adding HD; moving recordings from external FAT32?

[toomanyhandles]

Hi all;

I have setup as follows:

c: partition NTFS, no recordings
d: partition NTFS, one recordings folder
f: external FAT32 (sigh), with one big recordings folder

I have a new internal HD to add (will be NTFS), and I'd like to move things from the external.

How best to do that? I read about the MPEGImport util/plugin, but I'm not sure it will work on FAT32. And I read the following in a thread:
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Yes it is possible. After it's working you have to import the shows into the database.

Check this out:
http://forums.gbpvr.com/showthread.p...ght=mpegimport
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Utility/MpegImport

But the easiest way is:

* Install fresh.
* Create same TV-Recorded folder (named whatever it was before)
* Copy your MPGs into that folder. (You MUST move the MPGs first.)
* Copy over the gbpvr.mdb and config.xml


If the MPGs are in the same path as they were on the old drive, they will show up in 'Recordings' in gbpvr

If you decide to reorganize your stuff on the new drive, you should use 'mpegimport'
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I'm not sure how the metadata things is working for the FAT32 drive though (metadata is stored only on the c: drive perhaps pointing to F: ), will this above advice work for my situation?

I also read in a thread: <http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=11685&highlight=recover+recordings>
some tips, someone wrote a Recoverrecordings.zip batch/script file, but the thread confuses me and I'm not sure what to implement from it. Lots of tweeked batch files...

Also in the thread someone mentions risking losing all their metadata if they unplug their external drive; I'm not sure why that would happen, is that correct?

I'm really not sure what is going on with "metadata", NTFS and FAT32, GBPVR, etc-- could someone share how this works, what not to do to avoid messing with metadata in general, and how best to perform my copy of data to all-internal drives given the mixed format of my current setup.

It seems that even if I manage to lose the detailed metadata I can reimport the recordings and have them show up in the recordings menu fine; but I gather I'd lose the extra info from the TVGuide etc. and that would of course be nice to keep.

Thanks very much for help;

[onestar]

I would think, given the description above, simply stop gbpvr. Install new harddrive. XCOPY /s/e/v f: newdriveletter: Once done, reassign drive letters, e.g. make external k: make the new drive f:, restart GBPVR and you are done.

And as for metadata, all your data will be in the mdb database, so you won't lose anything.

[toomanyhandles]

I would think, given the description above, simply stop gbpvr. Install new harddrive. XCOPY /s/e/v f: newdriveletter: Once done, reassign drive letters, e.g. make external k: make the new drive f:, restart GBPVR and you are done.

And as for metadata, all your data will be in the mdb database, so you won't lose anything.

Thanks for the reply-

I think I "figured out" how to make all the information vanish-- if the drive is gone from the system, GBPVR treats it the same as if the mpeg file has been deleted, and whacks the entries from the .mdb.... it isn't anything to do (well maybe something else is but not this) with the "extra data" that can be stored in NTFS vs FAT32(?).

Backup copies of the GBPVR folder are coming in handy!

[Koenie]

Another fairly easy way to do this is to use the recordings-dump.xml file. Upon every schedule update GBPVR dumps the full listing into the recordings-dump.xml file. Copy the mpegs to whatever folder you want, (automatically) edit the recordings-dump.xml to reflect the new path and reimport the recordings from the import recordings button in the plugins tab of the config app. (always backup the original database first of coarse).

[toomanyhandles]

Another fairly easy way to do this is to use the recordings-dump.xml file. Upon every schedule update GBPVR dumps the full listing into the recordings-dump.xml file. Copy the mpegs to whatever folder you want, (automatically) edit the recordings-dump.xml to reflect the new path and reimport the recordings from the import recordings button in the plugins tab of the config app. (always backup the original database first of coarse).

Great- I had noticed the recordings-dump file and was about to post asking what it was for. The content and last-modified date/time were perfect for my use, although I hadn't noticed it happened at the same time as the EPG update.

Thanks!