All folders are showing

Hi Everyone,

May I know why is it that if I select Photos, Movies or Music. There are 3 folders showing inside of it? Like for example if I go to videos there is a folder named Photos, Videos & Music. How can i change this? I want it that for videos only video folder is showing.

Thanks & regards,

Newbie

Are you using the Media Library, and is your content source set to My Media Library?

WD_101 wrote:

Hi Everyone,

May I know why is it that if I select Photos, Movies or Music. There are 3 folders showing inside of it? Like for example if I go to videos there is a folder named Photos, Videos & Music. How can i change this? I want it that for videos only video folder is showing.

Thanks & regards,

Newbie

Sounds like you’re using “Media Shares”  
 try  “Network Shares”

1 Like

JoeySmyth wrote:

Sounds like you’re using “Media Shares”  
 try  “Network Shares”

This is interesting, I’ve noticed the same problem on my SMP. I did think it was daft having seperate icons for each type of media on the homepage when all were available in every window. Ironically I am using ‘Network Shares’ but this has made no difference


1 Like

Slinky_McVelvet wrote:


JoeySmyth wrote:

 

Sounds like you’re using “Media Shares”  
 try  “Network Shares”


This is interesting, I’ve noticed the same problem on my SMP. I did think it was daft having seperate icons for each type of media on the homepage when all were available in every window. Ironically I am using ‘Network Shares’ but this has made no difference


As has already been said above, you need to be using the Media Library.

Yes I am using the media library however I do still have music, videos and photos folders showing under each icon on the homepage! This is how it worked on my old WD Mini Player also.

Just a quick update on earlier


This evening I removed ALL shared content from my SMP, Cleared the Media Library Content and then Reset my SMP.

Next I added new shares to my SMP > My Music + My Photos + Videos, these were then added to My Media Library

On the Homescreen I selected Photos then pressed the RED button to change to My Media Library, in this folder there were 2 sub folders, Photos & My Music

Similarly in Music, My Media Library there were 3 sub folders, My Music, My Videos & Photos

Likewise in Videos, My Media Library there was also 3 sub folders, My Music, My Videos & Photos

I have removed ALL shared content 3 times each time resetting my SMP but the same issue repeats itself each time!

Can someone more knowledgeable please tell me where I am going wrong, it’s driving me nuts! :angry:

I just tried the same thing, but not with three different shares.

I put a photos folder in my movies share, and a movies in my photos share.

Only the correct folders showed up.  (The Photos folder did not show up under the Videos tab.)

So, my guess is, you have other types of media in those shares other than Music, Videos or Photos.

In other words, I’m guessing you might have at least one music file in your Videos and Photos shares.

Hey Tony,

You make an interesting point and one which had crossed my mind also. I have always stored Album Art in each sub folder of my music library and so this could explain why a ‘My Music’ folder is also showing under ‘Photos’.

When I first joined this post I also had a ‘Music Videos’ folder stored inside ‘My Music’ (I like things organised) and considering this may be the cause I moved it. Since doing so it does not show under the ‘Photos’ icon.

I’m guessing this is most likely the cause of this problem and so I am currently running some house work on my folders and will update this post once I have tested further.

Thanks again for your valuable input. :wink:

Hi Peeps!

Just a quick update on the above niggles. I spent all day yesterday re-oraganising my file structure and sorting through each folder for stray file types in an effort to finally solve my issues as discussed by the member at the start of this post.

My Music folder now only contains MP3’s. It does not contain any JPG Cover Art or any Music videos as was the case previously. Likewise I have cleared My Photos folder of ‘non-image formats’ and again with My Videos folder I have cleared all ‘non movie formats’. I have re-checked both manually and with Windows Search and my files are clean.

I deleted my Media Library content and ALL Network Shares form my SMP and put the unit into Deep Standby.

On my PC I removed ALL Shares and started a-fresh. I have once again shared the following folders:

‘My Music’ - ‘Photos’ & ‘My Videos Folders’

I re-started my SMP and in the setup menu I added new shares to my media library, all seemed okay until I looked in each location, this is how it now looks:

Under the Photos icon ‘My Media Library’ there are 2 x folders
, Photos & My Videos! The My Videos folder shows several sub folders with thumbnails but each of those folders is empty! Clicking on them results in a warning that the content has been disconnected.

Likewise under the Videos icon ‘My Media Library’ there are  2 x folders
, My Videos & Photos! The Photos folder has several sub folders with thumbnails showing but again, all these folders are empty! Again clicking on them results in a warning that the content has been disconnected.

Also under the Music icon ‘My Media Library’ there are 3 x folders
, My Music, Photos & My Videos! As per the above weird behaviour the Photos & My Video folders all have sub folders with thumbnails but again all are empty.

I have deleted the content of my media library and removed the shares several times and each time resetting my SMP but each time I re-add the shares to my media library the same old empty folders repopulate my media library!!!

Earlier this afternoon I purchased a big hammer from the local DIY store
, just kidding! Seriously though I have just about had enough, I am almost bald as it is and so pulling my hair out is becoming more difficult as each day passes.

