Playlists don't work. "Starred" & "More" links error

[rumremix]

I just installed subsonic within the last month or two and have been delighted with how easy it was to set up and how well it works. And to show my appreciation, I became a premium member a week or two ago.

Unfortunately, problems arose yesterday. Also unfortunate is that I made two changes yesterday, either of which could be the culprit: (a) I updated Java as I was prompted to do so (unaware at the time of any Java version issues) and (b) I reorganized my folder structure on my media server so that the indexed paths needed to change; to accommodate this I deleted the existing indexed folder paths, added the updated paths, and re-indexed, thinking that would do the trick. Now that I'm having issues I'm not sure if one or both of those changes might be responsible.

As for the java issue, I noticed the pinned thread titled "Java 1.7 Incompatibility". But I'm having trouble deducing whether this is still a current issue. The thread was started in March 2012. My server is new as of February 2013 and definitely had a recent version of Java, and I believe I've updated it regularly. Like I said I installed subsonic only a month or so ago and it has worked flawlessly until yesterday. So the issues first identified in the "Java 1.7 Incompatibility" thread in 2012 shouldn't be relevant to me should they? Is there perhaps an issue with the very latest Java update?

Here are my specifics:

Problem Description: (1) I can create new playlists, either empty or from the queue; however, I am now unable to edit, rename, delete, or add songs to an existing playlist. Also, If I select and open a playlist, no songs appear and I am unable to play the songs. The only indicator that a playlist contains any songs is the number in parentheses next to its name. (2) Now when I click the "Starred" link the central web page frame shows an error (Exception: org.springframework.dao.TransientDataAccessResourceException). (3) Now when I click the "More" link, the central frame shows an error -- same Exception as above, full details below). (4) Settings --> Clean up Database now throws an error (details below). (5) Home->Random only shows one album now (earlier it was showing none). Home --> Recent and Home --> All only show 7 albums. However, thousands of albums were indexed and playable through the queue. (6) The number of albums and songs indexed no longer appears in the lower left. (7) I can't import playlists -- just get message "Failed to import playlist. No songs in the playlist were found."
Troubleshooting Steps: Earlier yesterday I was prompted to install a Java update and did so. However the update didn't complete because subsonic was running. When things started to not work properly I suspected a partial update might be to blame, shut down subsonic, and completed the full update. I also re-indexed my collection and clicked "Clean Up Database" (now doing so throws an error). I have not yet tried uninstalling and re-installing subsonic.
Playback Application and version: Google chrome.
Subsonic Version: 4.8 (build 3434) – April 17, 2013
Server Version: jetty-6.1.x, java 1.7.0_25, Windows 8 (52.5 MB / 144.1 MB)
Hardware Platform: Windows 8 Machine
Java Memory Limit: 150MB
Problem Filename: N/A
Output from ffmpeg -i: I assume this is not applicable because above is not applicable
Last ten log file lines:

Code: Select all

[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) TCON : R&B
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) COMMENT : Track 1
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) TSSE : Lavf53.6.0
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) Stream #0.0: Audio: libmp3lame, 44100 Hz, stereo, s16, 128 kb/s
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) Stream mapping:
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) Stream #0.0 -> #0.0
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) size= 3715kB time=00:03:57.71 bitrate= 128.0kbits/s
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg)
[7/7/13 5:48:53 PM PDT]   DEBUG   InputStreamReaderThread   (c:\subsonic\transcode\ffmpeg) video:0kB audio:3714kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.007861%

Error Messages from "Starred" and "More" and "Clean Up Database": On second thought, I will not include these complete error messages unless someone believes they will be useful (due to large size).
Version of Java: Version 7 Update 25 (build 1.7.0_25-b17)

Many thanks to anyone who can help me troubleshoot and resolve!

