Come back JB7, all is forgiven

[Roc Walker]

I've had a B2 for about seven weeks now and I wish I had spent the money on repairing the JB7 instead.  Sure, it has some useful features like being able to control (some of the functions) from my phone but it has done some wierd things as well.  I backed up the JB7 a few days before it started to do its own thing and I had about 1100 albums on it. I transferred the backup to the B2 and I find that some of the albums have not transferred across.  What's more, the B2 seems to have decided that most of the albums have Russell Watson as the artist.  His "La voce" album was the first album we ever loaded onto the JB7 and I think that the B2 has taken that as the default setting.

I am tired of going through all the albums and renaming them. Where they are orchestral  classical music I am going to have to dig out my CD collection to find out who the orchestra/ conductor was although this would have been in the original backup.

i admit that it is far easier to rename using a QWERTY keyboard on a PC than using the front panel but it should not be necessary.

Has anyone else had this problem or was I unfortunate to buy a machine that was assembled on a Monday morning?

All this, plus the fact that it can't pick up the right time from the internet (see previous post) plus the number of questions on this site makes me wonder if it should have been labelled "Beta model" and sold for about £20.

I am not happy!

[Mike W]

No problems here thanks...

I'm very happy!

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Just an observation but when you imported your JB7 music into the B" did you do so using the 

"Restore USB C" command (which  Restores music from a JB7 style backup in USB C ) or did you use the

 "Import USB C " command  - which would be expecting a different format.

If this is the case then perhaps this is your problem, I understood the  "Restore USB C" function was specifically there to support JB7 users.  

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

I would also point out that for most people the B2 seems to be able to get the correct time.

There is a function in the menu system 

" Set Timezone " , which adjusts the timezone relative to GMT - this function only adjusts whole hours. If you need to adjust minutes use Zone Minutes in the Maintenance Menu. 

On Friday, 30 October 2020 at 16:32:40 UTC rocwal...@gmail.com wrote:

[tjf...@gmail.com]

My JB7 was consigned to the loft shortly after the B2 2TB became available. With close to 4K CDs/LPs loaded and used on a daily basis I'm still unsure why people have so many problems. 

[Steve Dace]

I don't think poeople do get "so many problems" If a piece of kit does not function or work then its broke. As in my case. A brand new B2 loaded with 200 CDs over 40 days now has only 15 CDs in it. Nothing to do with me as an operator, it is  piece of kit that (for me) is not working

[Roc Walker]

Hi Fred

Thank you for this. I can't remember whcommand I used. I swapped E-mails with one of the people at Brennan before I ordered it to make sure that it would work but unfortunately i have deleted them all. At the risk of being accused of asking more silly questions, could I ask a couple more please?

I presume that if I were to attach the backup drive again using the "Import" command, the B2 would recognise that it had all the files being imported and ignore them. If I were to clear the hard disk in the B2 and start all over again, I would lose all the CDs that i have loaded since I had the B2.  Is it possible to (1) backup the B2 to a different external hard drive (2) wipe the B2 (s) Import USBC with the JB7 backup then (4) Restore the B2 backup, on the basis that it would recognise that most of the data on the B2 backup was already residing on its hard disk therefore only importing the albums which i has loaded onto the B2?  Apologies for such a long and convoluted question but if you could find the time to answer I would be grateful.  i really would like my music collection back!

I haven't tried to fix the time yet but i will do so today.  Thanks for your help

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Roc,

For your JB7 backup to restore correctly to the B2, that needs to be done using the 'Restore USB C' function.

But first, before you do anything else, I reckon that you need to verify that your JB7 backup is good.  To do this, I would plug the JB7 backup into a PC or Mac and then use Win Explorer or Mac Finder to closely examine the folders and files for correct structure and content.

In the JB7 USB backup device, the top folder should be 'hardfi'.  Each folder in 'hardfi' should be in the format of 'ArtistName   AlbumName' (without the quotes and with 3 spaces between 'ArtistName and 'AlbumName').  Then in each of the 'ArtistName   AlbumName' folders, you should see the album tracks listed.

You can back up you existing B2 collection to another USB device, but use 'Export to C' function for that, not 'Backup to C'.

Both the 'Restore from C' and 'Import' functions operate in 'overwrite mode', in other words if an Artist/Album that is on the JB7 backup is found on the B2, the B2 version will be overwritten by the JB7 version.

Your proposed course of action should work OK, but be careful of the 'overwrite' mode as explained above.

I have done a 'Restore from C' using a JB7 format backup and it worked perfectly (19,000 tracks, 1400 albums, 615 artists, 200GB volume size) so the 'Restore from C' does work correctly on the B2, but the data needs to be in good condition from the start point.

Regards,

Peter.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi 

First have you looked at this page of the Brennan web site?

https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/MusicTransfer

Please DO NOT re "import" or "restore" over what you have done so far, that will make a real mess.

Your plan of saving your current situation/work to an new external drive/USB stick, erasing/wiping the HDD and then trying the  "Restore USB C"   with using your JB7  archive, would SEEM sound -

(so that if you find that this makes no difference. you can again wipe the HDD and restore your current position).

However !!

I am not certain (knowledgeable enough) about what an export of your current work will do.....there is a chap "peter" on this forum who seems to be the backup guru, perhaps he can help.

Fred

[David Kemp]

Similar to rocwal the first CD I ever imported pops up all the time as if it's the last played (it isn't) and while ripping another CD . I am getting used to these various quirks and it's only a minor irritation compared to the overall functionality.

