Lost settings on reboot

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MattK

Lost settings on reboot

Post by MattK »

Hi all. I just got back from vacation, turned my PC on, and started a couple apps including MM5 (Portable). MM5 looked like how I left it. A non-related app had an update and needed a restart, so I closed out of everything and rebooted.

When I started MM5 (from pinned icon on taskbar, still pointed to portable folder), it started up like it was a brand new installation. I'm not sure why, but of course the main thing I'm interested in is reconnecting to my database and settings--in a non-destructive way!

I looked in your FAQ and see the default location for files. I assume re-pointing MM5 Portable to the MM5.db file is easy enough (although you telling me how here would be appreciated), but what about my settings? The tabs I had open? Views, sorting, column widths, etc?

Not sure if this helps:
In the Portable folder, the last modified timestamp on these files is 11:58am, which I believe is from when I first started it:
MediaMonkey.ini
mediamonkey.m3u8
MM5.DB
persistent.json
persistent.json.bck
The ini file is blank... the db file is 200mg, seems right. The json file is 251kb of "stuff", probably fine.

In my local AppData/Roaming folder, the date modified timestamp on the material design file and the other 3 folders are 12:04pm, which is probably my reboot time. The modify timestamp on the matching files from above is 12:32pm, probably when I exited before coming here. The db file is very small, the json very small, the ini is 14kb and has settings, but I'm guessing default settings.

Hopefully I haven't bored you to tears by now. How do I safely reconnect my portable MM5 to the settings I had when I first turned on my PC this morning? I made backups of the five files above, mainly the 200mb db file. Thanks in advance for any advice and help!
Peke
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Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by Peke »

Hi,
Inside portable\mediamonkey ini check if you have:

Code: Select all

[Portable]
IsPortable=1
If not then add them as first two lines

Then start portable again. If it works then you most likely you can delete AppData/Roaming/MediaMonkey5 folder. I would rename it to AppData/Roaming/1MediaMonkey5 just for tests before I delete it.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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MattK

Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by MattK »

No, it was blank. I added your two lines of code and tried again, and it worked! Thanks.

First though, it did give me a popup:
Do you want to use the database and settings from MediaMonkey 4 or MediaMonkey 5?
MediaMonkey5 | Select Folder | Cancel

I chose Select Folder, and pointed it to the Portable folder.

Next, I renamed the AppData folder as you suggested. I exited MM5 and re-entered, and it still worked.

I'll try rebooting overnight, but it's probably fine. Any reason I should know why it lost the settings in the first place?
Peke
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Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by Peke »

MattK wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:06 pm I'll try rebooting overnight, but it's probably fine. Any reason I should know why it lost the settings in the first place?
Windows and some other app on your system assuming MM settings are junk and cleaned it :(
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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MattK

Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by MattK »

Thank you for the fast and helpful responses!
Peke
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Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by Peke »

Hi,
My pleasure. Sorry for what happened to you. Try to find app that have done it and complain.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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Rob_S
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Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by Rob_S »

I would not be so quick to blame "other apps" or "registry cleaners" for MM problems with saved settings.

MM5 is as it stands currently and as evidenced by the postings on this forum, is well known for various odd quirks that happen from time to time, and one must ask why would those "other apps" or "registry cleaners" would pick on Mediamonkey alone and not any of our other applications, which are much more consistent and solid.

ps I just started min eup to see what build I was running, and it froze with an error message which I submitted just now, task-manager "end task" left me a blank window I can't get rid of.
Using 5.1 LATEST alpha or beta build on Windows 10, HP laptop, managing 13k tracks
Peke
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Re: Lost settings on reboot

Post by Peke »

Rob_S wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:16 pm I would not be so quick to blame "other apps" or "registry cleaners" for MM problems with saved settings.
Rob_S wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:16 pmone must ask why would those "other apps" or "registry cleaners" would pick on MediaMonkey alone and not any of our other applications, which are much more consistent and solid.
I am not blaming any third party specifically and it is never MM alone. It is just that some have MM in cleaning (like Cached Album Arts) but also some can clean MM DB and Settings. I checked MM code and can only start with clean library in cases when:
1. Using File -> Manage Library -> Clean library
2. When MM5.DB is missing
3. When MM5.DB is corrupted (Missing tables/indexes/....) which then rename MM5.DB -> MM5.corrupted
4. When MM5.DB is locked for MM to open and write to it. I have not seen that in MM5, but with MM4 it is possible when multiple MMs access same MM.DB (they can be seen in task manager, or multiple PCs access same .DB ) which then rename MM5.DB -> MM5.corrupted (To be confirmed in real life, I tried but failed to trigger)
5. EDIT: I have seen that it can happen if Windows decide to put MM into VirtualStore and then release it without restoring files to original place.

On other hand I have personally sent number of Emails to WEB Root, Norton, CCleaner, ... to White list MM settings files and MM.DB. Some did replied and excluded MM essential files from their apps, some made things more flexible so taht user can check what is cleaned, some did not replied, but issue got fixed. Unfortunately issue occasionally returns, MM updates, evolves, improves and we change what are important files for MM functioning correctly.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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