Hope someone has the time to help an idiot

[Ernie]

I put zip files in C:\MTU\KMA. I opened MP3+G tool and converted zip to bin, then imported songs to Hoster. I then ticked index song files. Went to index hard drive files and ticked kma & bin.... To make a long story short, I copied the songs like always, and made sure they were in the Songbook. I then went to MTU\KMA to blow away the files BUT, instead of just 9 bin files, there was also 9 kma files. I then went to Tools in Hoster and went to edit songs. I put in the info in, and all the songs came up. I then went to play some songs, but it kept coming up with The'C:\MTU\KMA Files\PHM1209-1. kma track file is missing. The file may have been renamed, or on a usb hard drive that is currently not plugged in. THEN IT HIT ME!!!! I had taken the usb wire from the hard drive with all my songs and put it on another hard drive to get information for the computer I'm having trouble with. After I get my SONG HARD DRIVE hooked back up, I have no idea what to do next. All of my kma and bin files are still in the computer trash can. After your finished shaking your head or laughing, I could sure use some help.

Thanks,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

Originally Posted by Ernie

I put zip files in C:\MTU\KMA. I opened MP3+G tool and converted zip to bin, then imported songs to Hoster.

Why do you convert your zip files to bin ?
You can import zip files as KMA without the conversion to bin.

Originally Posted by Ernie

I then ticked index song files. Went to index hard drive files and ticked KMA & bin.... To make a long story short, I copied the songs like always, and made sure they were in the Songbook. I then went to MTU\KMA to blow away the files BUT, instead of just 9 bin files, there was also 9 KMA files.

When you normally save your KMA files, do you save them to an external drive ? Hoster defaults to C/MTU/KMA files folder if you don't have the external plugged in. That's why you saw the KMA files along with the bin files in that folder. You set the folder that you want to store your KMA files in from the import hard drive files folder dialog, top right hand side. It would be a better working practice to create a separate folder to temporary store the files you wish to import.

Originally Posted by Ernie

I then went to Tools in Hoster and went to edit songs. I put in the info in, and all the songs came up. I then went to play some songs, but it kept coming up with The'C:\MTU\KMA Files\PHM1209-1. kma track file is missing. The file may have been renamed, or on a usb hard drive that is currently not plugged in. THEN IT HIT ME!!!! I had taken the usb wire from the hard drive with all my songs and put it on another hard drive to get information for the computer I'm having trouble with. After I get my SONG HARD DRIVE hooked back up, I have no idea what to do next. All of my kma and bin files are still in the computer trash can. After your finished shaking your head or laughing, I could sure use some help.

Thanks,
Ernie

First, Can you state which version of Hoster you are using if you need more help?
2nd Did you actually delete the kma files along with the bin files when as you say you blew away the bin files ? If so that is why they are not playing. If they are still in your recycle bin I should select just the kma files and choose to restore those items, then see if they play, if they do and you decide you don't want them in that folder but want them on the external hard drive, you can delete them from inside Hosters edit dialog (After restoring them from the recycle bin they should show as available)then re import them which would be the safest way, or before deleting them in Hoster edit Dialog copy & paste them into the folder on the external drive then rebuild the database.
Why I think the re importing is safer is because you may encounter duplicate disc id or bookid problems using the later.

[Ernie]

Hi Roy,
My Hoster is V5.07. I have always converted to bin files from the beginning of Hoster. Is there an advantage to KMA vs BIN? How do you install just the KMA? I've always installed on an external HD. On my laptop, I installed a larger 2nd internal HD for songs. I do have the bin and kma in the trash can. Is there any way of using MP3+G Toolz.net 4 to get them back together? Well, tomorrow is the big day.... I order a new computer. I'm tired of fighting this one, plus it's time to upgrade. As always Roy, I sincerely appreciate your help.

Thank you,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

Bin files are large files compared to any of the other formats, probably about 10 times the size, thats the advantage of converting to kma or any of the other formats. Did you not try restoring the kma files from the recycle bin to see if they played ? Anything you send to the recycle bin is recoverable by selecting the item and selecting restore. You won't need the bin files restored unless you want to re import them. There should be no need to use MP3+G Toolz.net once they are restored.

Once you import your files from bin files as kma types the bin file is no longer needed as they use up a lot of hard drive space.

