Doubts backup. I have read a lot in the forum about backup copies and it generates many doubts about how to do it correctly. I used to be a Rekordbox user and I want to share how I did it. In rekordbox there is an option to generate a backup with and without music. create a Zip file. with that file if you come back. installing rekordbox has a restore option and returns everything to the way it was before the change. It also has the option of saving all the lists on a USB stick or on a hdd, and when you install the program again on another pc, you export lists and you have all the lists again, in both solutions neither HOTCUES are lost no loops, no cues names or colors. (In case it works for developers…) What is the best way to have a backup of everything in case one day you have to change your PC?..obviously without losing anything. Currently I use the Sync manager and I save all my lists in a USB of 1tb, I have also created a list called a collection and I put all the music in that list and export it to the USB… thanks for your support;)
Engine uses relative paths. I have done this many times because I run linux and had to reinstall Engine desktop few times to make it work with Wine. As such, all you have to do is save the folder that has the engine DB files, and then make sure your music files are in your user’s directory for music. It seems the root folder is hardcoded for this particular music folder (which is silly, but that is the way it is). On mac I would presume it would be your standard music folder
There is nothing magical about all of this and you can backup the folder with the DB yourself many times over, wipe it out, put back the backup and it all works. And you do not need to use even backup tools, just copy the DB folder some place safe.
Cheers
@Nikdo entiendo entonces que:
1.- copiando la carpeta DB en un lugar seguro, si tengo que volver a instalar engine dj, reemplazando la carpeta instalada por defecto, por la que tengo como copia de seguridad, ¿correcto?
2.- ¿Y la música? me explico, yo tengo la música muy repartida por carpetas, no todas las canciones están en la colección de engine dj, ya que vienen heredadas de otros programas, y canciones que no uso etc y no están en la colección, pero si en las carpetas … para hacer una copia de los archivos de música que hay hoy en mi colección actual de engine dj, ¿cuál sería la mejor manera? evitando duplicar todas las carpetas, ya que como digo, la mitad puede que ya no use, y no estén en la colección actual, pero si en las carpetas de windows.(cuando empezé a usar engine Dj, añadí a la colección las listas de rekordbox nada más, por eso tengo en la colección unas 5000 canciones y en archivos puedo tener 8000. las otras 3000 no uso, ni usaré, pero no se como hacer limpieza y quedarme solo con las 5000 que tengo en la colección de engine dj) , no se si me he explicado correctamente, me gustaría hacer una copia de lo que tengo en la colección en una carpeta, por ejemplo MUSICA, y borrar todas las carpetas que tengo actuales y que están muy desordenadas… gracias
- Correct
- I wish I could answer your question…I do not think anyone has found an optimal way yet how to manage their collection using Engine desktop. Engine desktop lacks big time when it comes to managing your collection. It lacks a lot of tools to edit tags for example in a meaningful way.
I am still trying to figure out what the best way would be. For the moment, I use brainz picard to analyse my collection and tag it properly. Because of severe lack of tools in engine desktop and engine os, I would first use a third party tool to analyze songs and tag them and clean up the file names…and only then add those you want into Engine desktop. So…
- have all your music collection live in c:/users/username/my music as an example.
- analyze that folder by something like picard or some other tool you like
- add only those files you want to use in your dj mixer to the engine desktop collection. If you do not need to DJ with them, then do nothing and just use your songs in other software.
- key restriction, is that because Engine desktop is severely handicapped when it comes to physical file changes, you cannot move those music files or rename them.
It all stinks yes, but that is the present state of things.
Best of luck to you
@Nikdo thanks for your contribution, the truth is that it is quite complicated, perhaps Denon should improve in this section, since having a good backup of our work is very important for any dj.
In any case, I’ll briefly explain the Rekordbox mode in case it helps developers: backup button, with or without music, creates a Zip file. restore collection button, the Zip file is selected and everything is as before, simple right? well there is another way.
If you have all the lists on a USB, exported with sync manager and then import, the lists are restored (this also works in case a friend passes you a list and you want to add it to your collection).
Soon I will do tests with what can or cannot be recovered from the lists in a usb and the Db folder, I want to do some tests on a new laptop, to try this last option… when I get something I will tell you. Thank you
Dear @Nikdo, @REN3MARTIN, and @all others,
backup is the other item of the essence (beside beatgrid).
pls. be so kind as to have a look here, phps. will this post bring you a little bit forward
https://community.enginedj.com/t/prime-4-restore-db/39113/2
Good luck and brgds
BeatMaster
Short answer: Use symlinks
This is how to do it: Note: First backup your current database. Only remove it after you made sure the solution works.
