Slow library scanning and playback on new Roon Core setup (ref#2KK9JB)

Support
1

What app are you having the slowness issue with?

· Roon

What kind of performance/speed issue are you experiencing?

· The app takes a long time to respond to commands

Please try to reboot your Roon Server

· No, the issue is still the same even immediately after a reboot

Please try to reboot your networking gear (Router/Switches/etc.)

· No, the issue is still the same even after a reboot

Is there any change in behavior if you try to navigate to Roon Settings -> Library and set both Background and On-Demand Audio Analysis to Throttled or Off?

· No, the issue is still the same

Does the issue happen on multiple Roon Remotes (controllers) or just one?

· Issue happens on multiple remotes

Router Domain Name System (DNS) change

· I don't know how to do this

What is the operating system of your Roon Server host machine?

· Windows

Timestamp of issue occurrences

· Constant issue, not time related.

Describe the issue

I just purchased a new PC (NUC/mini PC) to run Roon. I installed Roon Core on the new Win 11 PC- nothing else has been installed. Gen 13 I-9 CPU, 32G DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD.

I then plugged in my external HD which contains the actual music files. 20 TB HDD connected via USB 3.0. Everything showed up in Roon and seemed fine. However, playback, and loading songs was very slow and the blue circle near the top right corner is spinning. Searching was also VERY slow and never auto-completed the text I was typing.

After several reboots and Roon restarts the problem persists. I then noticed it was scanning the library at a very slow setting. After eight hours it had only scanned ~500 files of 113,000.
I changed the scan speed to use 14 cores which did speed things up, but after about 36 hours it has still only scanned ~6,000 files. The CPU is cranking. It's hot and the fan is probably at full speed, but it's still taking forever.

Is this normal? I have 12,000 albums and well over 130,000 tracks. (Still unsure why the file and track numbers don't match). Also, when I stop all scanning the slowness is searching and playing music is not resolved.

Happy to provide any additional info required.

Describe your network setup

Same ISP I've had for a decade, newer Netgear Nighthawk router (internal modem). No other switches or range extenders. Router is adjacent to the PC.

2

Hello @Chris_Gilliland ,

Thank you for reaching out and providing such detailed information about your setup. Your new mini PC has fantastic specs (Gen 13 i9, 32GB RAM), which is more than enough power for Roon. However, based on the symptoms you’re describing, we are looking at a classic hardware bottleneck issue caused by the 20TB mechanical HDD.

Here is exactly what is happening under the hood:

When you connect a massive 20TB library (over 130,000 tracks) and start the initial scan, Roon sends thousands of tiny, random read requests to your hard drive to gather metadata, tags, and audio properties. Mechanical HDDs, especially extremely large ones, have very slow random read speeds (IOPS) compared to SSDs.

Because the drive cannot feed data fast enough to your i9 processor, the system’s active threads get “stuck” waiting for the hard drive. This causes Roon’s memory management (Garbage Collection) to go into overdrive trying to manage the backlog of pending files. When you increased the scan speed to 14 cores, it actually made the problem worse: 14 processor cores are now simultaneously demanding data from a mechanical spinning disk that was already struggling to serve one. This massive memory management loop is exactly why your CPU is cranking, generating high heat, and causing the UI and search functions to slow to a crawl.

To resolve this and get your system running smoothly, please follow these steps:

  1. Turn Off Background Audio Analysis (For Now)
  • Go to Settings > Library.
  • Set Background Audio Analysis Speed to Off.
  • Set On-Demand Audio Analysis Speed to Fast (this ensures music plays fine when you click it).
  • Why? We need to let Roon finish the basic "Importing" of your library first without stressing the drive with the heavy audio analysis phase.
2. Reboot and Cool Down
  • Restart your Roon Server and let the PC cool down. Thermal throttling from the i9 is likely contributing to the UI lag.
3. Configure Windows Defender Exclusions
  • Windows Defender is notorious for trying to scan every single file Roon touches during an import, which completely kills HDD performance.
  • Please add your Roon Database folder (typically located in AppData) and your entire 20TB Music drive to the Windows Security exclusions list.
4. Check Power Settings
  • Ensure your Windows power plan is set to "High Performance" and that "USB selective suspend setting" is disabled so the USB port doesn't power down the drive.
Once the initial library import is fully complete, you can turn Background Audio Analysis back on to a low setting (like "Throttled" or "1 Core") and let it run quietly in the background over a few nights.

Regarding your question about Files vs. Tracks: It is completely normal for these numbers to differ! The “Files” count includes everything Roon scanned in your watched folders, including cover art (JPEGs), PDF booklets, text files, and unsupported formats. The “Tracks” count represents the actual playable audio files, and can also include tracks from streaming services (like TIDAL or Qobuz) added to your library that don’t exist as physical files on your drive.

Thanks.

3

Thanks so much. I will try this when I return home this evening.

4

Sounds good @Chris_Gilliland we’ll be monitoring for your reply and results!

5

I have done all of the above and it is still incredibly slow. It take minutes for “albums” or “artists” to populate the screen. Very long pauses when starting albums or switching tracks. Search is nearly useless- it takes forever and never auto-completes while typing. I don’t know what to do. This is so frustrating when Relisten works better and quicker than my “fancy programs”. Any next steps?

6

Hey @Chris_Gilliland,

Thanks for the update! I can now confirm that all our upstream services should now be back to normal - if you reboot your server and remotes, how do things perform for you?

Thank you :folded_hands:

7

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