I cannot get my metadata to restore properly. See Backup restoration issue in Roon (ref#06QMFD)
I tried the solution that Mr. Flibble suggested and which worked before but which doesn't work this time.
Describe your network setup
Asus RT-AX88U, Nucleus Titan, Trinnov Altitude 16, I have just upgraded to Windows 11 on June 28, 2025. Things were working fine until the power cord was somehow disconnect last night (June 27).
Thanks for the reply. The music locations have not changed.
I added the music, then I did a “restore”. After the “launch”, I then added the 2 watch folders again. However, all it did was add the music again instead of doing the successful quick scan that you mentioned in the previous version of this thread.
I did have some problems with the restore.
First, one of the two restore locations would allow a restore but peculiarly not a deletion of the superfluous backups. Then I had all kinds of problems with the sharing disappearing. Fortunately, that “seems” to have been solved (touch wood).
I was finally able to do the restore, then the message came up to do the launch. I deleted the 2 watch folders that were no longer connected and then re-added them with the results outlined above.
Somewhere in there, I “cleaned the Library” but I doubt if that had an effect. Does it matter when the “cleaning” is done? Can it be done at any time?
As we speak, Roon is in the process of adding 92,580 tracks of Music to the library (it takes roughly 90 minutes but should be done in a couple of minutes). I won’t try anything more until I receive further instructions.
Yes, it does matter when the clean up library action is done. Since you performed this after removing your watched folders, the clean up action essentially directed Roon to remove any links to old albums that are not currently part of the librrary.
One important aspect to also keep in mind here is that you should always prevent Roon from seeing two copies of the same media files at a time, otherwise it will list the duplicate music files as “new” and not have any metadata associated with them.
I suggest that you try to perform the restore once more, ensure that Roon is only seeing one copy of the music files (by disabling the old location if still accessible by the Roon Server), add the new location as a watched folder, and then the files should start to be matched up. Only after everything is confirmed to have all the desired metadata associated should you run a clean up library, the below article also provides more info in this regard.
[Edit 10:03 p.m BST -7 original reply follows this edit]
I made a couple of other attempts without success. Cleaned Library, Restored, Relaunched, Checked Library (All zeros), Removed 2 disconnected folders, added folders, No Luck!.
My current status is all music has been added (I needed something to listen to), Library is clean (I didn’t do anything as it was all zeros) and the 2 storage folders indicate 83,942 and 8,638 tracks imported. All folders on the Home Screen indicate as being added today.
[Original Post below]
Thank you for your reply. I tried again and now I am totally confused. All it did was add the files again without restoring the metadata. Obviously I am doing something wrong, probably something very simple. Perhaps I need to remove all the folders in Step 4 below.
Below is the procedure that I followed:
New Attempt June 30, 2025 @ 12:36 p.m. BST -7
The files were added
Checked Storage and it displayed the following:
–Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → Music
This drive is not available. Check the drive or edit the folder if it has been moved.
–Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → SACD Files
This drive is not available. Check the drive or edit the folder if it has been moved.
–Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → Music
Watching for new files in real time.
83,942 tracks imported
–Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → SACD Files
Watching for new files in real time.
8,638 tracks imported
Checked Library → Library maintenance (Clicked on “Clean up library”)
It displayed all Zeros
Went back to Storage
Removed the 2 watched folders that were no longer available. This leaves the other 2 folders
Did a Restore
Did a Relaunch
Home Screen appeared showing no entries (tracks, albums, composers, etc.)
Went to Storage and removed the folders that were no longer available
Checked Library → Library maintenance (Clicked on “Clean up library”)
It showed 94,152 files not Associated with a Storage Location. I “cleaned the Library”
Thanks for sharing a detailed breakdown of your process! Here’s What Likely Went Wrong:
When Roon sees a storage folder before the database is restored:
It imports all content as new, assigning new internal IDs.
Then when you restore the database, those IDs don't match the backed-up metadata, so the metadata can't be re-associated.
Your steps indicate that music files were already visible/imported before the database restore completed, so the restore had nothing to "reattach" metadata to. To properly restore your library with metadata, here's the correct order of operations:
Stop Roon Server
Remove Current Watched Folders
Restore Backup
Re-add Storage Folders
Confirm Restore Worked
Make sure:
The folder paths match exactly what they were when the backup was made.
Storage isn't visible to Roon until after the restore completes.
Pardon my ignorance and misunderstanding but what do you mean by “Stop Roon Server” and how do I do that?
