never done this before. where exactly should I write the new name "Musica" or is it "/media/joaquim/Musica/"?
(https://i.ibb.co/4NCskw2/12.jpg) (https://ibb.co/88Gzknb)
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Actually, since you probably have a Musica folder in the root and to avoid a Musica/Musica directory kind of thing, substitute Musica with another term, like Multimedia or Media or whatever you want as long as it's a single word with no spaces to avoid another potential annoyance.
1) Run this command in a terminal (if you use a different word than Multimedia here, substitute it):
sudo mkdir /media/joaquim/Multimedia/ && sudo chmod 777 /media/joaquim/Multimedia/
2) Unmount the disk in the Disks app.
3) In Edit Mount Options uncheck User Session Defaults, set Mount Point to the following (again, change the word Multimedia if you used a different word here)...
/media/joaquim/Multimedia/
4) Select OK and it'll ask for your password. Once back in the Disks app, select the partition and where the stop (unmount) button was, there's a play (mount) button. Press it and input your password when it prompts, if set correctly your disk should mount at the new location.
This is the next part in Media Center, in the Rename, Move and Copy tool.
1) Import a library backup (if you haven't already). I would actually suggest starting fresh and clearing your current library then re-importing another library backup to start this process over. Make sure you select all your files then select Rename, Move and Copy (or press F6 to open the tool). Of course like above, if you used a different word than Multimedia, substitute it...
Find what: D:\
Replace with: /media/joaquim/Multimedia/
Now, if you've decided not to start fresh and try to modify your existing (potentially mixed up) library that has some paths changed to the New Folder location you'll have to use it a second time...
Find what: /media/joaquim/New Volume/
Replace with: /media/joaquim/Multimedia/
See if that gets you further along.
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OK. First part is done and well done:
(https://i.ibb.co/tLKBkLR/13.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9ZgnzZP)
About the 'Import a library backup' are you talking about the Import option or Restore? I chose the Restore...
(https://i.ibb.co/mGbsqTp/14.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PNFphjk)
and landed here...
(https://i.ibb.co/s9dhchq/15.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jkPdqdD)
"Make sure you select all your files" - how?
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I moved on and there is definitely some progress.
I selected 'Albuns' on the left pane as these should represent all my CD's after all and then select on via the menu and applied the renaming as you suggested.
(https://i.ibb.co/rZhT8Np/17.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dQv1Cxp)
But inside my Categories like 'Classical' or Popular, I have still issues and some work to be done, but how and what?
'Classical' is empty but it still refers to 'D:\Musica\Classica\'... I would expect to refer now to '/media/joaquim/Multimedia/Musica/Classica'
(https://i.ibb.co/6Z8835r/16.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pPQQtpb)
(https://i.ibb.co/LzMBvQG/18.jpg) (https://ibb.co/N6Xf714)
Popular is showing only these strange entries but also it still refers to D:\Musica\Popular\...
(https://i.ibb.co/qm3VGKf/popular.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ssdzSnG)
There is also this thing I do not understand and it could be or not causing some issues as well.
How come my mounting point looks good as it says 'media/joaquim/Multimedia' but if I open 'Discs' and go to other locations, I see this disc still as 'New Volume'?
(https://i.ibb.co/gdShVvf/disk.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yp67ShZ)
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I'm beginning to remember stuff I did several years ago that I wished to avoid doing again but I think I'm screwed.
Take this example...
(https://i.ibb.co/DCVZtS5/categ.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yyfrXbW)
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All is coming back to me now. It turns out that fortunately MC is intuitive so I got pretty much all filters working now.
Except this one where I would like not to split the albuns in these 4 groups but can't figure it out where I did that...
(https://i.ibb.co/Ph3fLb5/end.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wW3xkbK)
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I have smaller issues to fix now, related with missing Thumbnails.
How do I fix this?
(https://i.ibb.co/61yDdK9/thumb1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hZg2qGQ)
(https://i.ibb.co/qxs94LQ/thumb2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XVspdfR)
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Besides the issue above which I cannot fix, I have one other that is far more serious.
My DAC Topping D10 Balanced is not recognized!
(https://i.ibb.co/6BPH2Fm/dac.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Ry031c9)
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All is coming back to me now. It turns out that fortunately MC is intuitive so I got pretty much all filters working now.
