How do you manage your (media) files (music, movies...)?

So, when you download a lot of files, you may be often have to move them (from your intern hard disk of your computer) to another device to free space, like I am doing it, e.g. to hard disks, extern ones, 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB, 500 GB etc. But on Windows it is very hard to do that, at least on my system(s) (Win 7) now or the ones before (XP, Vista). Windows do not appear to handle folders containing e.g. 100.000 files very well. Copying, moving last extremely long, is very error prone, slows down the system extremely.

So, what is the best way?

And to unzip the downloaded files, some of them having passworts, also is very inconvenient, so unzipping e.g. 50.000 files, how could one do it the best?

i download for temp folder, unzip/unrar there (also split single flac/cue to track parts, convert other lossless to flac, and other thing), then move to tag folder. i have tag program scan specific folder, edit tags (liking my specific name structure), save in new location with good name structure. then copy to music library folder/drive. i have each folder for album/ost/score, so over 10000 folders, and still working well. slow to open music folder in explorer or over lan, but media center program working well and not slow.
i have text file in temp folder having password for downloading file, because having finished and before not had internet window open for password... hard to track down :(

i download them on DOWNLOADS.
play them from DOWNLOADS.

hentai images on the other hand:

download> move to external HDD> images> H> place on folder according to group/artist/fetish.

If you have to move by the thousands, your it will always take forever. period.
doesn't matter. nothing will speed it up. ever.

use TeraCopy (http://anonym.to/?http://codesector.com/teracopy) to move your items. It will do CRC testing when the copy is finished.
Make sure to check the settings.

You can also archive music by folders/albums too to reduce the calculated number of files to move.
Doesn't matter if it's MP3 or lossless.
Just make sure when you archive, you set the compression to "Store" (in WinRAR) so that there is ZERO compression.
No need for recovery volume. You'll just end up losing space. Fast.

Don't copy/move by the thousands.
Go by 500 (archives) and then defrag, and then move some more.

Keeping your externals healthy is a good to preserve your drive too.

---------- Post added at 03:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------


And to unzip the downloaded files, some of them having passworts, also is very inconvenient, so unzipping e.g. 50.000 files, how could one do it the best?

There isn't. Just unzip as you download.

Stop downloading by the millions. Deal.

USE JDOWNLOADER.
It will unzip for you when it's finished downloading.
And you can store passwords and any password you use will be saved so it can try it later if you don't know the password.

As Sparktank suggests, unzip as you go.
I do this, edit the meta data using dBPoweramp (or MP3tag if there's no metadata at all).
This all then goes to a QNAP 16TB server. I used to use a Netgear but the minute Meridian announced QNAP support for their media players I now keep the Netgear as a backup. So rather than using the media players measley 500GB internal drive, I can now access my whole collection from it over the network.
Only ever had to migrate the entire lot once or twice.

For my uploaded stuff, I usually keep the original archives on an external drive, just in case only 1 part needs a reupload.

For stuff that I share via PM only, I save the links on to the "Notes" app on my iPhone and just copy/paste when responding to requests. Simples.

Thanks very much.

The notification e-mail went into the spam folder.

Yes, I use jDownloader (I have running 2, 3 at the same time, I would like to copy all links of all jDs I habe to one single jD, but that is not possible for me), I have not found any similar program at all or one that would be better.
Yes, to let jD immediately unzip the files after downloading is a good way, but since I have double entries (or more) of the same links in the downloadlists I would download the files again after the downloaded archive / file is deleted from the download folder or when I add the link again. So it seems to be better for me to let the zip file or rar or so in the download folder.

Backing up your files also is very inconvenient or not possible (for me), you have to split the files to differnet hard disks and to back up last extremely long also. So, I ought to have the same 3 or 2 TB hard disks I already have to back up all the files, so may be 4, 5 hard disks more.

Yes, mp3tag and TagScanner and Kid3 and so on work well, but to rename about e.g. 1000 albums fully automatically without editing a lot of data unfortunately doesn't appear to be possible.

I sometimes use TeraCopy (thanks for the link), but it doesn't seem to be faster than e.g. CopyHandler, FastCopy etc. Usually I use FreeFileSync for moving (delete equal files after synchronizing), it is one of the best sync programs I know.

