Both the Library and Playlists in MediaMonkey link to an entry for the file in the database. This entry is linked to the driveID. If you do the change correctly and update the driveID both the Library and Playlists will work.

[quote="tom stearns"]I've received an email stating that you haven't heard from me in 144 hours. I bet you'd get a different answer from lowlander or the author of Locate/Update file location!!

This issue is well on the way to solution, using the Locate/Update script. The instructions for use are thoroughly scrambled and ambiguous but I have cracked the code and gotten at least one of my systems sorted so am very please. I'll work on the bigger HDD system and get it brought back to sanity. Let me point out that the entire problem and all this chatter stems from Media Monkey's use of HDD serial number rather than just the drive letter for file paths. Why you do this is beyond my ken; I assume there's some code-writer imperative that drives it but it causes a great deal of trouble I am sure. Anyway., I am on the path to salvation and many thanks for all the attempts put forth by lowdander along the way. I ain't no computer geek but I can suss out a problem once I understand the wacko basis.[/quote]

Why are the playlists unpopulated when the external drive is changed? I find that almost all of my playlist info is missing, even after I use the Update/Locate script to get my library back (and it works very well, thanks very much! Confusing/ambiguous instructions but once you put on your cryptographer hat and decode them, it's a dream to use! If I knew what the reason was I might be able to reconstruct the playlists. But as I typically send an addition to my HDD to a playlist immediately after I rip q CD or copy in a hirez download when I know exactly what sort of music it is, I am helpless to rebuild in most cases from the HDD files or the Media Monkey library--I no longer know what sort of music I've got without playing it.

It's done so that users with external drives don't run into issues when Windows assigns a different drive letter (by default Windows assigns the next available).

Hi,
Can you give me Ticket ID so that I can check it out what and why that happened?

rivorson is right. if you for example your music is on your external drive then if you use same MM.DB (MMW library file) on multiple PCs (usually Drive letter would be different) then MMW would recognize that External drive no matter what PC you use it due the Drive Partition ID.

In MM5 we will be introducing an easier way to allocate/pair drive ID with new HDD Partition either due Format or drive change where file structure is same.

Using DriveID is beneficial for external drives. Any time you plug in a a removable drive it is not guaranteed to be given the same drive letter. It might be given a different drive letter each time so looking for the files by drive letter could fail but DriveID consistently identifies the same drive every time.

Moving files between drives isn't something that many people will do often so it's better to be able to find the files when the drive letter changes.

I've received an email stating that you haven't heard from me in 144 hours. I bet you'd get a different answer from lowlander or the author of Locate/Update file location!!

This issue is well on the way to solution, using the Locate/Update script. The instructions for use are thoroughly scrambled and ambiguous but I have cracked the code and gotten at least one of my systems sorted so am very please. I'll work on the bigger HDD system and get it brought back to sanity. Let me point out that the entire problem and all this chatter stems from Media Monkey's use of HDD serial number rather than just the drive letter for file paths. Why you do this is beyond my ken; I assume there's some code-writer imperative that drives it but it causes a great deal of trouble I am sure. Anyway., I am on the path to salvation and many thanks for all the attempts put forth by lowdander along the way. I ain't no computer geek but I can suss out a problem once I understand the wacko basis.

Do not forget to backup MM.DB before you change anything in order to be able to revert any changes.

It's easier than File > Locate Moved/Missing Files, with that one you'll need to verify the matches before applying.

As Lowlander says, MediaMonkey identifies drives by the unique DriveID, not by drive letter. This means that it is looking for a particular physical drive regardless of the drive letter that is assigned by Windows. It's looking for the old 1TB HDD; it's not looking for whatever drive happens to be E: right now.

The Update Location of Files in Database script is easy to use and it will update all of your tracks to refer to the new drive.

[quote="Lowlander"]MediaMonkey uses driveID which can be updated: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63823&hilit=update+location+of+files+in+database[/quote]
This looks like a very complicated procedure and somewhere in the string it is said that it is "dangerous."


Here's another statement of the problem:

When i use an older HDD in the laptop--one which was produce in Septewmber of 2015--and also use the same external HDD which was in use at that time--a 1TB drive--the system works. The path information reades "E(music).....".

If I now remove the "old" 1 TB HDD and replace it with the new 2TB HDD, which includes a copy of the same data which is on the 1TB HDD, the path reads "9music)..... " ie no drive letter.

In both cases , the laptop recognizes the excternal drive as "E" but in the case of the 2TB drive MEdia Monkey does not seem to understand that this is "E" and thus does not have access to the files.

How do I fix this problem? Is the 2TB HDD corrupted in some way, ie should I format it and then reload the music information?

MediaMonkey uses driveID which can be updated: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63823&hilit=update+location+of+files+in+database

[quote="Lowlander"]They are right there for each version. Alternative: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8811&sd=d

You can install it right over the existing install, your current Library will be retained.

This means that whatever is in the Library (inlcuding Playlists) will remain as-is.[/quote]

As the current playlists and library appear to be corrupted I am not sure this iswhat I want. But I will make an attempt.

Let me try a different approach:

I periodically make a clone (ie total copy and bootable) of the harddrive in my laptop. I have one which was made in September of 2015; the MediaMonkey DB file is around 27MB ion this drive so I have installed it in the laptop because at that time the system was working properly..

When I insert this cloned drive into my laptop, the O/S recognizes the external HDD with the 1.2TB of data. However, Media Monkey, although it has all the playlists, cannot play them.. I think the problem is a conflict in the path information ie the drive letter in the MediaMonkeyDB does not match the assigned drive letter for the external HDD.

Can you tell me how to find out what drive letter MediaMonkey needs to reach the external files? I could go thru the alphabet, trying every possibility, but I would like to know where this information is stored. It does not seem to be in the MM.DB becasue when I hover over the playlist I get an expression of the path which does not include the drive lettee. It does give the assigned name ie "music" and the folder name but not the drive letter.

They are right there for each version. Alternative: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8811&sd=d

You can install it right over the existing install, your current Library will be retained.

This means that whatever is in the Library (inlcuding Playlists) will remain as-is.

Thanks for your various repsonses. The link you provide takes me to a knowledgebase which discusses various earlier versions. I need a download link. Where would I find the library of available downloads WITH LINKS so I can get one?

If I had a download on my PC, would I delete the existing Mediamonkey program or overwrite it?

I assume the new install could find the data base file ie the playlists, music in the library etc as well s the actual music files, as these were organized entirely by Media Monkey?

[quote="tom stearns"]I have migrated to a larger HDD (2TB vs 1TB) but the new one is a copy of the original 1TB with no deletions.[/quote]How?

[quote="tom stearns"]Again, how do I download and instal an earlier version to avoid the beta v4 1.18.?[/quote][quote="Lowlander"]If you have an older copy (backup) of the database you could revert to it. You can also try reinstalling MediaMonkey. Older versions: http://www.mediamonkey.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Index/16/software[/quote]