FLAC and MP3 files being deleted from my PC

(unlikely to be attributed to a source package)

Can you provide what directory the files were located under, and possibly any actions you may have performed prior to the data loss? This is a strange occurrence.

Craig,

The files were under home/dev/music/flac and home/dev/music/mp3.

Daniel,

I agree that it's unlikely, but (so far) the only files being deleted are FLAC and MP3. I suspect Rhythmbox because this is the software used to play these files. However, I don't actually know. Also if Rhythmbox had deleted the files why should it report them missing after the next startup? It should know.

Rhythmbox will report files missing, even if it deleted them itself. It's a "feature", which ensures you'll be cleaning out missing files lists whenever you delete something.

Could you check your Trash on your machine to see if they might have been deleted from Rhythmbox and put into the Trash bin? The reason I ask is because the automatic playlists in Rythmbox have changed a bit. Before they had the ability to remove the files from the playlists. Now, they just have a "Move to Trash" to delete them.

Also, you can do a complete search of your filesystem for mp3 and FLAC files by running the following commands (optionally as root by adding "sudo")

find / -name "*.mp3" > /tmp/mp3files.txt
find / -name "*.flac" > /tmp/flacfiles.txt

(after they finish)
cat /tmp/mp3files.txt
cat /tmp/flacfiles.txt

Let me know if these return anything useful.

Sorry Craig,

I have restored the files again. I typed in the commands anyway and only saw the new restored files in the correct location.

I had checked the trash and there was nothing in there.

I have changed the owner of all my FLAC and MP3 files to root and made them read only to others. If it works I know this will prevent us from finding out the cause. If you like I can change them back and let the problem re-occur.

If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to try it again. I'm not sure what the problem is thus far (I've had no trouble with Rhythmbox losing files thus far). One thing that might help is to know what your settings are (ie: what your library location is under Preferences > Music > Library Location, whether it will search for new files under that location, etc), and whether or not you have podcasts set up. Also, have you tried removing the directory under ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox to see if the problem still exists.

I'm thinking this is part of a problem with moving from the 6.06 Rhythmbox to 7.10, but I want to know a bit more before making that determination.

OK, will do. I've changed the file owner to my user ID again and will keep an eye on the files for a few days. As soon as I see any missing I'll report back.

Settings:-

OK, will do. I've changed the file owner to my user ID again and will keep an eye on the files for a few days. As soon as I see any missing I'll report back.

Sorry hit return by mistake. The issue is NOT resolved yet.

Regarding settings, is there a conf file I can copy and paste here?

Also Craig, I did not upgrade from 6.06 to 7.10. It was a new install.

I wouldn't feel comfortable removing any directories under ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox.

But you kept the same home directory from 6.06 to 7.10, correct? Rhythmbox has changed dramatically since 6.06, so if you used it at that time, the settings may be harmful. That's why I asked if it was possible to remove ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox, and start from scratch. At the very least, make a backup of the directory first, and then re-run it.

Would you happen to have a copy of the ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox directory from Ubuntu 6.06? In order to see if this is replicable, you could replace ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox with the one from 6.06 and see if it exhibits the same behavior.

I think the drive was formatted during the installation, so I certainly don't have a copy of the ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox or home directory from 6.06.

I'll wait until (if?) the files get deleted, then I'll remove ~/.gnome2/rhythmbox and check the other things you suggested earlier and report back. I have no idea how long it'll be before the files disappear again though.

Thanks for all your help/suggestions.

I'm wondering if the deletions occurred because someone tried to include MP3 files of the same name (different extension obviously) into the library. The MP3s were created using Soundconverter so the files would have identical names.