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[IanG]

I've been playing with the new handheld support introduced in 11.0.112 and got it to work with network shares, local folders and flash drives, as well as conventional handhelds.  This morning I tried to demo it to a friend and it's stopped working!!  Defined "Handhelds" are only being detected as such if they're brought on-line after MC has started.  If not, they appear as devices (blue folder icon) under Drives & Devices, but the action window doesn't show any handhelds, and I can't synch them.

When a new device is detected by MC I can bring up the synch menu once, but once I've either synched or cancelled it I can't get it back.

I tried updating to 11.0.113, but that had no effect.  I can' t think of anything that's changed on my PC in the last few days, except maybe DHCP's given me a new IP address.  Oh, and the clock's gone back an hour!

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

I made some updates on the MC server side because I thought we would release a new build yesterday which probably are causing the problems. Please get the next MC build when it becomes available and hopefully all will improve.

Thanks,

Steve

[IanG]

Steve

Ok, I'll wait.  I'm still baffled by it just stopping though - as I said, nothing changed  ?

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

One possibility is that a file that is used to detect devices may have updated automatically and you may have received the new one which is not fully compatible with the MC version you have. Lets wait and see and then troubleshoot from there.

Steve

[IanG]

Steve

It looks like the problem was caused by my library getting corrupted (not the first time it's happened)! After I created a new one, network shares and local disks were handled correctly.  Trying to synch a flash drive didn't work at the first attempt, handhelds disappeared from the action window, but it's been OK since I restarted MC.

There are still a couple of problems though - the flash drive appears in the lists twice, as a handheld and as a removable drive, and the drive is being treated as a  camera!!  

Ian G.

[IanG]

One more thing - when I select "Delete unselected files during synchronization" all files are deleted on the handheld and then the selected ones are transferred.  Can  / should this be made smarter?  I know there's a balance to be struck, but USB 1 is very slow!  

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

the flash drive appears in the lists twice, as a handheld and as a removable drive

If your device is WMDM compatible, you should not use the remote drive mapping feature. Rather, you should allow MC to handle this. For any WMDM device if I have the name (as reported when you type 'ShowdeviceID' in File->OpenURL' and then click on the device in the tree) and the Audio Base Path and Playlist Base Path (if they exist) I can include this data so it is always used by default for you and anyone else who has your device.

the drive is being treated as a  camera!!  

What do you mean by this?

when I select "Delete unselected files during synchronization" all files are deleted on the handheld and then the selected ones are transferred

Currently not all files should be deleted, but only files which do not have matching Name, Artist, Album, Genre and Track Number tag info between the device and MC.

Steve

[IanG]

Ian,

the flash drive appears in the lists twice, as a handheld and as a removable drive

If your device is WMDM compatible, you should not use the remote drive mapping feature.

OK

the drive is being treated as a  camera!!  

What do you mean by this?

When I click on the camera icon in the action window, "Drive D" is offered as an option

when I select "Delete unselected files during synchronization" all files are deleted on the handheld and then the selected ones are transferred

Currently not all files should be deleted, but only files which do not have matching Name, Artist, Album, Genre and Track Number tag info between the device and MC.

I don't think that's what's happening - I synched with 2 playlists and then synched again with just 1 of them.  I saw files being deleted and then copied.  That's the joy of USB 1, you have time to sit back and watch the scenary!  That said, if WMDM devices shouldn't be setup this way....

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

When I click on the camera icon in the action window, "Drive D" is offered as an option

When you connect the device the Action Window should give you an option to select it as a camera or as a Handheld device. You should then select Handheld.

I don't think that's what's happening - I synched with 2 playlists and then synched again with just 1 of them.  I saw files being deleted and then copied.

Try synching with one playlist and take note what tag information is reported in MC for files on the device (Name, Artist, Album, Genre and TrackNumber). Compare this to info for the same files in MC. If the info is different, the files will be resent. If this is the case, you may need to rebuild the database for the device (right click option on the device)  and then the  problem should go away.

Steve

[IanG]

When you connect the device the Action Window should give you an option to select it as a camera or as a Handheld device. You should then select Handheld.

That's not happening.  I've clicked on the handheld icon in the action window and it's given me the acquire images window, though.

Try synching with one playlist and take note what tag information is reported in MC for files on the device (Name, Artist, Album, Genre and TrackNumber). Compare this to info for the same files in MC. If the info is different, the files will be resent. If this is the case, you may need to rebuild the database for the device (right click option on the device)  and then the  problem should go away.

OK, thanks!

Ian G.

[IanG]

MC 11.0.117 is populating the Album field of non-audio files with the file modification date.  The synched files on the handheld also have the modification date, but it's the date they were copied - MC and the handheld are (almost) never in synch for non-audio files.

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

In regards the confusion with the device as a camera, I can't duplicate this. Lets step through what I am doing and tell me if we are doing things differently.

I start MC and then connect a WMDM compatible device. I have not defined anything in Tools->Options->Handheld->Configure remote drives.

My device is detected and the Action Window gives me the option to select 'Handheld Player' or 'Camera'. I select 'Handheld Player' and all goes forward as it should.

