Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Discussion of the Web Interface for Transmission, formerly known as Clutch. This applies to all version of Transmission
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Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Hi there,

So, I'm downloading a bunch of Ubuntu v10.10a1 images using Transmission which all share the name maverick-[type]-[cpu].iso.
Transmission downloaded my ISOs just fine, but when I also decided to download the Kubuntu v10.10a1 images, simultaneously with the Ubuntu images (which by that time had just started seeding), Transmission probably got confused (or something).

The thing is, after the Kubuntu ISOs were also downloaded, I wasn't able to find them in my download directory, nor the incomplete download directory. Now, I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the fact that the Kubuntu as well as the Ubuntu images share the exact same file names: there is no distinction in distribution in the name (the file names don't have ubuntu or kubuntu in their names. It's just maverick with both distributions). So, as they share the same file names, they cannot possibly be placed in the very same directory, so I actually get why Transmission gets confused considering that fact, because it doesn't know where to put them, or how to rename a duplicate, right? In any case, I cannot comprehend where Transmission HAS placed them nonetheless considering the duplicate file name issue.

I do know Transmission has downloaded all ISOs without any problems because I can click verify to check for the download's integrity and Transmission verified them all which tells me that it DOES scan the downloads which are still somewhere on my hard disk. I tried to find them using the find command (as root), but find only finds the Ubuntu ISOs and doesn't find any Kubuntu ISOs (note that I ran find to start scanning in /) to make sure it would scan my entire disk.

So, my question is: Where the heck did Transmission secretly stored my Kubuntu v10.10a1 downloads (as only Transmission seems to know where they are...)?
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

You know, I'm actually starting to believe that now. The weirdest thing just happened.
Whenever I click verify on, let's say, both the maverick-desktop-amd64.iso files (so that would be both the Ubuntu as well as the Kubuntu one) which are both completely download according to Transmission, my manual verification only accounts for 48% on the Ubuntu ISO and for 52% on the Kubuntu ISO.

My best guess at this point is that it indeed more or less overwrites my files. Well, not completely, but it seems to me Transmission DOES try to download both ISOs, but my OS interprets the download as one singular file (which I can understand, as files share the same file name). What I didn't expect is that my OS (or at least I think the OS would be responsible for this) would solve this issue by simply dividing up a downloaded file and make sure that it would consist of about half Ubuntu, and the other half Kubuntu. Really weird and I've never seen anything like this. A rather strange solution I'd say for my OS to come up with to 'solve' the duplicate file name issue. But in any case, I end up having corrupt downloads as a result of having 2 torrents which both download 2 different files, but share the same download file name.

So now my question is: Is there a way for me (and everyone else of course) to seed 2 different torrents which both seed a file that happens to share the same file name as the next one?
rb07
Posts: 1400
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:14 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by rb07 »

If you used the daemon to download those files... you can be sure of what happened by looking at the log (/var/log/messages on my Linux environment) and search for the "transmission-daemon[<a number>]: Saved " lines, if you see 2 entries for the same file name that would confirm the problem.

What should have actually happened is that the first download ended fine, the second started with "file-name.part", and when it ended it renamed that .part file into the file-name overwriting the first download... so you should only have the second file.

This is an old bug that several people have reported both here and in the bug tracker (I did a long time ago, before the .part files came into existence), some workarounds have been proposed.
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Well, not really. You see, I'm using a server to download my torrents and as I installed Ubuntu Server v10.04 on it, I'm practically forced to use the daemon in combination with the web client and since the web client doesn't have that feature it's not really an option for me.
rb07
Posts: 1400
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:14 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by rb07 »

Resilldoux wrote:Well, not really. You see, I'm using a server to download my torrents and as I installed Ubuntu Server v10.04 on it, I'm practically forced to use the daemon in combination with the web client and since the web client doesn't have that feature it's not really an option for me.
The Web client DOES have that feature... it is in Preferences, General, Download to: (somebody who didn't like changing Preferences each time he opened a torrent even wrote a patch that is in this forum).
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Right, I know that, but wouldn't that make Transmission stop seeding all other torrents I added to Transmission since I changed that directory? I mean, why would Transmission still seed these files when they're not in the download folder any more because I changed the default download folder this way, right? And even if it still seeds these torrents, I'd have to keep track on numerous folders this way to manage all my existing, as well as new torrents I plan to download and/or seed. I foresaw this problem when seeding my very first torrents and to avoid that I solved it by placing my downloaded files which I still want to seed after it's downloaded to other folders which make much more sense to me. And to ensure these files would still be seeded, regardless to wherever I moved them, I created symbolic links in that default download directory which point to each file I want to keep seeding.

