Duplicate tracks after backup of Synology to External drive

The upnp server does not show the tracks twice because the external drive will probably not be configured as music library path in the server.

I have never used the synology way of doing a backup. I am using a rsync based backup from an linux PC to backup the files to an ext disc. But I think synology does use rsync, too, for creating backups with history? So you will have one directory for each backup run which each includes all the current files.

Where do you see the duplicate files exactly? In which tool an in which directory? If they are in the same directory the two names of a file cannot be identical.

Greetings

Gert

These are not duplicated files, I'm not 100% sure but almost certain they are metadata or the art files.  Open up the size column & you will see they are small,  a few hundred KB.

Thanks for the answers guys. I will do a screen grab of files to illustrate what is shown when I get to my office.

OK here is an example of one album and how it appears within my external hard drive after backing up from my Synology NAS.  Mike-B yes the additional files (shown first) are small, but why are they there in the first place?

I assume you are using a Mac somewhere?

They are what is known as resource forks.  Things like thumbnail images for OS X finder and extended permissions, user owner ship details, etc. are stored in them.  Under UNIX like OSes any file starting . is considered a hidden file and therefore not seen.  But if you view the drive under Windows then they are no longer hidden.

They are harmless.

Exactly the same as mine,  its the way Synology and/or WD  format its backup programming so that it can copy everything back just as it was to a new HDD, or a new NAS.   Its nothing, why worry, hopefully you will never need to use it.

PS:   just found the same question on the Synology forum related to video backups

As I suspected they are metadata files:
"...............  are DSM metadata files. These are normal, and are usually hidden. Please disregard them as they are needed in case of a config restore from the backups."

Eloise has all the finer detail  in that post

............  Eloise,  I see this in Windows OK,  but don't have a Mac anywhere.   I thought the Synology OS was Linux (??)   

Ok great thanks!

So it seems this is normal and I am not doing anything wrong, just what I wanted to hear.

Eloise - no Mac involved, just windows via my laptop.

Thanks again for the help.

Mike-B posted:

Eloise has all the finer detail  in that post

............  Eloise,  I see this in Windows OK,  but don't have a Mac anywhere.   I thought the Synology OS was Linux (??)   

The most common situation this is seen is with a Mac ... but it sounds like DSM has its own resource forks.

Both Linux and the underlying structure of OSX are UNIX like operating systems so share some common quirks...

Eloise posted:

but it sounds like DSM has its own resource forks.

I do not think that DSM generates these files. At least I have never seen such files on my Synology-NAS and its backup. Maybe the ripping tool created them? Or have the files been copied from elsewhere with a Mac system as origin?

No to all your points Gert   .............  Synology have said ......... "they  are DSM metadata files. These are normal and are usually hidden & are needed in case of a config restore from the backups".      My Synology NAS has a mix of ripped & downloaded,  ripped with dBpoweramp via a PC & various Windows Vista, 8 or 10 & downloaded/uploaded via the same.  All have the same resource forks track lines.   None have been anywhere near a Mac.  

As Synology say "they are usually hidden"  maybe thats why you can't see them & maybe why I can see them is because I have my PC set to view hidden files.    

I now remember one case when DSM generates additional meta files (but I am not sure if it had the same naming as in the screen shot): When editing the meta-data of a music file via DSM. It is used to store the lyrics IIRC, even if the lyrics are empty. But usually (if only storing and indexing the files) DSM does not generate these hidden files.

OK Gert,     Synology are obviously wrong - simples

I think Synology and me are both correct. Synology says "they are DSM metadata files." And I say that they are generated only in special cases. So everything is fine

When you set up the Synology DSM for a new backup location - as both the OP & myself have done in the last week - you will get a screen with a check box for including the metadata.   

Ok. But where are the metadata files stored originally on the NAS? I think in the same directory as the real data files? In this case I would see them in my external rsync backup, too. But this is not the case, so I do not have such metafiles on my NAS.

To be honest, I have lost the point that we are arguing.

Best call Columbo. He had a Mac. 

gert posted:

Ok. But where are the metadata files stored originally on the NAS? I think in the same directory as the real data files? In this case I would see them in my external rsync backup, too. But this is not the case, so I do not have such metafiles on my NAS.

To be honest, I have lost the point that we are arguing.

Metadata is embedded in each track line, the fact you can't see it doesn't mean its not there,  think about it, where does your app get the data to sort & display the album, artist & art  ???  

I have the same memory problem,  I get a good clue to get me started when I look in the mirror in the morning

Well, in my case the metadata is included as meta tags inside of the music files. The upnp server reads this and puts it somewhere outside of the music directories in its own "database" files. If there were the mentioned meta tag files inside of the music directories, I would see them when backing them up.

But I am not sure if I understand what you 're getting at as I have some difficulties in understanding the details of the english language.

I think we are both meaning the same things,  just saying it differently

You say the metadata is included as meta tags inside the music files,  I say the metadata is embedded. 

Mike-B posted:

Metadata is embedded in each track line, the fact you can't see it doesn't mean its not there,  think about it, where does your app get the data to sort & display the album, artist & art  ???  

I have the same memory problem,  I get a good clue to get me started when I look in the mirror in the morning

Actually this is different kind of metadata... It's likely extended file information such as last access time, last modified, user permissions, etc. which are not compatible with FAT and NTFS formatted drives so the Synology has to store this information separately when doing a backup otherwise it would be lost.

I'm obliged Eloise,  not sure I fully understand,  but get the jist.   

Not wishing to extend this topic but just thought I would add the official response I received from Synology Support...

Many thnks of your recent support Submission regarding your Music Tracks and the duplicate files. I can confirm that these are created by DSM and when files are copied onto a drive with a FileSystem with limited attribute handling (FAT32) They're created to store file information that would otherwise go into an extended attribute on EXT4 volumes. This is a normal proccess to ensure the additional attribute information is retained during the File Copy

I wasn't expecting a response at all hence my shout out to the forum.  But I think it  is in line with what has been stated above.

Nice to get a response from Synology like that.  I've found them either very good or annoyingly  bad ........  they do not seem to understand what's wrong with not able to transcode FLAC-WAV gaplessly. 

Ok, thank you for clarifying this. So the recommendation for Pixies is to reformat the external disc as either ext4fs or NTFS. (Is NTFS supported by DSM btw?)