Except this one where I would like not to split the albuns in these 4 groups but can't figure it out where I did that...
(https://i.ibb.co/Ph3fLb5/end.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wW3xkbK)
In that dialog, Edit>uncheck Grouping checkbox
I have smaller issues to fix now, related with missing Thumbnails.
How do I fix this?
(https://i.ibb.co/61yDdK9/thumb1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hZg2qGQ)
(https://i.ibb.co/qxs94LQ/thumb2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XVspdfR)
So right now you don't have ownership of your media directories. This can be a little complicated for new users especially as you are trying to fit a square peg (NTFS) into a round hole (Linux).
NTFS doesn't support UNIX permissions (well, it actually does but it will break compatibility with Windows if you want to use the drive on a Windows machine again, so not recommended), so you basically need to change ownership of the entire drive when you mount it.
There's a hard way to do this by editing fstab but I believe that ntfs-3g will inherit the permissions of the mount directory. So unmount your drive and then run `sudo chown joaquim:joaquim /media/joaquim/Multimedia/` and then remount the drive.
Besides the issue above which I cannot fix, I have one other that is far more serious.
My DAC Topping D10 Balanced is not recognized!
(https://i.ibb.co/6BPH2Fm/dac.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Ry031c9)
I see it listed there with at least three different output choices.
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Yep, the preferred audio output for your DAC would be hw:CARD=Balanced.DEV=0 [ALSA]D10 Balanced. .... output, which I added a red arrow by in an edited screenshot.
(https://i.imgur.com/J13QNtx.png)
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In that dialog, Edit>uncheck Grouping checkbox
For some reason in Theater View the albums are not grouped so I did nothing, :)
So right now you don't have ownership of your media directories. This can be a little complicated for new users especially as you are trying to fit a square peg (NTFS) into a round hole (Linux).
NTFS doesn't support UNIX permissions (well, it actually does but it will break compatibility with Windows if you want to use the drive on a Windows machine again, so not recommended), so you basically need to change ownership of the entire drive when you mount it.
There's a hard way to do this by editing fstab but I believe that ntfs-3g will inherit the permissions of the mount directory. So unmount your drive and then run `sudo chown joaquim:joaquim /media/joaquim/Multimedia/` and then remount the drive.
I did that but still the owner is root. I also noticed the menu Take Ownership is grayed.
(https://i.ibb.co/kMR68xp/root.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SJh7nP2)
I'm ready for the hard way if that's the only option left...
I see it listed there with at least three different output choices.
Yep. I don't wear glasses although I really should...
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For some reason in Theater View the albums are not grouped so I did nothing, :)
I did that but still the owner is root. I also noticed the menu Take Ownership is grayed.
(https://i.ibb.co/kMR68xp/root.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SJh7nP2)
Yep. I don't wear glasses although I really should...
That's the one I chose indeed!
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Can't recall if ntfs-3g is installed by default in Ubuntu, hopefully it is. You can make sure by opening a terminal and using the following command...
sudo apt install ntfs-3g
From there you can force the use of ntfs-3g by first unmounting the drive (like I described above) and back in Edit Mount Options edit the bottom Filesystem type field from auto to ntfs-3g and press OK. Before mounting the drive again in the terminal for good luck you can try using the command Bryan posted above...
sudo chown joaquim:joaquim /media/joaquim/Multimedia/
Then mount the drive and see what happens.
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Didn't work either. Owner is still root.
(https://i.ibb.co/2N2VKz0/root2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/L5wjpTD)
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In the mount options (next to nosuid,nodev, etc), add "uid=joaquim,gid=joaquim,dmask=022,fmask=133" and then remount.
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In the mount options (next to nosuid,nodev, etc), add "rw,uid=joaquim,gid=joaquim,dmask=022,fmask=133" and then remount.
Better but not there yet. MC still fails to rebuild the thumbnail.
Could it be because Group is still Root although owner is Me?
(https://i.ibb.co/98vMqhg/01.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TvTCH12)
(https://i.ibb.co/yqb1jrV/02.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YhqMsxb)
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For one you likely need to add the original mount options back and add the new ones next to them, like Bryan mentioned in his instructions.