On Friday, 30 October 2020 at 16:32:40 UTC rocwal...@gmail.com wrote:

[David Kemp]

Forgot to add, whilst I'm backing up why does it show (for example) '1472 tracks in 127 albums 1 Artists' - One Artists?!! I can assure you I don't have 127 albums with one artist.

On Friday, 30 October 2020 at 16:32:40 UTC rocwal...@gmail.com wrote:

[Peter Lowham]

Hi David,

If you haven't tried this already, two actions to suggest are:

1.  On your app device, clear the browser/app cache.

2.  Run 'Scan Disk' on the B2 (From front panel; select 'Main menu' --> 'Settings' --> 'Scan Disk')

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Roc,

The JB7 used a two tier naming conventions - Artist/Album and Tracks

The B2 uses a three tier system - Artist, Album and Tracks.

This is the reason for having two backup and load functions - 'Backup to C' (creates a 'hardfi' file) and 'Restore USB C' for JB7 and 'Export to C' (creates a 'b2export' file) and 'Import USB C' for the B2.

If you used 'Import USB C' to load the backup from the JB7 the B2 will think that one level is missing and will list them all under one Artist - usually 'unknown'.

As Peter has said you must use 'Restore USB C' to import a backup made on the JB7.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Roc Walker]

Thanks to all who have given helpful advice here. i think it is now time for me to put my hands up and say that i should have remembered more clearly the techie advice "RTFM".

At the risk of trying everybody's patience again, please, just one more question: if I back up the B2 using "Export to C" command, I THINK that I could just load the JB7 backup using "Restore USB C" command without having to wipe the B2 because the JB7 files will overwrite the files that are already on the B2 but in the wrong format, while leaving alone the albums which have only been loaded from CDs directly into the B2.

Please could one of you kind people out there either confirm my theory or point out where I am going wrong?

Many thanks

Roc

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Roc

The bulk of what is on your HDD (other than that which you have renamed since loading the JB7 data) is in the wrong place. 

If, without erasing the HDD, you now run 'Restore USB C' for JB7 , then the mess you have on you HDD now will not be overwritten but be there along side the results of the new Restore.

If, as a result of your work to date, you have renamed content to be even slightly different, then you will have duplicates of these too.

I urge you to erase your HDD before doing the required 'Restore USB C' for JB7 (after having validated the JB7 data as recommended by Peter).

If you must you could save what you have done to date with an "Export to C" before the errase.

While I have never owned a JB7 and therefore have never personally 'Restore USB C' for JB7, if you read the comments from people who do and have, they have been happy with the result.....It is what Brennan designed the

'Restore USB C' specifically for, to support JB7 customers upgrading to a B2  - Have faith:)

[Roc Walker]

I know you are fed up with all my stupid questions by now but I have run up against something else.  The B2 recognises the external HDD with the JB7 backuop but when I plug in ether of two others it tells me that they are not there. Do they need to be formatted in a special way?

I am sorry to be a pain.

Regards

Roc

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi Roc

Yes they do, the backup disk must be formatted as FAT32 (nothing else will work).

Always plug and unplug USB disks with the B2 power off. 

So, before you can "Export to C", the USB attached device needs to be formatted.

Use Format USB A or Format USB C (Maintenance menu) depending on which port you are plugged into.  If your disk has external power, either port will be fine.  If your disk requires power from the USB cable, then use port A, because it can supply a bit more power.  

Hope this helps

Fred

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Also not that depending on which USB (A or C) you used there is an Export to C (or A) command (USB menu)  !

[Roc Walker]

A big thank you to everyone who has given me advice on this forum, especially Fred and Peter.  Gentlemen, I shall drink to your health tonight while listening to my favourite music.  The restore from the JB7 was successful (something like 1050 albums) although it did some funny things like labelling the artist on all my classical albums as "Unknown" and converting previously named tracks to "Track 1" etc. I've started to rip the CDs which I had previously loaded onto the B2 but I obliterated before I loaded the JB7 backup again.  The B2 recognises some of them but not others, so some have to be renamed at both album and track level but I can live with that.  It's a shame that it especially doesn't recognise compilation albums, most of which seem to consist of 5 CDs of 20 tracks each but at least I can rename them from my PC with a full QWERTY keyboard. And it now tells the time in GMT.  My cup runneth over!

I didn't realise that the machine had to be powered off before attaching / detaching a USB device. I will take care in future but I hope I haven't done any damage from not doing so before yesterday.  Time will tell, I guess.

Anyhow, I take back some (not all) of the horrible things I said about the B2.  Maybe in the fullness of time I will understand some of its little ways..

Again, many thanks for your patience and your advice.

Best regards

Roc

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi Roc

Pleased to have been able to help.

regarding your comment:- 

" I didn't realise that the machine had to be powered off before attaching / detaching a USB device. I will take care in future but I hope I haven't done any damage from not doing so before yesterday.  Time will tell, I guess. " 

Attaching and detaching a USB device while the B2 (actually the Raspberry Pi inside it) is powered up will not harm it. The reason for attaching things before powering up is to ensure that the Pi detects them properly in the software (so that it knows it is there and includes it as it starts up). Similarly on power off (preceded by a "Save" of-cause) will ensure that any writing to the USB device is completed etc.

[PMB]

Hi Roc,

Try doing a Web Upgrade - Settings menu - to get the latest software. This should improve the CD lookup success.

Paul

Brennan Support.