So, to download and manage all the files to fit your needs is a lot of work.

o_O

It will always be a lot of work because not everyone uploads the same as others.

"Automated" is never going to work. Not for 1000 albums.
No program will ever be able to tell from a group of 10 albums what it's actually going to be.

If you know how MP3tag works, then you know why it's impossible to want to automatically rename thousands of albums.

With JDownloader, you didn't check all the options. There are options to download packages to a new folder (named after the package).
That way it doesn't extract all to one folder.

You ask for the impossible with your impractical ways.

I just bought another 4TB external and still have hundreds of music to go through and see if they're tagged/renamed the way I like it.

I do it manually. So I know it's done right.
If I trusted this task to automation, I'm sure more than half the albums would have errors and mistakes; thus, creating an even larger problem that I could have kept to a sane minimum.

I had so many 1TB and 2TB externals, and slowly upgrading all to 4TB externals.

Yes. It will take hours to copy files over.

Speed is not an issue for me.
TeraCopy's CRC check/verification is what sells me.
If I'm going to copy over millions of files, i want to know they made it safe and sound.
So the copy phase followed by the test phase is more than ideal.

Also, archive each folder when you move it. It's easier for the copy process. The math to calculate the time and bandwidth to copy files (memory buffing), is easier when most of the files share the same size and are not in the millions.

1000 albums as folders (and not archived), will end up transferring over a million files (individual tracks, .cue, .log, covers, etc).
Hours of copying.

1000 albums as archives will end up transferring 1000 files.
Easier copying/handling.

Like I said earlier: you'll never find an easier, automated process of doing this.
And if you do find an automated process, you'll never know if it is accurate or not because you don't seem the type of person to actually care whether or not what you download is what it is.

I've downloaded so many albums that have the Track # AND the Track Title stored in the "Title" tag that when I renamed it to my usual format, I ended up with the Track # showing up twice in the file name. :/

So now when I download, I retag/rename everything when it's done, remove any junk I don't like then copy it to the external.

Why you're downloading a lot (sounds like you download 100's per day...impulsively or trying to start your own illegal pirated music online shop) is beyond me.

If you're that dedicated to downloading, you'll take the time to do things right the first time so you're not overswamped with mistakes and errors.

o_O
Sorry.



"Automated" is never going to work. Not for 1000 albums.
No program will ever be able to tell from a group of 10 albums what it's actually going to be.

If you know how MP3tag works, then you know why it's impossible to want to automatically rename thousands of albums.
Yes, of course, you are absolutely right, it doesn't seem to be possible. I had hoped there might be a way to rename as far as possible automatically with a data base, e.g. freedb or another one, which could find titles of tracks etc. using the track lengths etc., so, when it knew the CD numbers and may be other informations of the album it could work.


With JDownloader, you didn't check all the options. There are options to download packages to a new folder (named after the package).
That way it doesn't extract all to one folder.
Yes, that option I have activated, but the drawback is, that there often is created a folder only containing a folder, which contains the music files, covers etc. But it seems to be the most useful way.


I just bought another 4TB external and still have hundreds of music to go through and see if they're tagged/renamed the way I like it.
I am wondering...actually you should have bought 2 4TB drvies, the other one for backing up the files of the first one.


just bought another 4TB external and still have hundreds of music to go through and see if they're tagged/renamed the way I like it.
It sounds like a task for the rest of your life.


I do it manually. So I know it's done right.
If I trusted this task to automation, I'm sure more than half the albums would have errors and mistakes; thus, creating an even larger problem that I could have kept to a sane minimum.
Yes, of course, doing it fully automatically is extremely error prone, it will not work, but doing it manually would mean, you have to control each single album, I assume.


Speed is not an issue for me.
TeraCopy's CRC check/verification is what sells me.
If I'm going to copy over millions of files, i want to know they made it safe and sound.
So the copy phase followed by the test phase is more than ideal.
For instance FastCopy, FreeFileSync (by content) also have a verifycation option. One of the most important things is - because Windows is very error prone (for me) copying, moving can be very inconvenient - that, when you move files, they will be deleted after they are completely copied (so, other than the Windows copy function, you can lose data, if an error occurs). I do not know whether TeraCopy moves files like this, I have just tried it again.


