MediaMonkey Database or Settings are lost

Some users have reported occasionally losing their settings or having the database disappear upon restarting MediaMonkey. This can occur if registry and system cleaner apps such as TuneUp, CCleaner, Advanced System Care, or Webroot delete portions of the registry or files that store the MediaMonkey settings or database.

MediaMonkey stores its settings (assuming it’s not run in ‘Portable Mode’) in the Windows registry and the database along with some other settings in your Windows user profile folders (see MediaMonkey settings and database locations).

Prevention

To prevent this you can either:

  1. Exclude MediaMonkey folders and registry from cleaning
  2. Install MediaMonkey in ‘Portable Mode’ which doesn’t store any configuration data to the system registry

For example, Webroot may delete the database and config files in ../appdata/roaming/mediamonkey . To stop it, in Webroot go into Advanced Settings then click on System Optimizer on the left side of the page. Then scroll down until you see “Media Monkey – Recent Playlist and User Preferences” and uncheck it.

Fix

Sometimes cleaners just modify the registry:

The value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Local AppData

can be changed from:
C:\Documents and Settings\-YOUR USERNAME-\Local Settings\Application Data
to:
C:\Documents and Settings\NetworkService\Local Settings\Application Data
by another application and therefore the MediaMonkey Library appears empty.

To fix it, go to Start -> Run, and type regedit
Then, find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Local AppData
Double click “Local AppData” and change the value to C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data

 (YOUR USERNAME needs to be replaced with your Windows Username)

Library Recovery

Often the database will remain intact and instead a new database is being used. If you previously set a custom location for your database in the .ini file make sure this is still set correctly. Otherwise:

  1. Search your full PC for MM.DB in Explorer (Default Database Locations) and make sure that hidden files are included in the search
  2. Use Date Modified for each MM.DB file to determine which is likely the correct database and which is the current one in use
  3. Replace the current MM.DB with the correct one or point MediaMonkey to the correct database: Changing the Default Database Location

NOTES

  • Editing the Windows Registry is not without risk. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the Windows Registry through online searches prior to modifying it.

Applies to: ,

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