Portable v4 Corruption

Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Barry » 31 Oct 2016, 15:49

I have encountered the following problem with TeamDrive Portable v4. I have TeamDrive v4 installed on two pc’s and TeamDrive portable on a USB stick which I use on my work pc.

TD has worked flawlessly for some time until I plugged the USB (with the portable version installed) into one of my pc’s that already had TD installed as I wanted to check some files on the USB stick. I realised that there may be a conflict if both versions ran on the same pc so I stopped TD on the pc and then started TD portable.

Unfortunately there appears to be a problem in doing this as almost immediately hundreds of files were deleted / added / versions changed etc. These changes were then replicated to other devices.

My question therefore is should this have happened, especially as I had already stopped TD from running on the pc before I started TD portable?
Barry
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Kenneth » 01 Nov 2016, 14:28

No. This should not have happened. However, I have been unable to reproduce this and also use a standard Windows installation of TeamDrive and also use 6 different portable installations on the same machine for testing. As of yet I have not run into an issue as the one you have described. However, this may be something new.

Based on your description, it sounds like some of your directory paths may have the same names or maybe you inadvertently moved files from the incorrect "Spaces" folder before starting the local client. The concept of the portable version is that TeamDrive runs sort of in a stand alone mode, in which it does not know the standard windows installation exists. With that said, it will only access the TeamDrive database stored on the USB stick, because this is the only one in existence, as far as the portable installation is concerned. This also goes for the Spaces folder.

If as soon as you started the portable installation, files started to be moved then it seems that a) the portable client received these changes from the server and synced them or b) TeamDrive found the changes made in the local (USB stick) file system and synced the changes.
Kenneth
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Barry » 01 Nov 2016, 22:01

Hi Kenneth

I agree with you it shouldnt happen but unfortunately it does. I started afresh, uninstalled/reinstalled the portable version on a USB stick. I then created a new space and uploaded folders via the portable app and all appears normal. I then plugged the usb into a different pc (with no Teamdrive application installed) opened portable app and it deleted everything! I've attached a screenshot to show the problem.

As you can see I joined a space and added folders and files - all ok. The problem arises when I used the USB in a different pc and started the portable app. Without any input from me you can see it started to move all files and folders into trash, but why? I have since deleted trash but the question remains why is this happening?

Thanks
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Barry
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Kenneth » 02 Nov 2016, 17:34

It sounds like this has something to do with the drive letter changing when going from machine to machine. Check your Spaces path on the settings screen and check the drive letter when inserting the USB stick. Let me know if that helps to corner the issue.
Kenneth
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Barry » 02 Nov 2016, 23:19

Hi Kenneth

Yes, your suggestion re drive letters was the direction I was going in also. In fact, and unless I am missing something, it's obvious what the problem is. I installed the portable application on a USB stick on my work pc – which allocated D: drive. When I have then connected the USB to a different pc at home the drive letter is not the same - for example on one of my home pc's it's on drive J:

Therefore as soon as the portable app is launched on a different machine it cannot find the relevant folders on the drive D: and, I assume, thinks they have been deleted and promptly moves them to the trash folder. I’m guessing here, but it would appear the portable app is dependent on the space folder directory location which in my case is drive D:

How can we resolve this, if this is the actual problem?

I have seen similar portable programs that detect installation on a portable drive and ignore the drive letter - Teamdrive portable appears not to do this, as far as I can ascertain. I'm not sure that it's possible to manually 'change' the drive letter associated with the space prior to opening the portable application as it has to be running before you could attempt to change it.

Your thoughts on this problem would be much appreciated!

Many thanks, Barry
Barry
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Kenneth » 03 Nov 2016, 13:46

Where is the Spaces folder?

More specifically, when you install the portable app you select a folder where the TeamDrive 'bin' and 'data' folders will be installed. Trying moving the Space folder to this location. Reason being, when TeamDrive launches, it reads the database file from "YourChosenNameForTeamDrivePortableFolder/Data/teamdrive.sqlite. If the Spaces folder is in the same parent folder, you should not run into this problem. If the Spaces folder is outside of "YourChosenNameForTeamDrivePortableFolder" you may run into this issue.

Also, I recommend starting TeamDrive using the "teamdrive.exe" file located in the "bin" folder. You may also experience the case, where the TeamDrive shortcut you may have made will not work, because the shortcut points to a path with a different drive letter.
Kenneth
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Barry » 03 Nov 2016, 14:13

Hi Kenneth

The Spaces folder is in the same folder on the USB stick as the TeamDrive 'bin' and 'data' folders.

I think the problem may be to do with your second suggestion in that the TeamDrive shortcut is configured as follows: Start in - D:\TeamDrive\bin and Target - D:\TeamDrive\bin\TeamDrive.exe

I have looked at the TeamDrive application in the 'bin' folder and Location is - D:\TeamDrive\bin

I'm somewhat hesitant to try this in case on start-up all the folders etc., are moved to trash again, although if that does happen I assume that they can be moved back.
Barry
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Kenneth » 03 Nov 2016, 14:16

They can always be moved back. All trashed items remain on the server until a user with admin rights empties the trash.
Kenneth
 
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Re: Portable v4 Corruption

Postby Barry » 05 Nov 2016, 03:41

Hi Kenneth

I have completed tests with TeamDrive portable and I can now confirm that, as you anticipated, the drive letter allocated when used on different pc's appears to be the problem. I have written a procedure that corrects it, although you may wish to amend/expand it. This may be something that could be addressed in future versions of TeamDrive portable where the drive letter is ignored (or is not required) on a portable device.

Problem - Using TeamDrive portable on a removable drive, such as a USB stick, which is then used on different machines. I have experienced errors such as all Spaces being deleted into trash. The cause is a different drive letter being allocated to the USB stick, rather than the one allocated when TeamDrive Portable was initially installed.

1) Stop TeamDrive on pc - if installed

2) Insert USB that has TeamDrive portable installed into pc

3) Start TeamDrive.exe from application in bin folder on USB - DO NOT start from TeamDrive Portable shortcut on USB

4) TeamDrive may show an error - Space Path Not found (blue triangle)

5) From the Space dropdown menu select 'i' - select Space Location (which will show the blue triangle)

6) Select the folder on the USB where your synchronised data is stored - blue triangle should extinguish – active Space/s should then be in their normal state
Barry
 
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