Renaming Recovered FLAC Files In A Large Batch From Hard Disk Crash On Mac OS X 10.6.8

[mikey8811]

Hi

I am trying to rename the FLAC files recovered from a hard disk crash using mp3tag. However, I have the following problems.

Firstly, it seemed to take up a fair bit of CPU power, the temperature on my MacBook Core 2 Duo running Mac OS X 10.6.8 went up to 91 degrees C.

Secondly, I got the following errors for all files:

File "\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2A7960.FLAC" cannot be renamed to "\\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\Booker T. Jones\ The Road From Memphis\ 05\ Down In Memphis (Featuring Booker T on vocals).flac".
Path not found.

File "\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2B31E0.FLAC" cannot be renamed to "\\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\Booker T. Jones\ The Road From Memphis\ 11\ The Bronx (Featuring Lou Reed).flac".
Path not found.

File "\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2C0718.FLAC" cannot be renamed to "\\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\Anthony Braxton\ Italian Instabile Orchestra\ 04\ Composition No. 92 part 2.flac".
Path not found.

File "\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2EC308.FLAC" cannot be renamed to "\\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\J. J. Johnson\ The Complete '60s Bigband Recordings- Disc 1\ 02\ So What.flac".
Path not found.

Can you tell me if the syntax is wrong? I followed the tag conventions on the FAQ. Specifically,

%artist%\%album%\%track%\%title%

with spaces in between the ""

I guess looking at the results I maybe should have done

%artist%\%album%\%track% - %title%

but don;t think that would have affected the ability to rename.

The files are on a external USB drive (called Old Files Recovered) connected to my MacBook.

Under mp3tag, when I try to choose the directory by browsing on the interface, I cannot locate the external drive. I can only get to the files by dragging the directory (\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\ ) to the input window.

It seems to read the metadata alright - the only thing is it doesn't seem to do the renaming.

Also, I do not know if all these 100,000 or so files are working.

I can manually run checksums on them using eXact. If you do know of another programme that can batch run checksums and indicate which files have stream decoder errors so I can have a set of renamed files from the metadata tags and know which files are faulty at the same time, that would be a great help.

Your help and feedback much appreciated.

Thanks

[garym]

several ways to check the checksums of a FLAC file after the fact.** The beauty of FLAC files is that they have embedded checksums that can be compared to later on.

foobar2000 with the "file integrity verifier" component. Load up all files, select them all, right click, and select "utilities" then "verify integrity". It will compare decoded checksum to the checksum embedded in the FLAC file and let you know which files have errors. You can then save this listing for further use.

You can also use dBpoweramp and convert to [Test Conversion]. There's some FLAC.exe options too. Anyhow, many methods to batch check this.

[mikey8811]

Any on the Mac OS?

My hard disk is formatted in Mac OS X Journaled and can't be read on Windows even though I do have a Windows PC with Foobar2k and Convert on it. It's 470 Gb worth and I don't seem to have s spare hard disk around to copy onto.

Thanks

[ohrenkino]

@mikey8811

...

with spaces in between the ""
...

You have to obey Windows standards for filenames. AFAIK leading or trailing spaces are not allowed for folder names.

Also, a ? is an illegal character.

[garym]

@mikey8811

Any on the Mac OS?

My hard disk is formatted in Mac OS X Journaled and can't be read on Windows even though I do have a Windows PC with Foobar2k and Convert on it. It's 470 Gb worth and I don't seem to have s spare hard disk around to copy onto.

Thanks

I'm sure there are, but someone else will have to chime in as I'm not a Mac user.

[mikey8811]

@ohrenkino

You have to obey Windows standards for filenames. AFAIK leading or trailing spaces are not allowed for folder names.

Also, a ? is an illegal character.

Hi thanks for the feedback. I will get rid of the spaces.

I didn't put the "?" in. It was there by virtue of the path given when I dragged the folder to the mp3tag interface.

Please note I had to do that for mp3tag to see the files. I could not locate the external USB drive by browsing my MacBook.

