autoexpire list?

[wesnewell]

I've got 22 items in my autoexpire list that are marked (deleted) and I can't get rid of them. They are months old and of course the actual recordings have been long gone. I can undelete them and they show up as blue in the recordings list. If I delete them from there, they go right back to the autoexpire list. How can I get rid of them?

[bill6502]

Just type d for starters, I don't have any to test with.

If that fails, undelete as you did before, then see:

https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Frequently_ ... on_disk.3F

The rational there explains that MythTV preserves the metadata in case the file can be restores,
hence the extra steps to get rid of it.

[wesnewell]

Ok, none of that worked. What I ended up doing was what I teied to avoid, but coudn't I guess. Which was to create a dummy file of the same filename, then delete it from the recordings screen. I could then delete it from the autoexpire list. Was hoping for an easier way, but this way works.
First undelete it from the list.
Then do this
echo a>>21101_20191116225828.ts (the filename of course to the recordings dir.)
Then do a regular delete from the recordings dir.
It will go to the autoexpire list, but it can now be deleted, and of course deletes the created file.

[wesnewell]

Just type d for starters, I don't have any to test with.

If that fails, undelete as you did before, then see:

https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Frequently_ ... on_disk.3F

The rational there explains that MythTV preserves the metadata in case the file can be restores,
hence the extra steps to get rid of it.

Can someone fix this. Following the wiki instructions does not work. Trying to delete it doesn't say it can't be found, etc. It just moves the listing to the auto expire list where it will stay forever. I remember it used to work. It's a real pita to get rid of them manually.

[bill6502]

Can you list the exact steps to reproduce this?

My test was:

• Make a recording (it was just one minute long)
• Make sure it appeared on the Information Center->System Status->AutoExpire List
• From the Media Library->Watch Recordings->Watch List, deleted it (using allow to rerecord)
• Made sure the AE list showed the title with: (deleted)
• Returned to the Watch list and switched the filter to the Deleted group
• Deleted the recording there
• Checked the AE list and it was gone.

I'm running on master (v32-Pre.)

[wesnewell]

V30
Make a recording. Doesn't matter if it's scheduled, using R on live tv or just a live tv recording that has expired yet.
Delete the file via CL or file manager, or even a system reinstall from backup (with recordings dir on another drive).
Delete recording from watch recordings. Doesn't matter if allowed to rerecord or not. Listing then goes to SS AE list.
Made sure the AE list showed the title with: (deleted)
Highlight deleted recording in AE list.
Press enter. PU shows delete now, undelete, no change. Select Delete. Nothing happens. It's still there.
Undelete it and it goes back to watch recordings list, and there's no way to delete it without creating a file with that filename.
Which I just had to do again to get rid of the one I tested with.
wes@mythfe0:~$ echo a>22103_20200319123412.ts

I don't know when it changed, I do remember in previous versions where it used to say couldn't find file, you want to delete it anyway and it would.

[bill6502]

Leading with the good news: yes, I can duplicate the issue that way. In fact an error or 2
will be seen in mythbackend.log.

Bad news, that's what I was assuming was the case in my 1st reply. But I think in your case,
the recordings don't appear in All/Watch recordings (what the Wiki addresses.) Rather, you must
select the All Programs or Watch List (really any tab on the left) and press menu
then Change Group Filter->select the Deleted group. Highlight the recording of
interest and press d. Worked for me.

There is the: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Find_orphans.py tool that's easier for
bulk deletes, e.g. when a disk crashes.

For command line deletes of recording files, you'll get no sympathy from me. If you must
delete from the command line, use the Services API: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/DVR_Service#DeleteRecording

Given how long you been using MythTV, I'll assume you know that there's no DB table called
autoexpire (or any similar name.) The list is in memory and is developed based on the
recorded and channel tables. Thus in order to appear on the AE list, there must be
data for the entry in those two tables.

[wesnewell]

OK, that works by changing group filter from all programs to all programs (deleted). I've never had to do that before. In the wiki, unless I'm missing it, it doesn't mention you have to be in the all programs (deleted) group filter. And that option isn't even available unless there's a recording with a missing file. And I know I used to be able to delete them from just the all programs filter.
Ok. I've edited the wiki to include the procedure of going to the all programs (deleted) filter. Pleas take a look at it to make sure I got it right. Although I'd prefer to de able to delete it from just the all programs default filter.

[coldcase]

Just to note that if you have a bunch to delete, the / key trick can be used to select multiples, and then M then PlayList Options, then delete.