- Use a cloud service (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive, Onedrive) and use the cloud app locally on your PC/Mac
- On your PC/Mac copy your current local “Engine Library” folder to a location on your cloud
- Copy all your music files to the Engine Library folder in your cloud
<cloud>/<custom folder>/Engine Library/<custom folder> - Rename your current local
Engine Libraryfolder (this is your backup) - Create a new local Engine Library folder
(~/Music/Engine Library)
6 Create a symlink between <cloud>/<custom folder>/Engine Library and ~/Music/Engine Library
Note: The local Engine Library folder is now just a link. The system thinks it’s the actual location but it’s redirected to your cloud
Of course some details are missing in this short tutorial but if your not software technical then please Google “symlink” with the name of your operating system. Also keep in mind that Engine works with relative paths and it begins at ~/Music/Engine Library. Meaning if your mp3 files would be in a parent folder then this system will not work.
For me this works perfect. I can work on my library on multiple computers and it’s always in sync plus it provides me a solid backup.
I would caution against this. If you symlink your live Engine DB to your cloud via symlink, any issue you will create (DB corruption, etc) on the live version will be replicated to the cloud. This solution is not like some incremental backup. This is not a backup really at all when setup this way. It is what we call a ‘synced’ folder. Meaning, any corruption in the DB is replicated.
I think you come from the thought that if there was a sudden crash of engine DB, there would not have been time yet to sync to the cloud and you could go and get the cloud uncorrupted version.
However that is very dangerous. Not all corruptions will happen in such way you are aware of it right away. And you will have backup up the corrupted version to the cloud.
Nothing replaces a good backup. There are many free open source available. I would backup only the engine DB library, and the music I would actually sync to another physical drive, as each song is an independent unit and syncing the music folder poses very little risk.Have the syncing occur let’s say once a week, and you should be fine. Again, there are tools for that as well to do this automatically. If you really must, you could do a deduplicated incremental backups, so only changes are saved for your music collection. I just find syncing the actual music collection makes more sense to me.
Cheers
Thank you for your reply and I understand your concern. For me this is the best solution and here is why:
First of all most people don’t manually backup because of the lack of discipline and users don’t know when their HDD is going to crash. Hence an automated solution works best for most users.
Second with most common cloud services you can revert changes. Meaning if a mistake was made (or corrupted) it can be reverted.
Third in my case I have 3 local copies, Mac, PC plus internal HDD on Prime 4.
Fourth I don’t have to worry about creating backups, keeping other devices in sync, merge changes etc. I just can focus on the preparation of the music without any hassle.
The worst case scenario would be if a corrupted database would sync like you mentioned. Still it would be easily recovered with version control or simply recover it from another local device.
There are plenty of opensource solutions for other backup solutions which is fine. But it’s best to avoid to clutter your system with software and VM’s that are not needed. A tool should have additional value and the tool should not be the goal.
Was not aware cloud services now offer reverting changes. That changes everything. Point well taken.
Personally I do not use cloud services as I find them overhyped and privacy violating services. But to each his own. I also do not use tools just for the sake of using tools but because they actually add precisely the value to my workflow I seek.
Your statement that open source software somehow does not serve the need and clutters your system is really bizarre…
You can try using the Lexicon program through this link, as Denon does not provide such a simple backup solution:
It has a monthly subscription, but I think it’s worth it if you’re migrating from a computer. But to save your library and restore later, just save the Engine DJ Database folder and your music folder. Then when you format the computer and restore, just copy everything to its original location and install EDJ again and everything will be there.
Additionally, you can use Lexicon to manage, organize and improve your entire library and sync with EDJ.
I have already discovered a simple way to make a backup that works and can serve as a backup in case you have to change your PC due to breakage… I explain…
Create a playlist called for example: “all the collection” select all the tracks of the current collection and drag them to that new list, export with the syncmanager all the lists including this new list in a hdd and a copy of the engine dj folder (just in case) where the base of data.
On the new computer, install the same version of engine dj and copy everything exported to c: …and that’s it!!! , all the hotcues and playlist will be the same as in the old pc, I hope it works for you… greetings
sorry, I edit my answer, as described, it doesn’t work, it only works while the HDD is connected. There is no way to duplicate the collection, there is no way to import lists from a USB to a new computer, this is fatal, we need a simple solution to backup our collection in case of failure. I hope you will soon find a simple solution for this problem