“My current status is all music has been added (I needed something to listen to), Library is clean (I didn’t do anything as it was all zeros) and the 2 storage folders indicate 83,942 and 8,638 tracks imported. All folders on the Home Screen indicate as being added today.”
Does the process you outlined work with my current status (assuming I eventually understand what is meant by “Stop Server”)?
Edit: I am on my Desktop computer if that makes any difference. I make changes in Roon and do tagging from my Desktop but use my iPad as a remote control.
It didn’t work. I am letting it add tracks right now to get it back to the state I had it before your previous message. At least I can listen to something in the meantime.
I may have screwed up. When I went to Restore, I inadvertently started a backup instead (damn it anyway!). I can’t remember exactly what happened after that but I went into Find OS and did a restart of the Roon Server Software. It did a database update. The rest I tried as per your instructions but with no luck.
I will try again once it has added everything back and has got back to the same state as before this latest debacle.
I still don’t have a clue what is meant by “Stop Roon Server”. What exactly do I have to do to accomplish that?
To be clear, do I clean the library before Step 2 in your process if there are files to be cleaned?
This has got to be the most frustrating thing I have ever encountered. I have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on getting the metadata right. The only times I have been able to get the restore to work before is dumb luck or the previous time with the help of Mr. Flibble.
By stopping Roon Server, you can achieve this via the Web UI:
You should not clean the library at all, unless you have reached the end and all the metadata looks as expected, and all your desired storage locations are active. Cleaning up library will remove references to inactive media.
I stopped the Roon Server but then there was no way that I could tell to remove the current watched folders without going into it again. I then did the restore and re-add but it did not work properly. I did not clean the library
As I mentioned to Noris, I was able to stop the Roon Server via “Find OS”. However, then there does not appear be any way to get back in to remove the storage folders without restarting Roon. Thus the procedure ultimately failed.
Stopping Roon Server does no good as I have to start it up again to delete the watched folders.
Folder paths are the same. I assume you are talking about the watched files.
Nothing works. I even tried a slightly older backup for the restore.
Incidentally, somehow it now comes up with 2 possible servers: Nucleus Titan and This PC. How do I get rid of “This PC” as an option? I would have to get an additional subscription to make that work.
Yes - as I mentioned above, disable your watched folders prior to stopping Roon Server.
We’re referring to the file paths to your watched folders, yes exactly. After you performed your restore and re-connected your watched folders, could you please snap a screenshot and share it here?
It sounds like Roon Server might be running on your PC - you can close Roon Server on your PC via your taskbar to remove it from available devices. Locate the Roon Server icon in the system tray (usually near the clock), right-click it, and select “Quit” or “Exit”.
I have had a partial success in that I was able to restore one of the two watched folders, Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → Music containing 83,944 tracks. So far I have failed with the other file, Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → SACD Files containing 8,638 tracks.
Unfortunately, I cannot explain how I got the one main folder to work as it was all spur of the moment. I believe that I kept adding and disabling that file but I honestly can’t remember.
So the question is “What do I do now”. I suppose that I could try another restore but I am not even quite sure how to do that without jeopardizing the successful restore of the Titan-> Nucleus + → Music file (perhaps you can advise me on this). Unless I can figure out a way to do this in the very near future, I am sorely tempted to “recatalogue” the Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → SACD Files containing 8,638 tracks. It is likely doable and some of it (likely all of the Rock Music and most of the Soundtracks) is probably o.k. as is. Fortunately, I originally did most of the classic music in such a way that the vast majority of the compositions entries have not been affected. I can easily redo the “versions” while I am at it. The total number of albums involved would be about 500 out of 5963 and it should be relatively straightforward editing.
Any thoughts on this.
Major Edit: We have just had an unusually heavy thunderstorm which caused a power outage for over half an hour.
Roon is now in exactly the same state as when the original problems occurred. Therefore, given my previous lack of success, hopefully you can supply me with precise step-by-step instructions to get going again. I would rather not than try this on my own without knowing exactly what I should be doing. I suspect that when I tried this before, I did not follow the proper sequence (whatever that is) which screwed everything up. Perhaps I will have better luck this time as we are now starting with the original clean slate from when these problems first started.
Roon indicates that the 2 folders that need to be restored are no longer available. These are “Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → Music” and “Nucleus Titan-> Nucleus + → SACD”.
I should also mention that on the Home screen Roon indicates that there are Zero (0) Artists, Albums, Tracks and Composers.
I have succeeded in getting the network shares back in order to ultimately do a “Restore” via Roon “Backups”.
Thank you again for your efforts and your patience.
