Songbird - Changing Drive Letters Issue

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August 18, 2009 - 4:21pm

Jeremy Cox

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Songbird - Changing Drive Letters Issue

Posted this in the news story for the release version, and was directed here:

After updating from the a Developer preivew release to the final Songbird Portable 1.2, moved my Music and songbird Portable directory from my external drive (U:) to my internal drive (X:). The relative paths have not changed (Music and SongbirdPortable) With the external drive unplugged, songbird can't see any of my music, as it is still looking at the external drive letter instead of the internal one. Clicking on a song that won't play and choosing show this file reveals that it is looking for the file on U.

I asked about this during the test releases, and the response was that this should be fixed before the final release. Was that not the case, did this slip through the cracks, or am I the only one experiencing a bug here? I can try a fresh install and then move that, but I really don't want to rebuild my library from scratch (with ratings and playlists and all).

August 18, 2009 - 4:32pm

Gizmokid2005

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We should be able to preserve all settings

Lets start here.

Post up both the old paths and new paths to SongbirdPortable.exe and to your music folder.

Also, please paste the contents of your \SongbirdPortable\Data\settings\SongbirdPortableSettings.ini also.

Thanks

August 18, 2009 - 4:51pm

(Reply to #2) #3

Jeremy Cox

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Old

Old Path:
U:\SongbirdPortable
U:\Music
Old ini:
[SongbirdPortableSettings]
LastProfileDirectory=U:\SongbirdPortable\Data\profile
LastDriveLetter=U:
LastExeDir=U:\SongbirdPortable

New Path:
V:\SongbirdPortable
V:\Music
New ini:
[SongbirdPortableSettings]
LastProfileDirectory=V:\SongbirdPortable\Data\profile
LastDriveLetter=V:
LastExeDir=V:\SongbirdPortable

The path changes depending on what computer I am on, but that is the one I just now tested. U works, V doesn't.

But I am guessing the problem is that the path including the U is stored in the main@library.songbirdnest.com.db file. Path's stored in there include the drive listing at the front. I haven't found a way to make that relative from inside the program, and although the database is supposed to be a sqlite 3 database, I don't want to change it manually.

August 18, 2009 - 5:00pm

(Reply to #3) #4

John T. Haller

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Start Fresh

How about starting fresh with your music on the drive and Songbird in the proper location. Then import your music into Songird Portable. Then move the drive between PCs.

Things can get out of sync easily if you go moving things around one at a time. The launcher updates your music database on each launch from your old drive letter to your new one.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

November 6, 2009 - 9:17pm

(Reply to #4) #5

coolone2

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i need help too

for the library, I switched computers and my drive letter was changed. When i started songbird up, it popped up a message that said my library was corrupted. I chose to delete my library, I it shows the thing again. I choose continue anyways, and all it does is give me an error with a bunch of symbols at the top left of the screen.

portable app

August 18, 2009 - 7:23pm

(Reply to #5) #6

Gizmokid2005

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Along with

what John said. Everything is fixed in the launcher, both of the database files, the prefs.js file, the .ini files, and the .tree file are all fixed in the launcher upon launch.

August 19, 2009 - 10:47am

(Reply to #6) #7

Jeremy Cox

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Reinstall

I archived my old version, installed fresh, imported my media, and set up a few playlists. Now I can change the drive letters and the music is still there.

A minor note: all of the album artwork disappears. It is there on the original letter (U) and not on the new letter (X). Switching back to the original causes it to reappear. Not sure where or how that information is stored.

So something about the upgrade process or the old library causes the letter replacement not to work. Is there a good way to import an old library that should allow it to be portable? I really don't want to deal with restarting all of my track ratings and playlists.

Thanks.

August 19, 2009 - 11:18am

(Reply to #7) #8

Gizmokid2005

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It looks like there are more

It looks like there are more fields in the database that need to be updated. I just checked with the developers, and it's something i'm going to have to majorly keep an eye on as they say it's unlikely to stay the same between releases. I'll write something up to keep track of these changes too.

This library you had is from an older version of songbird? Which one?

August 19, 2009 - 1:20pm

(Reply to #8) #9

Jeremy Cox

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Its not an "old" library, but

Its not an "old" library, but it was originally generated by the non portable Songbird 1.2, and then I imported it into the development test 2 release.

It seems like it wouldn't be terribly hard for the developers to allow for relative paths in songbird (as an option) which would make your job much easier. But I suppose that isn't their top priority.

August 19, 2009 - 1:27pm

(Reply to #9) #10

John T. Haller

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Yeah

It would be the same thing as moving a Songbird library from one PC to another, it'd break. The library in Songbird Portable is specific to Songbird Portable at this point. Eventually, we may work out a way to update the DB, say with a custom import tool.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 20, 2009 - 11:50am

(Reply to #10) #11

Jeremy Cox

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It turns out my

It turns out my library/install was pretty messed up anyway, it had been looking to the non portable location on my hard drive for some of its information in any case. Probably a result of multiple in place version upgrades and a bug in one of the early DP releases. So I will have to start over.

Anyone know how to import and export smart playlists? I had one with about 30 conditions, and exporting it just resulted in a file list. There are plugins to export and import normal playlists and file ratings and such, but smart playlists reimport as dumb ones.

August 20, 2009 - 12:21pm

(Reply to #11) #12

Gizmokid2005

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I can't say for sure

I can't say for sure exactly...you can try their help pages or on the irc://irc.mozilla.org/songbird irc room too.

