I need some help please. I am new to prime. I have spent some 20 years crafting my music database. I have 1.3tb of very carefully organised music in folder format. It is personal preference and how I like to view my music by file structure and not play lists or crates. I have just purchased a evo ssd 2tb and formatted to exfat. Am I able to just use this like an external hdd and copy my music to it ? I have pc software that sync’s all my drives with my master music database already set up. This si tried and tested and bullet proof as I use multiple platforms. If I do this how will the prime cope with searching for tracks ect ? If I remove a file or move a folder will this simply upset it ? Can you analyse from the controller without using the prime engine ? I just ideally want to be able to drag and drop my music master folder onto the hdd. how can I do this ?
The system isn’t designed to do that. My advice is read the Prime 4 manual and the Engine Prime manual. Watch a few tutorial vids. Learn how you’re expected to use it, then follow the instructions.
The forum is full of posts from people who’ve tried to do it differently, or not bothered reading up on the correct method, then got themselves in a tangle.
BTW welcome to the Denon forum!
hi laserlight, welcome to prime 4 user club. you have to import your music into prime engine software. but can import a folder and all files in subfolders at one time, but than you have all files just importet without your folder structure. if you want that, you have to rebuild your folders with crates in prime software an import every single folder into that crate. can be hard work in your case if you have many folders/subfolders. i didi it that way. if you have done that, connect the prime 4 by usb, go into connection to pc mode and use sync manager in prime software to sync all crates to the prime 4. than you can mange the music in orime software and to a sync every time you changed or added tracks.
i think you can copy files direct to the prime 4 ssd and create the database there, but i would not recommend this.
as PK says, watch some videos an try it out with a small amount of files to see how it works.
The folder browser section will not show you any track details, just the name of the file.
If you load a track on the player through your folder method, the track will be added to Engine Prime database collection
If you delete the file from the folder or change anything in the file name, your database will be riddled with loadsa reds (missing tracks)
Like @PKtheDJ said, time for you to consider learning a new workflow.
You can make crates or playlists with your folders
You can use the folder view to locate and play songs, but it’ll mean that no songs are analysed until loaded in the player. Prime will have difficulty listing the directory evrytime too. You can do it but you’re giving yourself a real headache.
If you have them all in genre folders, you could add each one separately, and add those tracks to a crate in prime named the same as your folders.
But really it’s not going to work like you want.
So here is my idea and would like any input as to why this wouldnt work. Please remember its each to their own here and I am trying to fin a way that suits me best for what I do. Although my main music master copy is stored on my main pc I dont intend on building a database on there. I intend to copy all my music to my internal ssd (using windows to do the file transfer as it shows as an external drive). My collection is around 950gb and very well organised into folders over the past many years. using EP will then load all this music into the collection (database that will be stored on the prime drive). This can then be analysed using my pc’s processing power so it all loads correctly and the search database loads but I will also be able to search the drive using the physical folder structure I have been custom to over the past many years. I don’t ever delete or relocate any folders so this shouldn’t be an issue. When adding new music I can simply add this in the same way and then update the data base accordingly. Or it will be added when I play it by finding it in the folder structure. This will mean I am up and running quickly and I can then spend time in the evenings with the deck plugged in creating play lists ect. As the music on the drive is a mirror copy of the music on my main pc and I can back up the EP database to my PC I am never in any danger and could in effect restore the drive at any time should it die on me (hoping not as its a samsung 2tb 870 pro). Your thoughts are appreciated. This may not be the way you would do it but if there isnt anything technically wrong with me doing it this way then its how I would like to do it.
This is still the way I preferably manage my collection; directly on the SC6000.
I have been thinking about it a lot and its seems to be the only way I can make it work for me. Many people have mentioned it but Virtual DJ really do have it nailed when it comes to the basics. I am unsure as to why everyone has different methods. Whats so wrong of difficult to be able to manage your files under a normal file structure. Virtual lets you organise how you like. Add and remove folders as you wish and then just re scan the data base, clean and fix errors. and of course playlists ect. Why not just keep it simple 
There is no wrong or right way. As Reese said you can do it like that. Just make sure you have a clone copy of that installed SSD in an external drive that you will also bring to your gigs.
Its the weakest link currently, since you want to be managing it in installed.
Any accidental usb disconnection will lead to corrupt database.
Fun fact - when the DB is corrupt - you cant dismiss the prompt and just use files from the folder (except this has changed) i could be wrong
Maybe I am confised here. Why would I always need a cloned HDD spare ? Ill have a few memory sticks for backup but i spent over £300 on a top spec SSD. Ill back up the drive database to my pc of course but this new ssd should be great.
The clone does not have to be an expensive SSD, you can clone it to an HD, cloud service or a portable ssd.
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If the DB of the internal SSD corrupts, The only option that is officially available is for you to format this SSD
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You lose everything.
If you have a browse through the forum, there are more than a few discussions by folks with - P4 or P2 , Installed SSD and EP - with corrupted databases.
PS it’s just an advice. You don’t have to take it 
All advice greatly appreciated. I am only asking why so I can fully understand all the possible problems that may arrise. As my music is is physically stored on the drive and the database is in a separate folder then I would assume it would be simply deleting the database folder and then copying across the backup I have of the drive.
I assume that just like other software copying the folder containing the database is fine for backing it up as long as it is put back in the same route directory on the drive ?
Yes it’s a pretty straightforward process.
When in computer mode, you can handle it like a USB drive to make copies of the Engine folder as backup or move music to it and use Engine Prime to add those to the database.
As Engine Prime progresses (and eventually music could be in a folder structure on my server or NAS), I would like sync manager to sync the complete structure to the database.
I have never had a reason to do that, I have clones. so cant say if it will or not. But on Paper it should.
There have been reports on the forum folks stating the back up database not working.
No harm in testing it.
- Make your drive,
- save copy of the SSD engine folder in PC,
- unplug the P4 SSD without ejecting,
- start up your P4 (corrupt database),
- now replace the database with your saved copy.
If all the files are in same place and you just copy in all those m.db type files, about 12 or so of them, the dB will just start.