Resetting MinimServer to default properties

[haggis999]

I have been experimenting with the property settings in MinimServer with mixed results. It would be useful to have a way of returning to the default settings when experiments don't work as expected but I have failed to find such a reset facility. Reinstalling the software does not overwrite previous custom settings.

How do I achieve a properties reset?

David

[simoncn]

(15-09-2013 23:56)haggis999 Wrote:  I have been experimenting with the property settings in MinimServer with mixed results. It would be useful to have a way of returning to the default settings when experiments don't work as expected but I have failed to find such a reset facility. Reinstalling the software does not overwrite previous custom settings.

How do I achieve a properties reset?

David

If you have MinimServer installed on Windows, you can do this by deleting the minimserver.config file from the folder

C:\Users\<your-user-name>\AppData\Roaming\MinimServer\data

The AppData folder is hidden in Explorer, so you need to type this path in full on the Explorer address bar.

The minimserver.config file is in a different location on other platforms. If you need this information for another platform, please let me know which platform.

[winxi]

(16-09-2013 06:39)simoncn Wrote:  

(15-09-2013 23:56)haggis999 Wrote:  I have been experimenting with the property settings in MinimServer with mixed results. It would be useful to have a way of returning to the default settings when experiments don't work as expected but I have failed to find such a reset facility. Reinstalling the software does not overwrite previous custom settings.

How do I achieve a properties reset?

David

If you have MinimServer installed on Windows, you can do this by deleting the minimserver.config file from the folder

C:\Users\<your-user-name>\AppData\Roaming\MinimServer\data

The AppData folder is hidden in Explorer, so you need to type this path in full on the Explorer address bar.

The minimserver.config file is in a different location on other platforms. If you need this information for another platform, please let me know which platform.

I think you have mentioned in an other thread that you use a Synology NAS. Please note that deleting the minimserver.config file on a Synology NAS may cause the MinimServer startup process to hang. This is a bug in the current version of the Synology package (0.72) and it will be fixed in a future release.
The simplest way to reset MinimServer on a Synology NAS to the defaults would be to uninstall and reinstall it. When uninstalling, please choose not to backup the config file.

[haggis999]

Thanks to both of you. I should have remembered to check C:\Users\David\AppData\Roaming\MinimServer\ before making my post, but it was almost midnight and my brain shutdown process had already commenced

I'm only running MinimServer on Windows at the moment, as I reckoned it would be easier for me to experiment with configuration settings on that platform. I will install it on the NAS once I am happy with my setup.

It's not a major issue, but I would recommend a 'Reset to defaults' button as being a useful feature for a future release. I would also suggest that the location of the minimserver.config file be added to the user guide.

David

[DavidHB]

I don't think that there is any harm in installing the software on the NAS, even for experimental purposes (I did). It also helps you to get used to working with MinimWatch.

If my experience is anything to go by, don't expect the period of experiment to end any time soon. You will probably wish to change the way things work as you gain experience (I certainly have); the good thing is that you will still have a working server you can use just for listening between experimental sessions.

One thing I have found useful is to develop my music library on the PC (folder structure, ripping, metadata editing etc.) and then to mirror the library on the NAS. This not only creates a mutual backup, but also allows the PC copy to be the basis for experiment while the NAS copy is there for ordinary listening. You could extend this idea by having separate instances of Minimserver running on the PC and on the NAS, each serving the version of the library at its particular location. On your Control Point, you could then, for example, choose the instance of MinimServer on the PC when you are experimenting, and the one on the NAS when you simply want to use the current 'stable' version of your library.

David

[simoncn]

(16-09-2013 23:36)DavidHB Wrote:  I don't think that there is any harm in installing the software on the NAS, even for experimental purposes (I did). It also helps you to get used to working with MinimWatch.

If my experience is anything to go by, don't expect the period of experiment to end any time soon. You will probably wish to change the way things work as you gain experience (I certainly have); the good thing is that you will still have a working server you can use just for listening between experimental sessions.

One thing I have found useful is to develop my music library on the PC (folder structure, ripping, metadata editing etc.) and then to mirror the library on the NAS. This not only creates a mutual backup, but also allows the PC copy to be the basis for experiment while the NAS copy is there for ordinary listening. You could extend this idea by having separate instances of Minimserver running on the PC and on the NAS, each serving the version of the library at its particular location. On your Control Point, you could then, for example, choose the instance of MinimServer on the PC when you are experimenting, and the one on the NAS when you simply want to use the current 'stable' version of your library.

David

This is exactly what I do. I run MinimServer on my Windows laptop (with a subset of my music library) for development/testing purposes, and I run MinimServer on my NAS (with my full music library) as my regular listening setup.

[haggis999]

Hi David,
Thanks for your useful comments. I will almost certainly end up doing what you suggest. The music library originally created on my primary PC is already duplicated on my NAS.

David

[winxi]

(16-09-2013 23:36)DavidHB Wrote:  One thing I have found useful is to develop my music library on the PC (folder structure, ripping, metadata editing etc.) and then to mirror the library on the NAS. This not only creates a mutual backup, but also allows the PC copy to be the basis for experiment while the NAS copy is there for ordinary listening. You could extend this idea by having separate instances of Minimserver running on the PC and on the NAS, each serving the version of the library at its particular location. On your Control Point, you could then, for example, choose the instance of MinimServer on the PC when you are experimenting, and the one on the NAS when you simply want to use the current 'stable' version of your library.

This is also what I do . Besides the mirrored backup and the ability to experiment without danger, I also appreciate that editing and saving the tags with Mp3tag works much faster for me on a local hard drive than it does on the network share of the NAS.

[simoncn]

(16-09-2013 10:32)haggis999 Wrote:  Thanks to both of you. I should have remembered to check C:\Users\David\AppData\Roaming\MinimServer\ before making my post, but it was almost midnight and my brain shutdown process had already commenced

I'm only running MinimServer on Windows at the moment, as I reckoned it would be easier for me to experiment with configuration settings on that platform. I will install it on the NAS once I am happy with my setup.

It's not a major issue, but I would recommend a 'Reset to defaults' button as being a useful feature for a future release. I would also suggest that the location of the minimserver.config file be added to the user guide.

David

I will update the user guide with this information. The details vary by platform, so I will put this information into the platform-specific installation pages.

It would be difficult to implement a 'Reset to defaults' button because the minimserver.config file cannot safely be deleted while MinimServer is running. I think it would be better to make this an uninstallation option where possible.

[haggis999]

(17-09-2013 10:48)simoncn Wrote:  It would be difficult to implement a 'Reset to defaults' button because the minimserver.config file cannot safely be deleted while MinimServer is running. I think it would be better to make this an uninstallation option where possible.

Why would you need to delete the minimserver.config file? My conception was that a 'Reset to defaults' button would be placed in the Properties dialogue box where the user will have been experimenting with the settings. If you were to have the default settings stored in a separate place they could then be copied into the Properties window when the button is clicked. The user would then 'Apply' those settings in the normal manner.

David