[rumremix]

Update
I uninstalled and re-installed subsonic. Interestingly, all my music was available immediately after re-installing -- there was no need to re-index. All my settings were maintained, and all my test playlists were still there. Apparently, all the application data was preserved. Unfortunately, all of the problems reported above are still present. The only exception is item number (6), the number of artists, albums and songs, etc. is now appearing in the lower left, but this was the least significant issue.

Would it help to uninstall subsonic again, delete all app data and then re-install? I appreciate any suggestions as I am anxious to get back to using subsonic as I was before.

[rumremix]

Further Update:
I was able to fix my environment so I am no longer getting the errors noted above. To accomplish this, I went ahead and did the following:
(1) uninstalled subsonic
(2) deleted the c:\subsonic folder
(3) backed up the registry, then
(4) deleted all references to subsonic in the registry (not certain if this was necessary but wanted to be thorough)
(5) reinstalled and reconfigured subsonic

No longer getting errors and playlists work again. Unfortunately, I of course lost all playlist and starred data. Good thing I've only been using SS for several weeks, so didn't lose all that much. I hope I don't need to do this same process after accumulating lots of useful data.

By the way, this forum seems a little quiet at the moment. Glad I am here to chat with myself.

[BKKKPewsey]

The Java incompatibility has been resolved in V4.8 SS however I have left it sticky as a number of users are still running 4.6 SS.
Java updates can be a problem as (on windoze at least) the java auto updater has problems in shutting down the subsonic service.
This can many issues including a corrupt database which appears to have happened in your case.
Unfortunately the db engine which SS uses is not the most resilient engine available.

[rumremix]

Thanks for the information, BKKKPewsey. That is very good to know.

So would you suggest in the future, that if I manually stop subsonic before upgrading java, that I will be able to avoid these issues?

[BKKKPewsey]

So would you suggest in the future, that if I manually stop subsonic before upgrading java, that I will be able to avoid these issues?

Yep just shut down SS via the control panel before allowing java to update and you should be ok.

[EvilPeppard]

Further Update:
I was able to fix my environment so I am no longer getting the errors noted above. To accomplish this, I went ahead and did the following:
(1) uninstalled subsonic
(2) deleted the c:\subsonic folder
(3) backed up the registry, then
(4) deleted all references to subsonic in the registry (not certain if this was necessary but wanted to be thorough)
(5) reinstalled and reconfigured subsonic

No longer getting errors and playlists work again. Unfortunately, I of course lost all playlist and starred data. Good thing I've only been using SS for several weeks, so didn't lose all that much. I hope I don't need to do this same process after accumulating lots of useful data.

By the way, this forum seems a little quiet at the moment. Glad I am here to chat with myself.

Thanks for all this information. I too just installed SubSonic yesterday, and like what I see. So much so, I am ready to pay to become a premium member.

However, when I try to import playlists, I get the message 'Failed to import playlist. No songs in the playlist were found'. I just want to clarify that your error message about failing to import playlists went away after you uninstalled and reinstalled SS?

I just installed and configured SS yesterday, and really do not want to uninstall and reinstall it again, if there is something else I can try to clear this error. I must be able to import playlists. If I cannot, then I have not found the right music streaming solution.

Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions.

[EvilPeppard]

Further Update:
I was able to fix my environment so I am no longer getting the errors noted above. To accomplish this, I went ahead and did the following:
(1) uninstalled subsonic
(2) deleted the c:\subsonic folder
(3) backed up the registry, then
(4) deleted all references to subsonic in the registry (not certain if this was necessary but wanted to be thorough)
(5) reinstalled and reconfigured subsonic

No longer getting errors and playlists work again. Unfortunately, I of course lost all playlist and starred data. Good thing I've only been using SS for several weeks, so didn't lose all that much. I hope I don't need to do this same process after accumulating lots of useful data.

As an update, I performed these steps to try and fix the playlist issue of 'Failed to import playlist. No songs in the playlist were found'. Even after performing each step, I still get the same message.