For example, I have several Linux distributions I seed and to still maintain an overview of every distribution and version of the distribution I seed I decided to neatly archive each file in folders and sub-folders so that it would be easier for me to manage them. And trust me, I seed quite a lot of them so I needed that. After I did that I created symbolic links in the default download folder which point to every file I just moved. This way I still have an overview of all files and it's much more easier to manage as opposed to just leave every file I want to seed in the default download folder because that gets pretty chaotic and unorganised over time.
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Hmm..now that I'm thinking about this, I might still use that feature whenever I add torrents. I mean, if it still seeds the torrents which are already seeding after changing the default download directory I could NOW make every torrent download and seed directly from my "neat folder structure" (as I'll simply refer to it) which would eliminate the extra effort to create symbolic links every time I add a new torrent. Sure, that would be very time consuming considering the fact I'd have to re-add (is that a word?) every already seeding torrents (which are quite a lot) with a custom download directory which would point to every file that's already stored within my "neat folder structure". This way I'm no longer dependant on symbolic links as a work-around.

But, this could only be done for me if Transmission still seeds the torrents which are already seeding after changing the default download directory afterwards.
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Sure, that would be very time consuming considering the fact I'd have to re-add (is that a word?) every already seeding torrents (which are quite a lot) with a custom download directory which would point to every file that's already stored within my "neat folder structure". This way I'm no longer dependant on symbolic links as a work-around.
Or, is there some sort of configuration file where I could just change the value of the download folder of every torrent file to match it with the real file (as opposed to all of the symbolic links in the default download directory )in my folder structure?
rb07
Posts: 1400
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:14 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by rb07 »

In short: transmission-daemon keeps track of every torrent (in a file under the Resume folder in its configuration directory).

So nothing changes on the torrents you already have when you change the download directory, it changes for the new torrents added.

The option of using different directories has been present in the applications (the Mac app, the Qt app, the GTK+ app I guess since I don't use it). The Web client is just a little different, but I think the user patch I mentioned is going to be incorporated.

And just to make things more flexible, there are options to move the torrent when it finishes downloading, move their data, and the one you are discussing (which is the only one partially available through the Web client). Take a look:

Code: Select all

$ transmission-remote -h
Transmission 2.01 (10898)  http://www.transmissionbt.com/
A fast and easy BitTorrent client
...
  -c   --incomplete-dir         <dir>        Where to store new torrents until they're complete
  -C   --no-incomplete-dir                   Don't store incomplete torrents in a different location
...
       --move                   <path>       Move current torrent's data to a new folder
       --find                   <path>       Tell Transmission where to find a torrent's data
...
  -w   --download-dir           <path>       When adding a new torrent, set its download folder.  Otherwise, set the default download folder
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Yes, I was just looking in some files in the resume folder, but I didn't dare to edit one as they contain a lot of data which made absolutely no sense to me (it appeared as "gibberish" in vim and the output of cat).

Ok, well that's a relieve. So I don't have to worry any more about my existing seeding torrents.

Great, that might be just what I needed. I'll try experimenting with the transmission-remote command first thing in the morning, thanks!
Resilldoux
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:40 am

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by Resilldoux »

Well, I pretty much got what I wanted now. I didn't use the transmission-daemon commands as it would let me connect to my host for some obscure reason and eventually I gave up and tried something else. I stumbled upon another Web UI (Kettu) and I used that Web UI to easily change each download directory on a torrent basis, in stead of changing the default download directory. I understand this could easily as well be done via the command line using transmission-daemon, but I couldn't figure that out like I said... Anyway, I got what I wanted now and I don't have to create symbolic links any more, so this result actually solved two problems.

I have to say that the Kettu Web UI is a nice change if you ever feel the need to try something else. It even has some functions which the normal Web UI lacks. Still, I don't think I'll use it as much, because in return it really drains my system resources (probably due to the fact that I have about 160 torrents on my server, but still, I don't experience any slowdown with the normal Web UI so I'll stick with the regular one) and it lacks to include my precious, little verify button (haha).

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.
electricircus
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2015 4:49 pm

Re: Supposedly duplicate file name issue

Post by electricircus »

after five years this bug remains still, anyone in here debugged it?
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