How do I get rid of the "?" ?

Thanks

[ohrenkino]

@mikey8811

Hi thanks for the feedback. I will get rid of the spaces.

I didn't put the "?" in. It was there by virtue of the path given when I dragged the folder to the mp3tag interface.

Please note I had to do that for mp3tag to see the files. I could not locate the external USB drive by browsing my MacBook.

How do I get rid of the "?" ?

Thanks

Perhaps this thread helps you to find the drive
https://forums.mp3tag.de/lofiversion/index.php?t20435.html

[mikey8811]

@ohrenkino

Perhaps this thread helps you to find the drive
https://forums.mp3tag.de/lofiversion/index.php?t20435.html

I followed the path in the thread you referenced.

I can locate my external hard drive in Volumes but when I load it onto the mp3tag interface, the path still has the "?" there as in:

"\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2C0718.FLAC"

Any help appreciated please.

Thanks

[ohrenkino]

@mikey8811

I followed the path in the thread you referenced.

I can locate my external hard drive in Volumes but when I load it onto the mp3tag interface, the path still has the "?" there as in:

"\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2C0718.FLAC"

Any help appreciated please.

Thanks

I am also puzzled by the double backslash. at the beginning.
This is the indication that the next string part is the name of a network device.
I am not sure if MP3tag supports this notation - to be on the safe side, you should assign a drive letter to that target.
Also, I find it a strange thing that your Windows emulator uses illegal characters in the filename. You should investigate how to get rid of those before you attempt any further retagging.

[mikey8811]

@ohrenkino

I am also puzzled by the double backslash. at the beginning.
This is the indication that the next string part is the name of a network device.
I am not sure if MP3tag supports this notation - to be on the safe side, you should assign a drive letter to that target.
Also, I find it a strange thing that your Windows emulator uses illegal characters in the filename. You should investigate how to get rid of those before you attempt any further retagging.

The windows emulator was downloaded together in the package with mp3tag.

How do I assign a drive letter to the target drive?

How do I get rid of the illegal characters?

Any help appreciated.

[ohrenkino]

@mikey8811

The windows emulator was downloaded together in the package with mp3tag.

How do I assign a drive letter to the target drive?

How do I get rid of the illegal characters?

Any help appreciated.

Please see /t/9889/1 on MP3tag on Mac OS.

If the app-way is not sufficient as it causes problems with the external drive you have to look for a different way: either copy the files onto the internal volume or use a different emulator.

I can tell you only the conventions as expected by a native windows program. You have to make sure that these standards are met on your system. How to do that? I cannot look over your shoulder and cannot see what options you have.

[garym]

I don't know how to assign a letter to a network drive in a Mac. In windows, one goes to START > THIS PC > Computer > Map Network Drive, and assigns a letter.

[mikey8811]

@ohrenkino

Please see /t/9889/1 on MP3tag on Mac OS.

If the app-way is not sufficient as it causes problems with the external drive you have to look for a different way: either copy the files onto the internal volume or use a different emulator.

I can tell you only the conventions as expected by a native windows program. You have to make sure that these standards are met on your system. How to do that? I cannot look over your shoulder and cannot see what options you have.

Thanks for your feedback. I am using the wine emulator from the OS X package so I guess that is a problem. I do not have enough disk space on my internal volume as the files total about 460 Gb. I do not know enough to use a different emulator.

So I guess I will just resort to renaming the files manually. So much for mp3tag.

Thanks

[mikey8811]

@garym

I don't know how to assign a letter to a network drive in a Mac. In windows, one goes to START > THIS PC > Computer > Map Network Drive, and assigns a letter.

Thanks garym

I don;t think you can assign a drive letter on Mac drives. They just have the name. In my case, the drive is called:

Old Files Recovered

Under the path in the mp3tag interface, when I browse, the internal volume shows up as "/"

The external drives all show up under the subdirectory "Volumes". This particular drive shows up in a further subdirectory "Old Files Recovered"

The problem is the path shows up as

"\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2C0718.FLAC"

So it is having a problem with the internal volume itself I think because the "?" is added even before the "Volumes" subdirectory. Once again, this is just my guess with my limited knowledge.