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Is that an "l" in "gid"?
The whole line should be: "defaults,nofail,nodev,nosuid,x-gvfs-show,uid=joaquim,gid=joaquim,dmask=022,fmask=133"
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I just double checked the mount options I'm using in Fedora, it's defaults,uid=1000,gid=100,nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show and I have full read and write permissions. However it's worth mentioning that mine is using the new ntfs3 driver included in the latest Linux kernel that Ubuntu doesn't have yet, so I'm not sure if mine would work or not. :P
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Is that an "l" in "gid"?
The whole line should be: "defaults,nofail,nodev,nosuid,x-gvfs-show,uid=joaquim,gid=joaquim,dmask=022,fmask=133"
It was an "I" but I've corrected it.
Changes made. Group is now 'joaquim' but with read only permissions and still MC refuses to rebuild the thumbnail
NOTE: I still have the disk as ntfs-3g though. Should I go back to ntfs?
(https://i.ibb.co/vQKdHb6/image.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NmHNsXd)
(https://i.ibb.co/JRHnzQq/1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Fbz6BVX)
(https://i.ibb.co/SnpP3Qy/3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Wy162D5)
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I just double checked the mount options I'm using in Fedora, it's defaults,uid=1000,gid=100,nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show and I have full read and write permissions. However it's worth mentioning that mine is using the new ntfs3 driver included in the latest Linux kernel that Ubuntu doesn't have yet, so I'm not sure if mine would work or not. :P
uid=1000 is the one I have when I enter command 'id -u'
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I just double checked the mount options I'm using in Fedora, it's defaults,uid=1000,gid=100,nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show and I have full read and write permissions. However it's worth mentioning that mine is using the new ntfs3 driver included in the latest Linux kernel that Ubuntu doesn't have yet, so I'm not sure if mine would work or not. :P
For most intents and purposes they are the same. mount will map username to uid, it's just a little clearer (albeit less portable) to be explicit. The masks are good security practice though, plus you don't get the nasty green highlighter in `ls -a`.
Changes made. Group is now 'joaquim' but with read only permissions and still MC refuses to rebuild the thumbnail
That looks good to me. You don't need read/write with group if you have it for the user, but you can change it by switching dmask=002,fmask=113.
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NOTE: I still have the disk as ntfs-3g though. Should I go back to ntfs?
The default (auto) was likely already selecting and using ntfs-3g so it's up to you but you don't have to, if for some reason it wasn't using ntfs-3g it's the preferred driver for NTFS file systems... at least until Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc. gets a newer Linux kernel and gains support for the new ntfs3 driver which basically replaces ntfs-3g.
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But guys... the issue still remains. MC doesn't rebuild the Thumbnails. ::)
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Could you provide some screenshots of the ones that are failing? In your last screenshot of the error there is an accented letter in the artist name in the library, but not in the filepath. Perhaps there are some special characters that are causing issues? That's probably why the thumbnail isn't displaying in the first place. My guess is that MC can't find a subset of the files. Depending on the situation, it might be easiest to just set up an auto-import and let MC fix what it can.
Also, make sure your cover art directory is where you think it should be, and writeable.
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Could you provide some screenshots of the ones that are failing? In your last screenshot of the error there is an accented letter in the artist name in the library, but not in the filepath. Perhaps there are some special characters that are causing issues? That's probably why the thumbnail isn't displaying in the first place. My guess is that MC can't find a subset of the files. Depending on the situation, it might be easiest to just set up an auto-import and let MC fix what it can.
Also, make sure your cover art directory is where you think it should be, and writeable.
Sure. Here is an example. I can't see anything wrong here...
All my cover art is called "folder.jpg" and is always inside each folder.
(https://i.ibb.co/02MpK27/IMG-20220301-190613.jpg) (https://ibb.co/T28D12f)
(https://i.ibb.co/4TF0mxp/IMG-20220301-190642.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pz1k0pd)
(https://i.ibb.co/HGzL9cX/IMG-20220301-190658.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Jr7WSYC)
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Sure. Here is an example. I can't see anything wrong here...
All my cover art is called "folder.jpg" and is always inside each folder.
What are your current settings for Options>File Location>Cover Art?