Also, archive each folder when you move it. It's easier for the copy process. The math to calculate the time and bandwidth to copy files (memory buffing), is easier when most of the files share the same size and are not in the millions.
Do I understand it right, you archive folders / albums, so convert them into zip, rar files, copy or move them and unzip them at the source side. And this method takes less time than just copying the single files, folders? Ah no, I guess you mean, you archive the single files / albums directly to the destination drive and unzip them on that side. And that really does need less time.


Like I said earlier: you'll never find an easier, automated process of doing this.
And if you do find an automated process, you'll never know if it is accurate or not because you don't seem the type of person to actually care whether or not what you download is what it is.
I would like to have all music files tagged, managed the way I like it, but how should one do it in a life time?


I've downloaded so many albums that have the Track # AND the Track Title stored in the "Title" tag that when I renamed it to my usual format, I ended up with the Track # showing up twice in the file name. :/
Yes, indeed, that often happens, or the wrong place for the track number, point or "-" after it, format / place of the published year etc., as I said before, to really tag all the files like they should be tagged, get the covers, front, back, folder names etc. a life time task.


Why you're downloading a lot (sounds like you download 100's per day...impulsively or trying to start your own illegal pirated music online shop) is beyond me.
No, no, just listen to the music...and greed.

I just unzip/uncompress as I go.

๏̯͡๏﴿ i didn't mean for anyone to reply to my novels.

i'll read it in small doses. ๏̯͡๏﴿

๏̯͡๏﴿ i didn't mean for anyone to reply to my novels.
Oops, sorry, I didn't know that, the next time I would not do it anymore of course. May be then I just could wright some generally statements about that novels.


i'll read it in small doses. ๏̯͡๏﴿
OK, I understand, why is that? I assume, to treat the brain resources with care or so.

My brain is fully operational.

my attention span is not, however.

You see, I like to use tabs and learn everything there is to video/audio processing so I can finally get around to converting the blu-ray to Scream and make a much better version for DVD.

And then later do an encode for 1080p.

Miramax sucks for blu-ray transfers.

My brain is fully operational.
Yes, of course, I hadn't any doubts about it...OK, the span of attentions lacks, I understand.


You see, I like to use tabs and learn everything there is to video/audio processing so I can finally get around to converting the blu-ray to Scream and make a much better version for DVD.

And then later do an encode for 1080p.

Miramax sucks for blu-ray transfers.

Yes, yes, I see, well, that sounds very good, but at the moment I am not quite sure, if I might understand the entire context.

but how should one do it in a life time?

๏̯͡๏﴿ You ask questions that encompass more than the answer of "42".

I spent 4 hours sorting out a good chunk of music on a 1TB external.
The next day I spent only 2 hours on the 2TB.

Now that I've upgraded to 4TB's all around, I've managed to find so many duplicates and useless lossy formats and saved a lot of space.
There's still thousands to go through.
They're not all transitioned to a solitary external as of yet.

The idea was to have one full of nothing but movies and TV shows.
One for music and editing (of audio, video, etc).
And one to hold all the software updates, programs and games.

But they were, all of them, deceived.
FOR IN THE LANDS OF WINDOWS, THE DARK LORD, GATES, MADE A MASTER EXTERNAL.
AND INTO THIS EXTERNAL HE POURED HIS ODDS AND ENDS AND THE WILL TO DOWNLOAD MEANINGLESS YOUTUBE VIDEOS...
HE CONNECTED IT TO THE INTERNET...
ONE BY ONE, THE GO-FLEX EXTERNALS OF SEAGATE FELL TO THE POWER OF COMPULSIVE DOWNLOADING.


History became legend.
Legend became myth...
And my coffee cup needs a refill.

Usually I'm running in Linux, where it's easier to copy things reliably (rsync) and rename things in bulk (Thunar's bulk rename, a few command line utilities). I store everything I have on a separate file server here at home, so my usual method is Download -> bulk unzip (using Ark or a for loop in Bash) -> convert flac -> mp3 (mainly for convenience that I won't get into here) if needed -> clean up tags and rename files using EasyTag -> bulk rename folders using a small Python script I wrote into the format YEAR - ALBUM NAME -> rsync them over to my file server. From there I'm super anal about how I store the files, with multiple levels of folders representing genres, artists, and albums.