In one last ditch attempt to get this irritating little box to work I have spent the last hour or so deleting all the following files form my share locations on my PC in an effort to clear these old share locations which my SMP refuse to let go of.

They are as follows: 

.wd_tv

METATHUMB

.XML

I have left the '.backdrop’ folders in my movie folder since these only contain images which hopefully my SMP should re-use?!

I will add my Shares to my Media Library one more time later today and hope to god it works this time. Failing that it’s going back to Amazon.

P.S.

I foregot to mention in the above, whilst trying to remove the dead ‘empty’ Photos folder from within My Media Library ‘Videos’, it hit upon me that I might get rid of it by clicking ‘options -Delete’. The resulting delete conformation window appeared and said it was deleting 0/0 but rather than quickly dismiss this window it stayed on screen for several minutes and then suddenly it started deleting photos from my new share! Thankfully I stopped it quick enough and so I have only lost around 80 - 100 photos! Thankfully some are backed up but other are now lost forever :frowning:

Argh!!! :angry:

Sorry that happened, but I don’t understand why you’re surprised that DELETE might actually delete something.

If all you were trying to do was remove a folder from your media library, that’s done via the Media Library Manager.

Select the share, click the X to remove it from the media library.

Hi Tony,

I think you misunderstand what I was trying to explain. I removed ALL Shares from my media library by clicking the X to remove them and likewise I unshared these folders on my computer. I then set about house keeping on all my media folders, removing stray image files from within my music folder etc. I then changed the file structure a bit, deleted some folders, created some new ones and renamed others and then re-shared my media folders. Basically speaking I was starting a-fresh.

What surprised me was that when I added these new share locations to my SMP the old ‘non-existent’ shares were added along side the new ones.

As previously mentioned I was actually inside the ‘VIDEOS’ view when this problem occurred. I had clicked the red button to show content from my media library expecting to see only my new ‘My Videos’ folder appear but a Photos folder also appeared. This is the same problem that has happened all along. This was one of those old share folders which no longer existed accept of course that my SMP thought otherwise!

So to answer your original question
, yes I was hoping it would delete this EMPTY non existent photos folder or at least any reference to it but what actually happened was completely different. Remember I said that this folder was EMPTY
, I tried clicking on this folder as if to open it but my SMP said it couldn’t find the content and that it might have been disconnected. That was why I tried removing it by clicking the ‘options’ button and then deleting it that way and this is when the menu popped up telling me it was deleting 0/0 files.I only tired doing this because clearing my media library wasn’t working as expected and the old content was still showing each time.

What really surprised me in all this was that after a brief wait where my SMP was seemingly doing nothing it suddenly started deleting photos from my new Photos folder which wasn’t even displayed in the Videos view! That photos folder was my new share, not this old one which no longer existed.

It is quite difficult to explain this in any other way but basically my SMP is showing ‘ghost folders’ from long since dead/non existent shares on my PC, hence why I have now resorted to deleting ‘.wd_tv’ - ‘METATHUMBS’ & ‘XML’ files.

I think basically the issue lies with my SMP not deleting these references when I select the share and then click the X to remove it from the media library. People change their file structures on their PC’s all the time and shared folders can be shared one day and not the next. WD TV Live should recognise these changes and disassociate itself from any old ones or at the very least delete those references to them. It should not repopulate your media library with folders or shares which no longer exist. No wonder people and indeed the SMP gets confused!

Hope I made it a bit clearer this time?

Hey Peeps!

For those of you who have read my post and are still confused, here is an image of the problem I am having.

As you can see there are a number of shares showing in the list, with the exception of the ‘ASUS’ NONE OF THESE SHARES EXISTS!!!

IMG_20140128_021114.jpg

How can I make my SMP clear it’s memory of these old shares?

Adding my NEW SHARES causes my SMP to also repopulate MY MEDIA LIBRARY with empty folders from the OLD SHARES.

Clearing My Media Library — FAILS!

Deleting ALL Shares — FAILS!

Resetting my device — FAILS!

Removing the power lead whilst the unit is on — FAILS!

Deleting ALL ‘.WD_TV’ - ‘XML’ & ‘METATHUMBS’ from my shared folders — FAILS!

RESET button under my SMP does not do anything — FAILS!

I hate my SMP with a passion right now! :cry:

Well call me stubborn but the one thing I have not yet tried is rolling back the firmware to the previous version ‘V.1.16.13’

Since my previous post I have now done this and all went as planned. I reset the device after the update had completed like so many people on these forums recommend. And guess what?

I navigate to the Media Library for Network Shares to add my New Shares to the library and my SMP seems possessed!!

Once again the list of shares includes all the same non existent shares as shown in the photo in my previous post!!!

Worse still if I click on one of them I get the message below appearing! It should be noted that I do not have any USB devices connected to my SMP nor have I disconnected any! My PC is still on and connected via an Ethernet cable and a quick check of my network connection passes without errors!

IMG_20140128_030836.jpg

I think it’s time for a refund unless anyone can throw any light on these problems please?