This error is the one thing keeping me from using this product and going premium. SS looks like it will fit the bill for me, so I really hope I can get some help correcting the playlist import error.

I am using the latest version of SubSonic, version 4.8 (build 3434) – April 17, 2013. I am using the latest version of Java, version 7 update 40.

Thanks again in advance for any assistance.

[alphawave7]

Howdy EvilPeppard...it may be a path issue, so double-check a playlist to ensure it begins (and matches) your existing structure.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10766
You can use Mediamonkey to edit and alter playlist files to match your structure a bit faster than manually editing them, so check out the instructions (or Youtube) for a quick review.

[EvilPeppard]

Howdy EvilPeppard...it may be a path issue, so double-check a playlist to ensure it begins (and matches) your existing structure.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10766
You can use Mediamonkey to edit and alter playlist files to match your structure a bit faster than manually editing them, so check out the instructions (or Youtube) for a quick review.

Thanks for the reply. I will review the link you provided. I really want to make this program work because it looks exactly like what I've been wanting. This playlist issue is the only thing holding me back.

I have tested (and paid for) others, including Helium Music Manager (network version with streaming module), Plex, Amazon, Google Music, and others. If I can get the playlist issue figured out, it will be a slam dunk for SubSonic. I really do not want to have to re-create my playlists.

I will provide more feedback after I review the link you supplied. Thank you again.

[EvilPeppard]

Howdy EvilPeppard...it may be a path issue, so double-check a playlist to ensure it begins (and matches) your existing structure.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10766
You can use Mediamonkey to edit and alter playlist files to match your structure a bit faster than manually editing them, so check out the instructions (or Youtube) for a quick review.

So I got the playlists to import. This is what I discovered after reviewing the post above.

The .M3U playlists I had created, and was trying to import were originally created in MediaMonkey by using the 'Sent To M3U' feature in MediaMonkey. Opening the playlist in NotePad++, I see that MM creates the playlists with pathing like this:

..\04 - Need.mp3
..\13 - Rammstein - Du Hast.mp3
..\01 - Undaunted.mp3

This pathing looked to be the issue, so as a test, I imported the same playlist I had exported from MediaMonkey into iTunes. I then turned around and exported the same playlist from iTunes I had just imported. I then opened the playlist in Notepad++ and this is the pathing format iTunes used when exporting:

#EXTINF:211,Need - The Birthday Massacre
D:\Music\My Playlists\..\04 - Need.mp3
#EXTINF:236,Hast - Rammstein
D:\Music\My Playlists\..\13 - Rammstein - Du Hast.mp3
#EXTINF:284,Undaundted - Adrenaline Mob
D:\Music\My Playlists\..\01 - Undaunted.mp3

The playist that was exported from iTunes successfully imported into SubSonic!

Anyway, I wanted to share this info with folks in hopes it would help others who had similar issues with the playlists importing.

Payment on the way to SubSonic. Thank you for the help!

EDIT: Payment sent! I am now a premium subscriber!

EDIT 2: I just discovered that MediaMoneky can export M3U playlists with 'absolute' paths using an addon. More is explained here. The addon is for MM is called 'Export/Create Playlists for Child Nodes'. I have tested the MM addon and when the option for the addon is set to NOT use 'relative' paths, the exported playlist format is identical to the pathing used by iTunes as shown above. This means you would be able to import playlists into SubSonic that were exported from Media Monkey using the aforementioned addon. Hope that helps.

[BKKKPewsey]

If you are using MM to create playlists for SS then checkout "Export/Create Playlists for Child Nodes" extension.
This will export playlists with the correct paths names for SS
It will also do a lot more as well

[EvilPeppard]

If you are using MM to create playlists for SS then checkout "Export/Create Playlists for Child Nodes" extension.
This will export playlists with the correct paths names for SS
It will also do a lot more as well

LOL, check the 'EDIT 2' in my previous post. We must have been posting at the same time!