Backing up MMW4 for Windows reinstall

[MusicKing]

Hey guys,

How do I properly back up MMW4 when I'm planning for a clean Windows reinstall? I see a lot of 'Backup' hits popping up in the search bar, but so far not a single one answering my question.

I'm not a programmer expert or something, so please keep it simple (if that's possible with this program).

Thank you in advance!

[Friedrich]

How do I properly back up MMW4 when I'm planning for a clean Windows reinstall?

What is it that you want to preserve for the new installation?
Saving time by not having to rescan your files?
Customiziations you made?
(Never did a backup, but always made sure that essential informations are stored in tags or filenames)

[MusicKing]

More like the (smart) playlists, I've got quite a few now, and I don't want to recreate them all from scratch. And the MMA settings for my phone. Stuff like that.

[IanRTaylorUK]

You might want to try using the Backup 6 add-on:

https://www.mediamonkey.com/addons/brow ... /backup-1/

viewtopic.php?t=7746

I would also suggest that you Backup then check Files to Edit then Maintain Library and get a second backup. Use the 2nd backup for the clean install!

I am not certain about Auto-Playlists as I do not use them (I tend to use collections and create normal playlists from them).

[Lowlander]

You can use the Addon if you wish, but the important thing to backup is the database: https://www.mediamonkey.com/support/kno ... y-library/

All other parts are settings or Addons that can be re-done, but the database has information like Playlists and Play History that would be lost if the database is lost.

[MusicKing]

You might want to try using the Backup 6 add-on:

https://www.mediamonkey.com/addons/brow ... /backup-1/

viewtopic.php?t=7746

I would also suggest that you Backup then check Files to Edit then Maintain Library and get a second backup. Use the 2nd backup for the clean install!

I am not certain about Auto-Playlists as I do not use them (I tend to use collections and create normal playlists from them).

Thank you!! But uhm, what do you exactly mean with '....then check Files to Edit then Maintain Library.....'? I'm not familiar with that part. Can you explain that? And how do you import all that when reinstalling MM4?

[MusicKing]

You can use the Addon if you wish, but the important thing to backup is the database: https://www.mediamonkey.com/support/kno ... y-library/

All other parts are settings or Addons that can be re-done, but the database has information like Playlists and Play History that would be lost if the database is lost. So that's not really convenient.

The link that you gave me is explained for MM5, not 4. And what do you mean exactly with:

All other parts are settings or Addons that can be re-done, but the database has information like Playlists and Play History that would be lost if the database is lost.

So everything else has to be redone from sratch, is that it?

[IanRTaylorUK]

The BackUp6 addon for MMW4 creates a backup of:
1). MM.DB the database file of the library that includes Playlists, History etc.
2). The MediaMonkey.ini file - a thousand or so lines of setting for both MMW4 and its addons, skins, URLs etc.
3). Addon Scripts that support various addons e.g. Editing, Export M3Us, Lyricator, Reports, Stats
4). A "restore" script (not certain this will always work).

I think that the MMW5 backup (under File / Manage Database) only creates a backup of the MM5.DB database file of the library. The backup file name is something like MM_yyyymmddhhmmss.db e.g. MM_20211119091451 for the 2021 backup created on the 19Nov around 9:14am.

If you want to "see" the content of the MM5.DB (or the MM.DB for MMW4) then DB Browser for SQL Lite will list the ~60 or so tables of data and indeed show the contents. However, you would probably want to do this on a "copy"!!!

In the case of Playlists, there a number of tables with data - one with name / file details e.g. AC-DC - Are You Ready 2016.m3u which in my case has a ID number of 2953 and is called Playlists. Next is a table called PlaylistSongs that gives the specific content of the aforementioned Playlist AND the order. In the case of this album and my library it is 34 tracks (probably sorted by disc number and track number). This is the sort of data you could loose if you don't have a backup of the MM.DB or MM5.DB

The relationships between these tables is shown in a schema here: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/Databa ... _%28MM4%29
but seems the refer to an earlier version. The previous is just a little example of the data within!

The thing is it can take many hours to get your own "library / database" correct so it is really quite useful to keep a backup. In my opinion BackUp6 (together with Export M3U) does a more comprehensive backup for MMW4 than currently offered in MMW5. However, since MMW5 is still evolving with a new release each week, I would not get too hung up about backing up the INI file, Add-Ons and Skins! Just my opinion! It is easy to re-install.

Similarly, MMW5 has an option to backup "selected" playlists. MMW4 Export M3U is slightly better as you can "change" the path for the tracks as you are exporting and appears to be faster.

[Lowlander]

In all MediaMonkey versions you can manually or via backup software backup the database file (mm.db) by creating a copy of it.

Covers MediaMonkey 4 too.

The database is the important file. However as mentioned above the Backup Addon can also backup other parts, so it's quicker to setup a new copy of MediaMonkey.

[MusicKing]

Thanks for the tips guys. But once I've made my backups and I reinstall MM4 on a fresh Windows, how do I import the playlists in MM4? Or other files for that sake?

[Lowlander]

Playlists are stored in the database, so you just place the copy of the database in the new PC. You'll need to transfer your media files yourself to a new PC and it's best to leave them in the exact same folder structure (drive letter can be different though). More on moving to a new PC: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/index. ... w_computer

[MusicKing]

Playlists are stored in the database, so you just place the copy of the database in the new PC. You'll need to transfer your media files yourself to a new PC and it's best to leave them in the exact same folder structure (drive letter can be different though). More on moving to a new PC: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/index. ... w_computer

Why is it such a pain for MM to export and import data Lowlander? You know that well, yet you guys refuse to do something about that. Such a shame......

[Lowlander]

You just take the database file with you, no need to import/export.

[IanRTaylorUK]

Why is it such a pain for MM to export and import data Lowlander? You know that well, yet you guys refuse to do something about that. Such a shame......

I regularly Export my Playlists from MMW4 using the Add-On Export / Import Playlists for Child Nodes.

Two versions exported:
a). a MMW4 version with the drive / path
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:258,The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (Original)
D:\OneDrive - THE OCTOBER CLUB\Music\The Cult\Sanctuary MCMXCIII (EP)\She Sells Sanctuary (Original).mp3

b). a version for import into MMW5 with relative path
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:258, The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (Original)
..\Music\The Cult\Sanctuary MCMXCIII (EP)\She Sells Sanctuary (Original).mp3

MMW5 then points to the B version of M3Us and imports with no problem every time I rescan. MMW5 will show if there is a problem as the playlist tile artwork is blank. It seems to do a good job of checking vs those that already exist and puts "new" playlists in the Imported Playlist sub node.

At the moment, I have MMW5 running on a separate laptop so I have experience of it working well on same or another PC.