August 18, 2009 - 4:33pm

#13

joby_toss

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I am having a similar issue:

I am having a similar issue: I installed Portable Songbird in "D:\Downloads\SongbirdPortable" and configured it there. I then decided to move the "SongbirdPortable" folder in "D:\Multimedia\". When I started the app from the new location the library was empty and I noticed it recreated a folder in the old location "D:\Downloads\SongbirdPortable\Data\profile\db".
Now it can't recreate a new library.
I even tried to create an ini file using "ProfileDirectory=Data\profile" but nothing changed.
Is this a bug or what? Someone else having one of these issues?
I am using WinXpProSp3x86.
Thanks!

I am a 3D body trapping a single dimension soul !

August 18, 2009 - 4:36pm

(Reply to #13) #14

John T. Haller

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Don't Change

You need to install Songbird and your media to a single location and then don't change either one. It can't handle things moving around.

To reset it, delete your SongbirdPortable\Data directory.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 18, 2009 - 4:56pm

(Reply to #14) #15

Jeremy Cox

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If you delete your \Data

If you delete your \Data directory, you lose your entire library information, including ratings and playlists, and your extensions. It will act like you have never run the program before. Probably want to be sure and backup before doing this so you can try to recover things afterwards.

August 18, 2009 - 4:59pm

(Reply to #15) #16

John T. Haller

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Just installed

Considering he JUST installed it about 30 minutes ago, I don't think it'll be an issue.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 18, 2009 - 5:03pm

(Reply to #16) #17

joby_toss

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All I needed to delete was

All I needed to delete was the "prefs.js" file from "Data\profile" folder.
I then needed to accept the license again and choose the language.
This way I didn't loose my settings.

Now: why is this file (prefs.js) creating problems? The whole purpose of a portable app is to be able to move around without losing the settings. This really needs to be fixed!

Thanks!

I am a 3D body trapping a single dimension soul !

August 18, 2009 - 5:07pm

(Reply to #17) #18

John T. Haller

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Proper Use

It's not an issue. You install it once to a portable device and select your music library. Then you move the device between PCs. And it all works. That's what a portable app is.

Portable apps aren't supposed to be arbitrarily moved around between folders or independently of the data they reference. A good chunk of them will break when you do this.

The best thing to do is install your portable apps to a given device at X:\PortableApps\AppNamePortable. Then you can move them from one device to another when you get a new one, or to your C:\ drive if you decide to run them locally.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 18, 2009 - 5:19pm

(Reply to #18) #19

joby_toss

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The only reason I assumed

The only reason I assumed this is a real problem is because neither FirefoxPortable or ThunderbirdPortable behave this way. I am able to change their paths or folder names without problems.

Thanks for support!

P.S.: could this be a Songbird (not SongbirdPortable) bug?

I am a 3D body trapping a single dimension soul !

August 18, 2009 - 5:25pm

(Reply to #19) #20

John T. Haller

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Like I said, lots of apps work like this. While some apps will work when you change their paths, others won't. Doing so is not a supported feature, nor is it likely to be. I know at least 6 other apps we publish that will similarly break or at least lose some settings when you start renaming their paths.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 18, 2009 - 7:49pm

(Reply to #20) #21

Gizmokid2005

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This is an issue with

This is an issue with SongbirdPortable, and I'm going to see if I can maybe curb it a bit, but there's not a whole lot that can be done like John said.

August 18, 2009 - 7:33pm

#22

qwertymodo

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From what I can tell, the

From what I can tell, the bottom line is that the launcher can handle drive-letter changes, but not path changes. Songbird itself uses full paths. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the launcher only adjusts the first letter of that full path, because it has to do that for EVERY file in your library, basically a TON of string replacements. The doesn't (and shouldn't) rebuild the full path string from the relative paths.

So, if you moved from U:\PortableApps\SongbirdPortable to X:\PortableApps\SongbirdPortable you should have no problem. However, moving it to X:\SomeOtherFolder\SongbirdPortable would result in the launcher only changing the first part, so it would point to X:\PortableApps\SongbirdPortable NOT X:\SomeOtherFolder\SongbirdPortable. You say it's not changing at all, so there must be some check in the launcher that notices this discrepancy and avoids changing the letter at all, but I haven't looked at the source so I don't know. If I'm totally off base, someone can correct me on the mechanics, but the reason for the problem is still the same.

Basically, replacing U with X 10,000 is one thing, replacing whole path strings would be monstrous in an already slow-to-launch application. Plus it would have to check for and replace every subfolder path separately... bottom line, it will never work that way.

Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.

August 18, 2009 - 7:34pm

(Reply to #22) #23

John T. Haller

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SQL, too

It does string replacements in some files. But does actual SQL calls in others to change them. I know, I wrote the original calls

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

August 18, 2009 - 7:37pm

(Reply to #23) #24

qwertymodo

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Like I said, I don't know the

Like I said, I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure it does as few full path replacements as possible, right?

Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.

August 18, 2009 - 7:52pm

(Reply to #24) #25

Gizmokid2005

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The music doesn't support

The music doesn't support directory changes, the SQL calls only change the drive letter (that's something that /might/ be able to be modified in a future release, but doubtful due to the way the watch folders work), but the prefs files we can modify full paths if need be. This will be possible in a future release, at least as much as the app will allow.

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