loads of broken links/unknown location in database

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frankenpod
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 9:08 am

loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by frankenpod »

For some reason MM keeps messing up the database as it relates to podcasts (specifically, under the podcast subscriptions view). Firstly, weird stuff sometimes happens when downloading podcasts - they end up with wrong tags or multiple copies of the same podcast, or once-in-a-blue-moon MM actually crashes with an access violation error during the download process. Some of this might be errors at the podcast server end. I can live with occasionally having to delete these mangled downloads and redownloading them.

But the main thing is when I delete, within MM, the resulting corrupted or mis-tagged podcasts, quite often MM doesn't manage to delete them correctly, and I end up with an entry with 'unknown' listed for the path and filename. My database is now full of loads of these dead entries that cannot be removed. Twice before I have figured out how to fix this by editing the database file myself with some free database tool or other, but each time I have to work out anew how to do that (I keep forgetting how I did it, working with databases is not my dayjob!), and it is quite tedious, hunting through the database for all the dead links/associations.

Is there no way of simply automatically cleaning the MM database? Even just deleting it and rebuilding it would be OK, except I don't want to lose all my smart playlists and podcast subscriptions, and really its only the podcast part of the database that has problems.
Lowlander
Posts: 56491
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by Lowlander »

Which version of MediaMonkey and do you have Show removed episode links enabled under Tools > Options > Downloads/Podcasts?
frankenpod
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 9:08 am

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by frankenpod »

Firstly, I do apologise for not getting back to this thread for such an absurdly long time. I've been busy, and just decided to live with the phantom database entries (also my assumption was you'd ask me to upload my database files to be fixed and I honestly don't feel like doing that, I just want some utility or menu option that will simply strip out the null links). But it's annoying me again, and I have time again, so I'm back!

I have 4.1.25.1895, mm gold. (though most of those ghost entries appeared when using previous versions)

Do I want to enable that option? I would like to have episodes still shown as available for download even if I delete a previously downloaded one. When it works correctly, if I delete an episode it goes back to showing it as a potential download link. Wouldn't enabling that option simply be hiding the problem rather than fixing it?

Also, is there a procedure I could follow to remove and completely recreate the database while hanging on to my existing smart playlists and other settings?


Edit - I disabled that option and it does indeed at least hide those null database entries. Not sure that's a complete solution, but I guess it's an improvement.
Lowlander
Posts: 56491
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by Lowlander »

I'd try to capture the problems happening in a debug log (step 4b) as there might be a bug causing the problem: https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... p?f=7&t=69
frankenpod
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 9:08 am

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by frankenpod »

Thanks for replying more promptly than I did.


Though that link goes to a 'topic does not exist' page. Is it outdated?
Lowlander
Posts: 56491
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by Lowlander »

fixed
frankenpod
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 9:08 am

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by frankenpod »

Correction - unselecting that option _doesn't_ make the ghost entries go away, they are still there. But for some reason there are far fewer of them than there were when I first posted about this, the great mass of them have mysteriously healed themselves somehow, over the last few months/MM updates. But a number are still there and they still appear regardless of that option. Weird.
Lowlander
Posts: 56491
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: loads of broken links/unknown location in database

Post by Lowlander »

Any old corruptions may not be fixed by that, but maybe no new ones will occur.
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