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Support => Questions => Topic started by: Catstuff on April 12, 2021, 02:08:38 PM

Title: Help with moving music bee to a new machine
Post by: Catstuff on April 12, 2021, 02:08:38 PM
Hi I apologise if this has already been asked but I couldn't find anything the same and I'm battling against time with a laptop which is dying rapidly.

I would like to backup music bee so it will install on a new laptop in exactly the same format as now remembering everything.

My worries come from having transferred music bee previously from an old machine to the current one, and I lost all the internal settings and changes, playlists, etc. I had organised the music up to P and then had to go back to A because the new installation didn't recognise the files as the same files. So it was a case of having to go back and re-organise. Obviously, I don't want a repeat of this.

In previous versions of music bee.i had found a way to back up everything without copying the music. I don't have any space to copy the music to, but it is backed up. With the version that I currently have, 3.2.6902, I cannot find this option. I can't remember what the option used to be called. Import-export perhaps, but I'm not sure.
This is undoubtedly an old version of music bee, but my laptop cannot connect to the internet to update.

I'm running on windows 10 64 bit.

If someone could please talk me through the stages of what I need to do to back it up so that when I can get a new machine it will install easily I would be very grateful.
Please assume that you are advising a complete computer dunce!!

Many thanks in advance.

Title: Re: Help with moving music bee to a new machine
Post by: phred on April 12, 2021, 02:24:18 PM
Hi I apologise if this has already been asked but I couldn't find anything the same and I'm battling against time with a laptop which is dying rapidly.
Many, many times.
The first thing I would do is to update MB to current since the version you're using is more than three years old.
Or use the portable version in which case you can simply copy the entire MB directory from the old PC to the new one.
If you don't want to do that, then I suggest you start reading from this:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Agetmusicbee.com%2Fforum+move+to+new+PC&k1=-1&kaj=u&kak=-1&kao=-1&kap=-1&kaq=-1&kau=-1&kav=1&kax=-1&kl=wt-wt&kp=-2&kz=-1&kah=us-en%2Cnl-nl&t=h_&ia=web
Title: Re: Help with moving music bee to a new machine
Post by: Catstuff on April 12, 2021, 06:27:20 PM
Hi thanks for the reply. I've been trying with the portable version, but to be quite honest it's totally confusing. The links lead to forum posts which are specific for each person and there's a little bit of info to be gained from each one , but it's not enough. I don't know if music bee has ever compiled a step by step guide on how to do this? It would be really useful.

So , I have the portable version installed and the music files imported, they are on the same drive as stated, and I copied the playlists into the music bee folder but I'm still in the same position as it doesn't recognise the playlists at all. I clicked import playlists, but it doesn't import them.

I don't really see the difference between this solution and the way that I've always done it before. I can figure out most things that I need on music bee, but this is really not easy for us non techy people. Think that's why you get these kinds of questions asked so often.

So the questions are, how do I get the playlists recognised here, and then, how do I get the playlists to recognise the tracks on the portable drive instead of the c drive? (The file>advanced>remap command suggested on one post isn't available here.)

Thanks again.
Title: Re: Help with moving music bee to a new machine
Post by: frankz on April 12, 2021, 07:40:36 PM
I can figure out most things that I need on music bee, but this is really not easy for us non techy people. Think that's why you get these kinds of questions asked so often.
Thing is, it's a "techy" process.
So the questions are, how do I get the playlists recognised here, and then, how do I get the playlists to recognise the tracks on the portable drive instead of the c drive? (The file>advanced>remap command suggested on one post isn't available here.)
It's File->Library->Relink Music File Paths.  You need to do things exactly as they are advised if it's going to work.  

If you need help, you need to explain what you're doing and what you've already in a clear fashion.  "On computer one I...then I...then on computer two I installed Musicbee portable and..."  

Here's what I would do.

On Computer 1, if it's supported in your old, old version, export your layout View->Import Export->Export Panel Arrangement and save it somewhere on your computer
On Computer 1, if it's supported in your old, old version, export your settings Edit->Saved Settings->Save Settings Snapshot and save it somewhere on your computer
On Computer 1, File->Library->Open Library and make a mental note of where your library is located
On Computer 1,  Install MB Portable
On Computer 1, In MB Portable, View->Import Export->Import Panel Arrangement and open the panel file you saved
On Computer 1, In MB Portable, Edit->Saved Settings->Load Settings Snapshot and open the settings snapshot you saved
On Computer 1, Close MB Portable
On Computer 1, Open MB Portable
On Computer 1, In MB Portable File->Library->Open Library and verify it's the same library as before or open it if it's not.
On Computer 1, Close MB Portable
On Computer 1, Copy the entire folder where MB Portable is installed to a thumb drive or something
On Computer 2, Paste the folder in the same location as it was on Computer 1
Move Your Music Library MBL File and your Music Files from Computer 1 to Computer 2, preferably in the same base drive/folder location as they were on Computer 1.
On Computer 2, Open MB Portable to verify it's laid out the way you expect
On Computer 2, File->Library->Open Library and open your library if it isn't already
If you couldn't move the music files to the same named base drive/folder location, File->Library->Relink Music File Paths and put the Computer 1 location on the left (like C:\Music for example) and the Computer 2 location at the right (like E:\Music or whatever).  Just the part that has changed between the two installs.

Know that, because they are different computers, some settings may not work correctly on the new computer.  Different fonts, etc. You will need to manage those things manually if that's the case.  "Techy"

This is not a complete step by step guide.  It's more like a list of signposts along the way. No two systems are alike. Things will come up along the way that you will need to figure out using logic and your experience using MB. When it's done, some things will likely not seem right and you will need to figure out how to fix them.  This could probably get you most of the way there, though.

Good luck.
Title: Re: Help with moving music bee to a new machine
Post by: Catstuff on April 12, 2021, 08:59:32 PM
Ok thank you very much for the process. It is clear and not too techy!!
By the way, I like my old old version of music bee. It does the job just fine.