Attempting to restore Library (lotsa bad luck)

[Corey Klemow]

I suspect from my attempts at finding a solution by searching this board and elsewhere that the answer I'll get is, "Sorry, you're out of luck," but I figured I'd try anyway:

The basics:

Windows XP, SP2

Whatever version of SonicStage was current on Feb. 5, 2007 (old computer)

SonicStage 4.3 (new computer)

Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GH (same processor, old and new computers - I kept my processor when I replaced my motherboard)

1.5 GB RAM

and probably not relevant, but VGF AP1L 40GB player

I'm trying to restore my Library and all metadata to SonicStage on my new computer after my motherboard on my old computer was fried by a power surge. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to use the official library Backup tool; I tried to run it on my old machine, but since it was apparently trying to back up all the music files rather than just the metadata, I didn't have room my my hard drive for the backup. (The power surge hit the very day I brought home a new external drive that would have allowed me to do the official backup!)

My old drive and all data on it is fine, and I've hooked it up as an F: drive on my new computer.

Before installing SonicStage on my new computer, I scoured my old drive for all folders I could find related to SonicStage and copied them to my new drive, making sure to put everything, including my music files, EXACTLY where there were on my old drive. I copied the following folders:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\SonicStage

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Sony Corporation

C:\Documents and Settings\HOME\Application Data\Sony Corporation

C:\Program Files\Sony

and of course,

C:\Documents and Settings\HOME\My Documents\My Music

I then went to the Connect website and downloaded and installed the most recent version of SonicStage. (I wanted to try this with whatever version of SonicStage I was using on the old machine when the motherboard was fried, but I don't know which version it was... it was last updated on Feb. 5, 2007 (the date on my F: drive's Omgjbox.exe file), if that helps... and if there's any way of getting old versions of SonicStage. The Installer seems to automatically go for the most recent version.)

Anyway, no dice. SonicStage opened as a blank slate. Then I discovered I'd missed one folder:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared

I copied it over to my C: drive and restarted SonicStage. Didn't help. Rebooted my machine. Didn't help.

Is there anything I'm missing? Some folder or file? Something in the Windows folder, maybe? Is it a registry issue? Or is SonicStage just completely bullheadedly impossibly ornery about this?

I know I can re-import all my music files into SonicStage, but you know that that's a huge pain, involving hours and hours and hours of work re-creating the library the way I liked it, re-attaching album art, and telling SonicStage yet again track by track that yes, all those albums that all have the same title but different artists ARE the same compilation album, really and true.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Corey Klemow]

Incidentally, I've gone ahead and used System Restore to go back to before I installed SonicStage on this computer, and deleted all related folders listed above except for My Music, so I'm ready to start again from scratch.

[Corey Klemow]

Wow, over 250 people want an answer to this question! (And that's just among the subset of SonicStage users who even know this forum exists!) Too bad the problem would seem to be insoluble (or at least obscure or difficult enough that no industrious programmer-type has ever found it worth their while to hack their way to a solution). Ah well. Thanks for reading, anyway.