Also, just to make sure that your permissions are good, in your 14 Shades of Grey directory right-click in empty space>open in terminal (or hit F4) and enter `touch test; echo $?; rm test`
If it outputs "0" then your permissions are good. If it returns anything else then there is still something awry.
I just remembered from a long time ago that I ran into a similar issue with mount refusing to mount an ntfs partition as r/w because it had a "dirty bit" set from an unclean removal from a Windows box. But we'll only go there is necessary.
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What are your current settings for Options>File Location>Cover Art?
Also, just to make sure that your permissions are good, in your 14 Shades of Grey directory right-click in empty space>open in terminal (or hit F4) and enter `touch test; echo $?; rm test`
If it outputs "0" then your permissions are good. If it returns anything else then there is still something awry.
I just remembered from a long time ago that I ran into a similar issue with mount refusing to mount an ntfs partition as r/w because it had a "dirty bit" set from an unclean removal from a Windows box. But we'll only go there is necessary.
There is still something awry.
Here you are.
(https://i.ibb.co/7WKxT00/IMG-20220301-192430.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yyqmMxx)
(https://i.ibb.co/x61VxDb/IMG-20220301-191300.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qpNbTd8)
(https://i.ibb.co/dfJ9bJ9/IMG-20220301-192217.jpg) (https://ibb.co/x28vm8v)
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Try these one by one:
1. Unmount the partition, then in a separate terminal, run `sudo journalctl -f`, remount the partition and see if there are any remarks about a "dirty bit" (or anything else enlightening).
2. Try removing the umask and dmask from the mount options to simplify things a bit and remount.
3. Run `ls -al /media/joaquim` just to make sure that the mount point has the proper ownership and permissions. If it's not as expected, run `sudo chown joaquim:joaquim /media/joaquim/Multimedia && sudo chmod 777 /media/joaquim/Multimedia` once more for good measure.
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Here it is.
(https://i.ibb.co/54N7sjV/IMG-20220301-194652.jpg) (https://ibb.co/r0CW5pJ)
I didn't see any mention to a 'dirty bit' and I didn't have 'umask' to remove but only 'dmask' which I removed.
In the journalctl there are same strange messages about the disk being hibernated in windows or what not... and could not open in read-write...
I did some searching about this error and didn't like the 'solutions' as they involve going back to windows and execute some special shutdown command or so but I don't have windows any more so I'll need another solution.
https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/550684-The-disk-contains-an-unclean-file-system-(0-0)-Metadata-kept-in-Windows-cache-refused-to-mount (https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/550684-The-disk-contains-an-unclean-file-system-(0-0)-Metadata-kept-in-Windows-cache-refused-to-mount)
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I applied this WA which apparently worked but still MC refuses to rebuid the darn Thumbnail >:(
https://medium.com/@shohelislam/ntfs-the-disk-contains-an-unclean-file-system-in-ubuntu-system-e10ac85f0c1c (https://medium.com/@shohelislam/ntfs-the-disk-contains-an-unclean-file-system-in-ubuntu-system-e10ac85f0c1c)
(https://i.ibb.co/PWhn3PY/WA.jpg) (https://ibb.co/B6ZxdQP)
(https://i.ibb.co/sRB3RZs/IMG-20220301-202330.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9gMYg7y)
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I found a way to do it manually but it is extremely harduous as I have thousands of albums.
(https://i.ibb.co/hgmRnHq/Image2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6yWRpbd)
And in between I get weird empty popups like this. Am I the only one to get these?
(https://i.ibb.co/TtgkzRq/IMG-20220301-212100.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yqQXL5B)
(https://i.ibb.co/HhcKvfh/IMG-20220301-212113.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5KQ1DgK)
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With ntfsfix, try passing the "-d" option to actually clear the dirty bit. This is exactly the problem I was recalling.
`sudo ntfsfix -d /dev/sda2`
If that doesn't work I'm out of ideas at the moment. If you have extra disk space you could always copy the ntfs data to native ext4/btrfs.
I found a way to do it manually but it is extremely harduous as I have thousands of albums.
And in between I get weird empty popups like this. Am I the only one to get these?