Hey Peeps!

Okay so firstly I would like to apologies to those of you who have read this entire thread because I believe I have now solved my own problem.!

Besides having a black belt in Google Fu I am also quite a stubborn g*** when I want to be. As a result I find it quite difficult to relax and go to sleep if my problems are not solved.

I exhausted all the possibilities I could think of regarding faults with my SMP but this led me nowhere except perhaps a few steps closer to my grave!

Okay, so I can admit that I make mistakes sometimes, I’m only human and whilst I consider myself computer savvy I have never before needed to use Networking in my home setup. Since this was the only weak link in the chain I back tracked through everything I had done recently and finally I discovered the problem.

Not liking the way my shares were working, i.e
 they included stuff I didn’t want shared I decided to try and take better control over them by creating some Library Shares, that way I could add only the folders and content I wanted to and not simply share the whole folder. Sounds easy enough?! Perhaps it is still possible (feel free to chip in anyone)?

Well after a brief experimentation with this process I decided against my madness and deleted those shared libraries but it would seem the shares remained but hidden from view. I don’t know how or why exactly but it was these shares which appeared each time I tried to add new shares to my media library.

I have since unshared all 16 of these rogue shares and finally I have success!! :smileyvery-happy:

My SMP now only lists 3 shares ‘My Music’ - My Videos’ & ‘Photos’

The one thing this nightmare has taught me is that if you’re having problems with shares, always check in your ‘Network Folder’ first. In this folder double click on your computer icon and this will open a window where you can see a full list of your shares.

The first image below shows why I was having such a nightmare.

All Share Locations.png

The second shows how it should have looked and more importantly how I thought I had set it up originally
 DOH!!

Shares.jpg

Going to bed, tail between legs and thoroughly ashamed of myself. :flushed:

Night night


WD_101 wrote:

Hi Everyone,

 

May I know why is it that if I select Photos, Movies or Music. There are 3 folders showing inside of it? Like for example if I go to videos there is a folder named Photos, Videos & Music. How can i change this? I want it that for videos only video folder is showing.

 

 

Thanks & regards,

 

Newbie

Hi WD_101,

Sorry this conversation went off topic a bit, what with all the problems I’ve encountered trying to resolve this issue it’s gotten a little confusing to follow.

Anyway as TonyPH12345 suggested here:

I just tried the same thing, but not with three different shares.

 

I put a photos folder in my movies share, and a movies in my photos share.

 

Only the correct folders showed up.  (The Photos folder did not show up under the Videos tab.)

 

So, my guess is, you have other types of media in those shares other than Music, Videos or Photos.

 

In other words, I’m guessing you might have at least one music file in your Videos and Photos shares.

 

 

I think it’s probably safe to accept this as a solution, if only I could find out how? Wasn’t there a button somewhere?

 

I’ve done a Windows Search in each of my Shared folders and I now only have audio files in my music folder, image files in my Photos folder and video files in my Video folder. Previously I had a few stray files in other formats as Tony suggested and it would seem this was what caused the problem.

 

If you’re reading this TonyPH12345, thanks for your input, however I have one last question?

 

With the above issue in mind why then does the Videos folder not also show in the Photos folder in My Media Library? Think about it
, the Videos folder contains all those nice jpg’s which we use as backdrops for our movie sheets!

 

Confused!

Slinky_McVelvet wrote:

I think it’s probably safe to accept this as a solution, if only I could find out how? Wasn’t there a button somewhere?

 

I don’t think you’ll see the button if you aren’t thread’s starter.  WD_101 started this thread.

Slinky_McVelvet wrote:

With the above issue in mind why then does the Videos folder not also show in the Photos folder in My Media Library? Think about it
, the Videos folder contains all those nice jpg’s which we use as backdrops for our movie sheets!

The JPGs used for ordinary backdrops are “hidden” in a .backdrops folder (leading dot indicates a hidden folder).  Hidden files / folders are always ignored during media library scan.

I’m not really sure how movie-sheet backdrops differ (if at all) because I’ve not used those themes that use moviesheets.

But if they’re ordinary backdrops in a hidden folder, they’ll be ignored.

Cheers Tony,

That’s interesting to know
, so what you’re saying is that I could effectively restore my album art back to my music folder but have it in a hidden folder with a leading dot? That’s useful to know, I will see if this will work with other files types.

By the way, my SMP seems much better since finally taming my shares and removing those stray file fomats from each folder. I’ve also noticed quite an improvement since rolling back to the previous firmware and YouTube seems much better. Back button works, text entry is easier and the unit barely gets warm! Would love to know the reason for that, previously I could have fried an egg on it?

Slinky_McVelvet wrote:

Cheers Tony,

 

That’s interesting to know
, so what you’re saying is that I could effectively restore my album art back to my music folder but have it in a hidden folder with a leading dot? That’s useful to know, I will see if this will work with other files types.

 

No, that won’t work.  The WD expects to find the artwork in a specific place
  Album art is not hidden, so if you hide it, it won’t find it.