What Exactly Does "Flash Database" Do?

[adamoli]

   

Sorry. I'm a Noob. I have a LinkStation Live NAS Storage device with a built-in media server. From the PCast page of the Web-based configuration screen. I can "Refresh" the database and I can "Flash Database". What's the difference, and when should I use them? Thank you!

[matt_birchall]

It seems that Flash Database clears down the media database in the PCast server and then rebuilds the database from scratch. Refresh compares the directories and files and updates the database with any changes. I flashed my database yesterday and a whole chunk of my files disappeared from view on the Sony TV that I was using as a client. The files reappeared over a period of an hour or so.

The process, whichever option you choose, takes minutes or hours to complete and the fact that the PCast admin screen has completed its process does not mean that the cataloging process has been completed.

If you want your media to be available while you refresh the database you should choose the refresh option. If you don't mind your media being unavailable then you can choose the Flash option. If you have moved a lot of your media around or added or removed major chunks of media then I gues you would choose the flash option.

[essercizi]

Looking at the screen when switched to Japanese (which I study, though I'm not a native speaker), the two options are "de-ta-besu o [koushin] suru" which I think translates roughly as "[Update] the Database", and "De-ta-besu no saikou chiku o [jikkou] suru" which means "[Perform/execute] the reconstruction of the database" - which agrees with what you say. I think the "Flash" is just a mistranslation - maybe it was meant to be something like "flush the database".