On Windows, however, it's a bit different. Usually I download, then move them to a temporary folder on Linux where I then do my usual routine :-P

OK, thanks Sparktank 2.0,

Sometimes it is not that easy to understand for me, but I guess 6 hours of work is not that much. I would like to have some thousands of archives unzipped, edited, tagged etc., but I assume the time, efforts to do that, would be inaceptable, so would just unzipp them with jD, because the passwords are stored there and let foobar, MusicBee or so automatically create a music catalog. Is there a better way to bulk unzip than using jD? Or is there a program, which automatically can tag tracks using e.g. the track lengths to find out the track titles when it knows the album name, release year or something like that?

I assume, you use a program to find duplicates, the lossy tracks or do you do it manually?


On Windows, however, it's a bit different. Usually I download, then move them to a temporary folder on Linux where I then do my usual routine
Yes, Windows works very unreliable for me, I do not have any idea of Linux. Do you download on Linux or Windows?

No, JD is it.

Just when you add links to JD, make sure your settings are designed to create folders based on package names.
I think there's also a way to make sure there are no repeated, useless folders.

MP3tag can automatically tag things. But it requires user interaction.
You'll have to run the tracks against databases and determine which ones are from the album you have.
With all database methods, you'll end up with a few different albums from a few different artists.
Or you'll get a lot of results.
Sometimes you'll get nothing that is accurate and have to google it and change it manually.

There is nothing to do it automatically for you because there is no guaranteed accuracy.

I find duplicates manually.

With everything I have, I go through and rename/retag everything the way I want.
Eventually, I find a lot of duplicates and compare the contents manually to see which I like better.

Sometimes I'll have covers to go with a lossy album but find out I have a lossless album with no covers.
Easy swap. Delete the lossy.
Or I'll find two of the same, just one is already named/tagged the way I like it and the other one messy.

I aim for the most accuracy. Which means the most user interaction.
Which means 1-4 hours a day.
Which means about a month's time to get most of everything organized nicely.

I think there's also a way to make sure there are no repeated, useless folders.
I use jD 1 and 2 (beta), but couldn't find such an option. I have just asked in the forum (again).

Here is a very good programm for finding duplicates (so, the duplicates being exactly identical), but be careful when you delete files: clonespy - Home (http://www.clonespy.com/)
And check in options "Report" "display all equal files in a list" and there also "Ignore Errors" second and third box.

OK, a lot of work, manually editing etc. No other way, that's my experience also.

I assume, you use a program to find duplicates, the lossy tracks or do you do it manually?


Yes, Windows works very unreliable for me, I do not have any idea of Linux. Do you download on Linux or Windows?
Whichever I happen to be in, really. Regardless of OS, I have everything go to the Downloads folder (/home/alexa/files on Linux), where I do an initial extraction and sort. Then I'll either do tagging/renaming there, or move them to a separate "Incoming" folder if I chose to work on them later. Periodically I work through my Incoming folder.

When I extract things, btw, each zip/rar/7z/tarball/whatever file gets its own separate folder. That might be a Unix habit, though. If you have an archive dump all its files into the current directory, it's called a tarbomb, and is usually looked down upon. So on Windows, when I extract, I use 7-Zip and have it automatically make a new folder for me. It's some option when I right-click. On Linux, Ark can do it automatically if needed from the command line for me.

I keep archives (Zip, Rar) in a folder on an external hard drive. I have a music folder on my internal hard drive where I place music I listen to.

Thank you, yuki_the_dj,

OK, I do it in a similar way more or less.

Actually 7zip should also do it automatically, using its GUI at least, to unzip each archive in a single folder. And you could try PeaZip, it should do it also and you can use jD's passwords list or use any words / lists you want with it and it has some furhter options.


I keep archives (Zip, Rar) in a folder on an external hard drive. I have a music folder on my internal hard drive where I place music I listen to.
So, you just unzip the archives when you want their musi. Foobar also plays archives. Do not know, whether Aimp does it.

very useful information
thanx