Should have trusted my upgrade dread

Roon Core Machine

MacMini 2.3 GHz i7 quad core

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Newest AT&T router installed a few months ago.

Connected Audio Devices

Ayre DAC USB

Number of Tracks in Library

600-700 or so CD’s worth of tracks

Description of Issue

After some major problems with previous upgrades, Roon had been relatively stable for a while, though it seemed to lose contact with Tidal once in a while after sleeping overnight or for an extended period. I hesitated with hitting “upgrade,” because last major update caused me to lose Roon functionality for more than a month. But regrettably I went ahead.

The latest upgrade froze my computer several times and the database update didn’t finish, even after hours and overnight. Finally seems to operate but getting frequent dropouts and instances of self pausing (pretty much every track), regardless whether I’m playing from the local SSD or via Tidal. I can play both local album files and Tidal directly if I bypass Roon altogether with no problem.

Some more detail might help folks help you. Is everything connected via ethernet?

Wifi as it’s been for years, though the router was upgraded to a new fiber modem/router 5 months ago. Router is 20ft away direct line of sight.

I would suggest trying to connect your Roon core and Endpoint (I assume the Ayre DAC) by ethernet to your router (even if it is temporarily) and see if that improves things. Roon strongly recommends that the core is connected by ethernet to the router, and the endpoint if at all possible.

It’s well documented & recommended by Roon that the Core should be connected to your router via ethernet. You mention that you have had ongoing, albeit intermittent, problems with Tidal so there have been underlying problems for some time.
As @Rockhound advises an ethernet connection could well solve some, if not all, of your problems. A long ethernet cable is not expensive so it’s worth trying.

Good luck.

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The problem with Tidal has only been that Roon loses its connection with Tidal intermittently. Tidal keeps working just fine. Roon has also been losing touch with the DAC (USB connected), though it still shows up on System preferences and other sources will play through it without a problem. Restarting Roon or rebooting is needed to reestablish the connection. The frequent dropouts and Roon freezing (complete lockup that never unlocks) occurs while playing from the drive local to the core. I end up having to force quit Roon. I tried the direct Ethernet connection last time after the problems with the last significant upgrade when Roon was out of commission on my system for more than a month. Did not help at all. It appears one of the minor release/bug fixes resolved the problems mostly.

Good program design should accommodate minor network hiccups or, at least it should fail gracefully. If Roon can handle streaming to remote mobile devices over even more service interuption-prone mobile connections, Wifi should not be a problem.

Hi @CMcGill,

As mentioned by, @Rockhound a wired connection is required for any Roon core and highly advised for any HW.

Here is our KB on the topic of Wi-Fi and our language is quite specific:

However, I would be more than happy to look at your diagnostic logging and have requested it from your core. If you would, please bring your core online and my request will go through.

As far as your DAC disappearing from Roon, one thing I have found as a cause is either time machine backups or believe it or not, sleep preferences. Roon loses connectivity and while it can be restored with a restart, changing your core to an always-on configuration in MacOS will likely prevent this entirely.

Thanks,
Wes

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Thank you, I saw that previously. I’ve run Roon on the same self-contained system for a number of years now with minimal problems streaming, etc., except for when upgrades come along. I’m quite familiar with how networks work.

I’ll have to double check the “always on” preferences. I don’t recall changing that, but it’s possible I changed it by mistake at some point.

I think I’m going to migrate Roon and the music library to a newer, faster computer. May I ask if you can point me to step-by-step instructions on how to migrate the entire system from an old computer to a new one? I found what appear to be pieces but no clear directions. Should I download the Roon software first from the roonlabs site or move it from the old computer. Moving the license? What about the database and music. I saw one article that said don’t use a Time Machine backup. I do have a Roon-created database backup Can I just copy the whole file structure of Roon and the music files from old to new? Will indices need to be rebuilt? How do I ensure that the executables, databases, indices, links, music files, preferences, and playlists don’t become corrupted? As with the current system, this will be an all-in-one, self-contained setup.

Thank you for your help.
Craig

Hi @CMcGill,

Here’s our article for DB migration. In your case, you can only restore the backups you made prior to this issue.

It’s an all-inclusive guide but if there are any items you’re unclear on please let me know.

Wes

Thank you for your help. The migration instructions are probably clearer for someone more intimate with the inner workings and nomenclature of Roon. All said and done it was simple enough–about what I expected before searched for the instructions. However, the Roon backup, which was quite recent, was looking to watch files in an iTunes library that had no large files, so it wasn’t finding the bulk of the music, though it found some in a separate small watched library. I was puzzled because the libraries and directories had the same names and structures, and disabling/rescanning/deleting/re-watching did not find any music So I wandered off for a while wondering why the same library structure seemed to find my music on the old computer but not on the new when seeming to watch iTunes libraries. I remembered that iTunes went away a while back. Initial searches didn’t com up with anything regarding Apple Music, just iTunes. Once I realized where Apple Music had the files, it was easy enough to turn on watching those files. All the music then came back and my Roon playlists all came back.

I think the instructions could be more linear, with fewer tangent links that sometimes led to further tangents. I just migrated one of my computers to one of the new Apple M1 Max laptops that I use for photos and editing. It was simple, straightforward, and everything just worked as before. I think that Roon the migration and upgrade process, which isn’t difficult after all, could be clarified and enumerated rather easily in a similar manner.

All seems well for now. I’m optimistic that the fresh installation will keep it that way at least for a while.

Thank you again, Craig

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Thank you for the suggestions and please let me know if you experience further issues.

Wes

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