New B2 - import problem.

[Pat Martindale]

Hi.. I need to call on the collected expertise of the forum please.

Brand new B2, arrived yesterday. My second one.  My intention is to load it from the back-up hard drive I have from  B2 number one.   This backup was made by exporting to USB on the B2 No.1, so I know it is in the correct format etc..

Unpacked the new one, checked internal SD card was correctly seated, powered up and updated software to latest.   Powered down in the correct way...

This morning, connected back-up drive to USB C via a powered USB hub.

Powered on B2 - it scanned USB and showed the expected 27000 plus tracks - all FLAC

Selected "Import from C" - set it going and let it do its stuff. Checked periodically.

B2 went into "Standby" after importing 3000 plus tracks.  Powered down, checked HDD stats which showed the tracks were there.

Cannot restart "Import" as it will start from track one - it is not incremental - so  I formatted the internal HDD and started again.   Same problem.

Reformatted and restarted Import again, this time from USB A - that one is still running.

I seem to recall seeing something in the forum about others with problems trying to do "large" imports but cannot find a solution there.

I suppose in the event of large import failure I could transfer from the back-up drive in smaller amounts using another portable HD butI'm puzzled why this should happen.  There are no overheating issues, the 2TB back up drive is fine, all connections good.

I am hopeful that this attempt will succeed but in the event of another failure can anyone  give me any ideas of where to look for the problem please? 

Thank you..

[Mike W]

Hi, did you do a software upgrade after you first powered it up? There has been an upgrade to help with export/import issues.

Mike

[Pat Martindale]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I did.  As I said above, it was the second thing I did. I know there have been "issues" with internal SD cards becoming loose so I checked that, put the screws back in the unit and updated the software

via web upgrade.  My idea was to get the unit ready to begin import this morning.

The "Import to A" I started half an hour ago is still running so fingers crossed..

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Pat,

This is a real puzzler!  First of all, the problem that you refer to regarding 'large' imports was fixed back in July 2020.  That was where an Import would fail after about 4.5 hours or so.  I have been doing full Exports and Imports on my B2s, sometimes on a daily basis (I did six full Export & Import cycles this week for testing purposes) using a collection of about 20,000 items, and I have not had any sort of problem like this on my B2s, both of which are on 'B2B Mar 22 2021' software.

However, you have done the 'Web Upgrade' process so that should not be the problem.  Are you on 'B2B Mar 22 2021' software version?

Looking at the figure that you have supplied, it looks like the Import is stopping at about 2.5 hours (into what should be about 21 hours).  Can you say if it stops at the same point each time?

I would go into the WedUI and open up 'Settings & Status' then select 'Debug'.  Then keep an eye on the contents of the debug window and see if you can catch the point where it stops and see if there is an error condition shown.

Regards,

Petrer

On Saturday, 8 May 2021 at 11:17:27 UTC+1 pat.mar...@gmail.com wrote:

[Pat Martindale]

Thanks Peter for your reply..

Yes, the software is showing the correct version - checked it after upgrade last night.

I can't say if the import stops at the same point - forgot to look second time around but if this current one fails then I will make note.  Around 2.5 hours to failure sounds about right..

I will leave it running for now and if this one fails go through the Debug procedure.

[Pat Martindale]

Failed again - this time at 4091 tracks...

I have checked (and rechecked) the software is up to date. The next thing is to go through Debug..

Will update here tomorrow..

[Peter Lowham]

HI Pat,

Yes, keep us posted on the progress.  I see from your first post that you are using a powered USB hub for the connection.  Is the powered hub required or do you have it there for multiple devices?

I have just remembered that last June 2020, when I started to look at the 'large Export & Import' problem, I did have a problem with USB HDD intermittent 'dropouts'. It turned out that these were being caused by the Bluetooth dongle.  I removed this from the B2 and the USB dropouts stopped.  Just a thought to keep in mind.

Regards,

Peter.

[Pat Martindale]

Thanks Peter - good thought.  The powered hub is there for no other reason than that's the way I always connect up the back-up drive.  There are no other devices connected to it.  I haven't

enabled Bluetooth on the B2 and the dongle is not inserted.  I wonder if it is worth connecting the external HD directly?

I am going to reformat the B2 and have another go.  This time, I may try using a second external drive and doing an "incremental" back-up, offering a few directories at a time.

Regards,

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Pat,

I would be inclined to remove the powered hub and connect the USB HDD directly, at least in the meantime.  The golden rule for me is 'when in trouble, simplify the situation as far as possible'.

Regards,

Peter.

[Daniel Taylor]

Having the powered USB hub eliminates the variable of whether or not there is enough power being supplied to the USB drive.  Taking the hub out introduces that unknown.

[JFBUK]

Hi Pat,

Another thought.

Are you able to see your existing B2 and the new B2 using NAS  from a PC or MAC ?

Its possible to copy your existing music files over the network though it could take a very long time depending on the speed of your network but it will eliminate the USB drive from the task.

You could also stagger the transfer, moving groups of files at a time.

I ran a test from my B2 to another device on my home network using WInSCP and was getting about a 10mb per sec transfer rate over wireless.

Let us know if you want to try and one of of us can give more assistance on how to do it if you need it.

John

[Pat Martindale]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed in the hope of solving my issue..

I tried a couple more times to import from the external HD, with and without the use of a powered hub.  The attempts failed at some random point.  It was almost as though the transfer simply "timed out".

I then tried splitting the download portions into smaller lumps using a second external drive.  All went well for the first couple of goes then again, it stopped.

I have decided to transfer the files over my network - slower, but now progressing well.    I can't tell you what the exact transfer rate is.  I am using a wired connection through my Linux machine - new B2 connected as NAS - and so far

everything seems OK.

I appreciate the help and advice. I don't know why the files won't simply transfer and unfortunately I cannot justify any more time to trying to find out.  I shall put it down as a "glich"..

Thanks everyone ...  Pat