Engine Prime Backup Suggestions

Hi all Looking for some advice or any tips and tricks on backing up Engine Prime please. Recently had the database turn itself inside out and had to re-import all my music, playlists etc. Also meant I am having to manually re-enter all the track info that I have manually typed that isnt in the file metadata.

What the most reliable way to back up the database please and also to restore it if the worst happens again? I seriously dont want to have to type all this info in ever again!

Thanks

Hello @Harrisonm65,

If You are running Engine Prime 1.5 version, You should be able to make manually a backup. Just go to preferences and look for backup data base button.

Furthermore, I would add another thing to what @NoiseRiser has already written to you: instead of compiling the metadata in EnginePrime (which will not be written in the track metadata) I recommend using MP3tag (free software) to compile all the MP3 tags of your files, so the metadata are saved directly to MP3 files and are also available for other applications. Then with EnginePrime you import the tags from the MP3 file and you’re good to go.

That is actually something that I really want to do but at the moment Im struggling to get the columns of data to align between the file metadata and Engine Prime. For example, I want to include catalogue numbers on the individual tracks. I can see ways to add them using MP3tag, but cant see how to get that particular field of data into Prime.

Are you sure about that?

After I added my files to EP, I used the awkard EP tag editing to remove some text from the comment tags on a whole bunch of files.

Later when I performed a backup to the cloud, it took much longer than usual because lots of file dates had changed, which I assumed meant the files had been modified by EP.

A few weeks ago I had done the test and it happened to me that if in EnginePrime I select the external device (SDXC or USB Stick) and then I change the data of a track (title, author, etc.), they are also updated on the metadata of the track stored in the device external. On the other hand, if I perform the same operation on a track inside the PC (collection), the metadata on the original file will not be changed.

If you tell me that it is not so, then I will try to re-try to understand what was the cause that did not update the metadata in the collection inside the PC.

However it is more convenient to use MP3tag, also because then you can re-name the files with your personal criterion and (above all) do not change the file name AFTER having inserted it in EnginePrime: otherwise we get the well-known problem of interrupting the connection to the database.

I’ve also found that sometimes offer softwares “relocate file” doesn’t always find the right file.

I’m guessing that relocate would try looking for the same file name in other directories, but failing that it would think about Matching other file attributes. Like “Hey I can’t find a file that was 38472 bytes big… oh wait, here’s one, I’ll play that

Out of the speakers drifts the chicken song, instead of 50 cent (some might say that’s an improvement) cause the machine guessed bad.

Hi @NoiseRiser. Ive just seen the backup database button. Forgive my ignorance, but where does it back up to please? I ran the routine and it just said it had completed.

I asked the same thing recently, and was directed to a brief mention in a Denon video…

It’s stored in your system Music folder (for Windows that’s \Users\Yourname\Music). There’s the main DB and the backup, clearly named.

@PKtheDJ just been to find the backup and its exactly where you said. Cheers v much for that. I can grab a copy of that backup folder now and move it offline somewhere just in case.

Just need to work out the best strategy now for getting the info I want into Prime in the first place, either manually editing everything directly in Prime, or using something like MP3tag

I’ve linked my backup folder to OneDrive, so any changes just get backed up automatically.

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So I hope our comments helped You to resolve the issue. Happy mixing.

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I have never come across this with Serato.

If the file name was changed directly in Finder or Explorer, the file will not be located and it will stay missing

But if i use a tagger like Kid3 to change the file name, Serato will find it.

Serato seems to create a special id tags on each file to locate it and if ive noticed if I keep that tag intact it will find it.

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