You can select all with Ctrl-A. There's also a smartlist for locating files with missing cover art that may help you narrow it down. But what I think is happening is that it is pulling the images from the tags/folder.jpg and copying them to the external cover art directory. One possible workaround is disabling tag writing altogether (Edit>Uncheck "Update tags when file info changes"), which might alleviate the warnings.
I've run into the white empty dialog boxes too, I think Bob is already aware of this. If you move them around a bit sometimes they will populate, sometimes not.
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Thanks. I finished the job manually. Is it still worth it to execute that option `sudo ntfsfix -d /dev/sda2`?
Two more questions:
how can I start MC in Theater View now?
Isn't there a shutdown command for shutting down the PC in Linux as there was in Windows? If so, is there any possible workaround?
(https://i.ibb.co/KLKGvhD/IMG-20220301-170623.jpg) (https://ibb.co/s6WPYRC)
No can do this time...
(https://i.ibb.co/YDDmCT8/IMG-20220301-220628.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wJJVkrC)
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I found a way to do it manually but it is extremely harduous as I have thousands of albums.
(https://i.ibb.co/hgmRnHq/Image2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6yWRpbd)
What happens if you select the Rebuild Thumbnail option instead? I suppose if all else fails you can try embedded cover art into the files themselves (using the Add From File option) and see if that works. Otherwise I'm all out of ideas too, it *should* just work unless something else is happening there.
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...One possible workaround is disabling tag writing altogether (Edit>Uncheck "Update tags when file info changes"), which might alleviate the warnings.
Where can I find that exactly please?
EDIT: found it and disabled it!
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What happens if you select the Rebuild Thumbnail option instead? I suppose if all else fails you can try embedded cover art into the files themselves (using the Add From File option) and see if that works. Otherwise I'm all out of ideas too, it *should* just work unless something else is happening there.
Nothing happened.
Actually, most if not all of my files have the cover embedded as well so it's a bit overkill as there is also always a "folder.jpg" on each folder.
However in thos weird cases nothing worked. ?
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I forgot how to make MC automatically fill the 'File Group Location' based on which folder the files are. Can you help me please?
(https://i.ibb.co/M6cd1TK/IMG-20220301-230341.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k14ZDnz)
I made a mess now...
In standard View everything looks fine but in Theater view, somehow my Classical albums are all shown on the Popular ones. :o
What in the world is wrong?
(https://i.ibb.co/nC3nT2h/IMG-20220301-233031.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cLbCP5z)
(https://i.ibb.co/L8THFfF/IMG-20220301-233013.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7X3LfFf)
(https://i.ibb.co/9V5dD8Y/IMG-20220301-233059.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fnwTg10)
(https://i.ibb.co/g6d8B2x/IMG-20220301-233114.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fQ9WPgs)
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Theater view and standard views use different views. You can find the theater view views in options>theater view.
Also, you will need to unmount the partition before running `sudo ntfsfix -d /dev/sda2`.
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Thanks. I've tuned my Theater view and everything is fine now. I had also to change the file path there.
I'll try to run that command although apparently everything looks good now but one never knows.
I've also programmed the power button on my remote so I'm now able to power on/off my HTPC and open MC in Theater mode automatically.
I'm just waiting for feedback from FLIRC support because Ubuntu by default pops up a warning saying the PC will shutdown in 60s and I want to do it instantaneously. I don't know if someone here has already sorted a way to do this but I'll provide feedback for future reference.
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You can set up a keyboard shortcut in gnome to 'shutdown now' to bypass the 60s grace period, and then use flirc to manage the keypresses.
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You can set up a keyboard shortcut in gnome to 'shutdown now' to bypass the 60s grace period, and then use flirc to manage the keypresses.
I'll probably give it a try. Next thing to do on my list.
About the lyrics, I read this here (https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=119674.0):
"To display lyrics, make sure you're showing cover art in Playing Now (and not a visualization), then right click and choose Display Lyrics."
How can I do the same in Theater View with my remote?
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Also, you will need to unmount the partition before running `sudo ntfsfix -d /dev/sda2`.
Done as well.
There was some fiddling needed to clean up the house but I'm very happy with the outcome and would like to thank you and Awesome Donkey especially but to all as well who took their time to help me achieve this task.
Without your help I couldn't have done it. Much appreciated! :)