Database issues with rockbox on iriver h140

[sammydee]

Hi all.

I've posted here before (not about this particular issue) and I KNOW the rule about having the latest firmware before making a bug report.

The problem is, the bug occurs sporadically and as far as I can tell completely randomly. I have upgraded three times in the last month and I keep getting the same problem with the database, but not on the same day I upgrade the firmware, so I upgrade again to stay curent, then in a few days get the problem again etc...

So I can't report the problem on a brand new build it may have been fixed now for all I know, and I apologise for this in advance!

Anyway with that out the way, the problem is, every now and then when I try and access the database it will just decide the database is not initialized and have to spend ages rescanning the entire disk and rebuilding the database from scratch. I have tried resetting, reformatting, you name it I've tried it but sooner or later on a new firmware upgrade I get the problem again. I didn't get this problem on a build from March sometime but that's all I can remember.

I'm not sure if anybody can help me with this, is it just me or is it a known bug or what?

Regards,
Sam

[stf]

Hi

I have the iriver h120 and I've seen the same issue, although I thought it was the firmware upgrade that wiped the database.

Maybe it would work to back up the database files (e.g. database_0.tcd) in the .rockbox folder?

[Mikerman]

Have had this happen seemingly at random as well.  But I use the database so infrequently, there could be a pattern there I just don't notice.  Have not tried with the most recent build.

[ell1ps1s]

I have had similar problems with the database on my iriver H340. As well as what sammydee describes, I have also noticed that when I update the database after adding new music, once I have rebooted, the database contains the newly added files, but none of what was there before. Furthermore, if I enable Auto Update, Rockbox attempts to commit the database every time it boots, whether the contents of the drive have changed or not (should that happen?), and the database is never available to use.

Tonight I've been attempting to apply some rigour to these unscientific observations. I've installed a fresh build, r14242M-070808, and reset all settings to defaults. Under those conditions, the database behaves as it ought to, although updating doesn't seem to remove files I've deleted from the disk.

After re-applying the settings I'd been using from my saved config, my problem reappears: when I add music files and update the database, that wipes out the database's existing contents. I don't feel that I have enough information to file a bug report yet--I'll need to try and isolate which of my custom settings triggers this behaviour, which will take time and patience.

I notice also that there is now a problem with the H340's filesystem. I'm on a Mac, so I'm using fsck_msdos in the Terminal, which I think is less descriptive in its reporting than chkdsk, but I've scanned before and after attempting to update the database with custom settings applied. Before, no problems were reported, and after, fsck reports 'Next free cluster in FSInfo block (219191) not free'. I couldn't prove this is caused by the database update, but it's a strong coincidence.

Have any other users experienced similar problems? Can anyone think of particular settings which might have unexpected consequences for the database?

[Mikerman]

As noted above, I use Database so infrequently, it's hard to discern a pattern.  But distinct from the comment directly above, my recollection is that my database has needed to be rebuilt from scratch even when I haven't manually used the Database update feature (although I do have the automatic update feature turned on):  I turn my player on one day, decide that I want to search for a tune, go to Database to do so, and get told that the database needs to be intialized.  Presumably, a Database auto update has in fact taken place before that time, as I add music routinely; and I almost certainly have moved to a newer version of Rockbox since the last Database access.

[ell1ps1s]

My experience with Auto Update is the same as what Mikerman describes: if I have Auto Update enabled, I have to manually initialise the database if I want to use it. Have you tried updating the database with all default settings? In my observations, the failure to update the database correctly is not connected to updates of Rockbox.

The behaviours of automatic and manual updates are different, but on my player with my settings they're both broken, and I'm making the assumption that these problems are related.
(I'm also assuming that the H1xx and H3xx ports are similar enough that we're talking about the same thing.)

I'll get back to you (and indeed submit a proper bug report) if I succeed in isolating a setting which brings on these behaviours.

[ell1ps1s]

I've done some more serious testing, but unfortunately the results are inconclusive. Starting with a clean install of Rockbox r14278-070810 and default settings, and adding folders of music one at a time while changing settings back towards my habitual operating state, I was unable to replicate the problem. Under my testing conditions, the database behaved perfectly. I was leaning towards attributing the problems to disk fragmentation, which the testing procedure had removed.

However, after then using the player to play music for a day, and adding new music tonight, the behaviour is the same as before: Update Database replaces the contents of the existing database with the newly added files. fsck also reports problems with the file system, although fixing them doesn't help Rockbox update the database.

Initialising the database from scratch still works. I'm frustrated that I can't identify the conditions that bring about my problem more precisely (and sorry that's probably little help to anyone else).

[Bonhomme7h]

I have exactly the same problem with my H120. I tried several time to use the "history" folder in my database only to find it almost empty, so unusable. It's keep track of what i'm listening but every once in a while when I add a song the "history" folder reset completely after the next reboot.

Load to RAM, Auto Update and Gather Runtime Data are all active.

After some test, Turning off "load to ram" don't solve the problem, but turning Auto Update off seem to work. Whit auto-update Off, Initialyse Now erased the history again but Update Now work without problems. I dont know the difference between the two but maybe Auto update use the initialyse function?