In regards to the 'Album' field, this is the way MC handles images by design. We are revisiting whether to change this or not.  If MC and the device are not in sync for non-audio, confirm that the tags are different (for Name, Artist, Album, Genre, and Track Number) because if they are the files will always be resent.

Steve

[IanG]

I start MC and then connect a WMDM compatible device. I have not defined anything in Tools->Options->Handheld->Configure remote drives.

OK so far!

My device is detected and the Action Window gives me the option to select 'Handheld Player' or 'Camera'. I select 'Handheld Player' and all goes forward as it should.
[/quote

And that's where we part company - that option was never presented.  I've been testing this on an old, slow laptop with USB1 - could something be timing out?  

In regards to the 'Album' field, this is the way MC handles images by design. We are revisiting whether to change this or not.  If MC and the device are not in sync for non-audio, confirm that the tags are different (for Name, Artist, Album, Genre, and Track Number) because if they are the files will always be resent.

I don't have access to the PC at the moment, but Album was definitely changing.  Now that MC supports all these new devices it's much more suitable as an office app, so I'd expect more people to be synching non-audio files -  I don't see this behaviour as a major shortcoming, but I can't see the logic behind it either.

Ian G.

Steve

[SteveG]

And that's where we part company - that option was never presented.  I've been testing this on an old, slow laptop with USB1 - could something be timing out?

What device is this?  

[IanG]

And that's where we part company - that option was never presented.  I've been testing this on an old, slow laptop with USB1 - could something be timing out?

What device is this?  

Steve

I'm not sure what you're asking - the device I was using as a handheld was a flashdrive.  If you're asking what was timing out, I've no idea - it was just a suggestion.

Ian G.

[SteveG]

I'm not sure what you're asking - the device I was using as a handheld was a flashdrive.

That is what I was after. I would like to verify its name and WMDM status. To do this, please go to File->OpenURL and type 'Showdeviceid' . Then click on your device in the MC tree and tell me if a dialogue pops up and gives you a name.

Thanks,

Steve

[IanG]

I would like to verify its name and WMDM status.

Steve

I'll do that asap, but I don't know when that will be - it's not my flashdrive, the owner's out of the office, and I don't know when he'll be back.  Shouldn't be long though.


Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

Just pick the lock on his door and go get it. Paper clips or a nail file tend to work well.

Steve

[IanG]

Steve

I like to keep in touch with my larcenous side, but my friend's wise to me - he's taken it with him    

Ian G.

[IanG]

OK, I decided a life of crime isn't for me, wimped out and bought my own flash drive!

When it's connected, a "Device Connected" window pops up, telling me MC's detected a camera and a handheld (if that's what you meant by the option, I'm sorry to have mislead you  ).  If I select "Sync data to MC" and try and sync I eventualy get an error "Windows - delayed write failed" and when I disconnect the device (regardless of whether I've waited for the error) I get the message "Out of memory - update aborted".  With "Sync data to MC" clear, it works fine.

The flash drive announces itself as "Flash Disk".

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

Glad you didn't go on a crime spree.

Did you create a path to this drive in Tools->Options->Handheld->Configure remote and fixed... or did MC automatically show this device as "Flash Disk'" in the MC tree?

Steve

[IanG]

Did you create a path to this drive in Tools->Options->Handheld->Configure remote and fixed... or did MC automatically show this device as "Flash Disk'" in the MC tree?

"Flash Disk" is what I got from Open URL / Showdeviceid.  That said, the window popped up a few times whenever I plugged the drive in - and then it stopped doing it !?

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

Thanks. Can you respond to whether you created a path in Tools->Options->etc?

Also, does this device require a specific path for files to be playable or a specific playlist directory? If so, I will include them to be automatically recognized.

Steve

[IanG]

Thanks. Can you respond to whether you created a path in Tools->Options->etc?

Also, does this device require a specific path for files to be playable or a specific playlist directory? If so, I will include them to be automatically recognized.

Steve

No, I didn't do anything apart from plug it in!

There's no need for any specific folder support, thanks!

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

I cannot duplicate or explain this.  When you have 'Sync data to MC' checked, as soon as you click 'Synchronize' MC updates the number played field and last played time if the device supports that information and if it has changed since the last sync. For a generic FlashDisk, this information should not be changing.

Try removing all the files from the device. Sync a playlist with 5 files with the 'Sync data to MC' option selected. Repeat 2 times.

See if you get any other strange results. Keep in mind that the 'Sync data to MC' option only affects the files before the transfer begins and that once the transfer starts, this option is not doing anything.

Steve

[IanG]

Steve

I'll try the experiment.  One thing that might make a difference is that the system I'm having problems with is old and slow, with a USB1 connection.  Is it possible something's timing out, or maybe there's a race condition somewhere in MC's coding?

Ian G.

[IanG]

Steve

I deleted everything to do with MC11 and started again with 11.0.125.  No problems with the handheld side of things, though MC hangs after importing files.  I went back to .123 and it was still OK, though showing the duplicate files error that was reported in another thread.

Ian G.

[SteveG]

Ian,

Thanks for the update.

Steve