I just tried using the iTunes subdirectory on the internal volume and even so, it is showing up as:

"\\?\unix\Music_1\iTunes\iTunesMusic"

So I guess mp3tag will not work even on an internal volume.

[garym]

@mikey8811

Thanks garym

I don;t think you can assign a drive letter on Mac drives. They just have the name. In my case, the drive is called:

Old Files Recovered

Under the path in the mp3tag interface, when I browse, the internal volume shows up as "/"

The external drives all show up under the subdirectory "Volumes". This particular drive shows up in a further subdirectory "Old Files Recovered"

The problem is the path shows up as

"\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\3649030 (FLAC Deleted)\01\0A2C0718.FLAC"

So it is having a problem with the internal volume itself I think because the "?" is added even before the "Volumes" subdirectory. Once again, this is just my guess with my limited knowledge.

can you copy this complete path with all the files to an external USB drive, and at the same time give that path (on the USB drive) a more accessible name that mp3tag might be able to use?

[mikey8811]

@garym

can you copy this complete path with all the files to an external USB drive, and at the same time give that path (on the USB drive) a more accessible name that mp3tag might be able to use?

I can just rename that entire drive not a problem but what would be a more accessible name that mp3tag can use?

Say I renamed it "z: Old Files". the path will still be:

"\\?\unix\z:\Old Files"

It doesn;t get rid of the "?" which comes into play before any of the volumes internal or external enter the picture.

[garym]

@mikey8811

I can just rename that entire drive not a problem but what would be a more accessible name that mp3tag can use?

Say I renamed it "z: Old Files". the path will still be:

"\\?\unix\z:\Old Files"

It doesn;t get rid of the "?" which comes into play before any of the volumes internal or external enter the picture.

I'm talking about copy and paste files not renamiing current folder. Maybe I'm misunderstanding (and I'm thinking only about windows as I don't use a Mac), but if I had files on my harddrive that were located here:

\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\

I would navigate to the "old files recovered" folder, select all the files and subdirectories within that folder, then COPY.

Then I'd have a USB drive connected to my computer. On that USB drive I'd have a folder setup with the name:

OLDFILESCOPY

Then I'd simply paste those files I copied into this new parent folder. Is that not possible.

[mikey8811]

@garym

I'm talking about copy and paste files not renamiing current folder. Maybe I'm misunderstanding (and I'm thinking only about windows as I don't use a Mac), but if I had files on my harddrive that were located here:

\\?\unix\Volumes\Old Files Recovered\

I would navigate to the "old files recovered" folder, select all the files and subdirectories within that folder, then COPY.

Then I'd have a USB drive connected to my computer. On that USB drive I'd have a folder setup with the name:

OLDFILESCOPY

Then I'd simply paste those files I copied into this new parent folder. Is that not possible.

Hi

I have done that already. Same problem.

All drives internal and external, USB or Firewire will appear under the "Volumes" directory. I have another Firewire drive called My Book attached to the same Mac, where I copied the files to. It appears as:

\\?\unix\Volumes\My Book\

The problem is not the file naming I believe, it is just that mp3tag will append any Mac OS X hard disk with "\\?\unix" before the disk or directory name. From then, you cannot rename the files because the "?" is illegal.

That I think is the problem and cannot think of a solution.

[garym]

@mikey8811

That I think is the problem and cannot think of a solution.

If it were me, my next step would be to copy all the files to a USB drive then find a friend with a windows machine, install mp3tag on it, then rename all the files using that windows machine.

[garym]

@garym

If it were me, my next step would be to copy all the files to a USB drive then find a friend with a windows machine, install mp3tag on it, then rename all the files using that windows machine.

You might also try "puddletag"

http://vortexbox.org/forum/vortexbox/gener...ddletag-on-os-x

http://docs.puddletag.net/download.html