[Ernie]

Roy,
It's gone from bad to worse!!! Last night I was dead tired and ticked off. I thought the files were in the trash. Trash is empty. I called my friend and asked if he would send a copy of one of the disc. I have the files. I then went and deleated all the songs I downloaded yesterday. I figured I would like to learn how to download KMA instead of BIN. I then checked the songbook to make sure a few of the songs I deleted were gone, and yes they were gone. I wanted to make sure everything was working okay, so I did a search, clicked add and this came up...ERROR J:\Songs\004-2.kma was not found on the hard drive. I went into the hard drive and found it right away. The same happens with other songs. I then went to import songs database, and at the bottom it had Songs database is stored at: C:\MTU\Hoster\songs.mdb. In Hoster I just have songs...no mdb. Another thing. When you open Hoster, the left top screen stays there, even if you get into other screens. I am going to reinstall Hoster in a while. Right now, I need to walk away!!!!!! Roy, thanks for working with me and also, thanks for being a sounding board. My God I wish I had your smarts!!!!

Talk to you later Roy, Thanks
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

If when you open C/MTU/Hoster folder you only see songs not songs.mdb that is because you have your folder settings set to hide file extensions.
To correect this open the control panel then select folder options click the View Tab, in the bottom window look for "Hide Extensions for known file types" If the box has a tick in it Untick it press apply and OK. then you should see extension for all files.
Regarding the top left screen as you descibe it I presume you mean the preview screen. You probably have it set to always on top.
To change that open Hoster Tools/Show display, select the preview tab then untick the box for always on top press apply and close. Exit Hoster then re open and that should sort that.

[Ernie]

Roy,
I just realized something. Like I told you before, when I do a search and then click add, this comes up. ERROR J:\Songs\004-2.kma was not found on this hard drive. No wonder!! the hard drive is F.... Not J. Do you know where I could change that?

Thanks,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

The answer is in the frequently ask questions. Try this link: http://www.mtu.com/faq-test.php?article=4

It states xp, 2000 and vista but Windows 7 is much the same.

[Ernie]

Roy,
Everything works!! I went to Build Song Database and deleted the address. I then added the new address and did a rebuild. I looked and looked in the manual, but could not find out how to make kma files. How do I get a kma file out of a zip file, so I can go to Import Songs in Hoster? Now before, I would make a bin file, go to Import Songs in Hoster, and then go to Index Hard Drive Files, where I would tick the KMA button, and then tick the BIN button. Then a box would open with the songs in it and I would go to the download page.

Thanks,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

If you are doing this with 5.07 as you say you are in post #3 it's just the same as importing the bin file but instead of selecting bin you select zip.
So from the Index Song Files tab you select kma as the type of import then for Karaoke select Zip instead of bin as you have been doing.
The instructions are shown in the left hand panel.
These will import just the same as when you imported your bin files so will create another file about the same size as the original that would not be needed anymore and could be deleted if you wanted to recover some hard drive space. This would just save you the bother of converting your files to bin files.

The other alternative and the way I would do it is to import as kmh types.
You will find that you cant import Bin files as kmh but you can the zip files.
So to do this first select KMH as type then zip for karaoke, then it imports just the same way. The difference with this method is it creates a small header file with exactly the same name as the original except it will have a kmh extension which has to remain in the same folder as the original zip, you must not delete the original zip. This way you always have the original file but use a minimal amount of extra hard drive space, also these files are still available to use in other software should you need to.

You could view my video on importing Hard drive files here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjf7fxEK5wk

The main part relating to what you are doing is about 4min 50 sec from the start if you want to fast forward to that part.

[Ernie]

Roy,
Thank you!, Thank you!, Thank you! Everything was so easy!! I really enjoyed watching your video. Do you have any other videos on Hoster? If you do, I'd really like to see them. Now, I'm surprised MTU hasn't come out with training videos. Actually, your explanation was enough, but the video was icing on the cake. I also noticed, when you write, you don't have an English accent. I thought I'd throw in a little humor. It seems every time you work with me, I get a little smarter, and I want to thank you for that.

Thanks again,
Ernie

[Roy Dennis]

I've made 5 video's altogether.
1: Show display setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGbavLnNdGc
2: Importing CDG discs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhgPSc7RiRc
3: importing Hard drive files: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjf7fxEK5wk
4: example using in a show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOaesDiPdco
5: Show time extras using enhancments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG77y0PNr4I