You will notice a file named "DatabaseV2" in your _Serato_ folder when installing or after running Serato software.
The Serato DatabaseV2 is an encrypted database document, which can be read by all Serato applications. It stores your added music and video information creating a library of songs to be used within Serato applications.
The database holds all song names, relevant ID3 tag information and the file’s location. The ‘All...’ crate located at the top of the crates and playlist window visually represents your database, showing all added tracks and file information. This information is represented in columns e.g. artist/album/key/location etc.
All this information is stored in the DatabaseV2 as well as saved to the file itself.
Any music added to Serato applications will be stored in a DatabaseV2 from any location drive. If you add music from an external drive, the Serato application will create a _Serato_ folder and a DatabaseV2 file with the relevant information from the music/video files added from that drive. If you notice your library is not complete, make sure you have all relevant drives connected.
The DatabaseV2 can become corrupt over time, this is mostly caused by corrupt files. This is not always the case and is not always easy to diagnose the cause, however you are able to rebuild the DatabaseV2 file. Please read this article that explains how Serato applications can build a fresh DatabaseV2 when it becomes corrupt.
How do you know when the DatabaseV2 becomes corrupt?
There are a few common clues with DatabaseV2 corruption however anything related to the library database abnormalities is most likely related to the DatabaseV2 and or it’s ability to be written/saved to or read from.
Here is a list of things to look out for:
- Crashing when opening or exiting the program.
- Song missing from the library completely (Not to be confused with “file not found”)
- Incorrect Date Added column
There are many other examples, which can be related to Crates/Hard drive permissions etc. It’s a good place to start to help solve library related issues. It can clean up any possible corruption and is a good foundation for library troubleshooting.
NOTE: When rebuilding the DatabaseV2, all Date Added information will be deleted, as this information is not saved to the music/video file but the DatabaseV2 exclusively. Once you create a new DatabaseV2 the Date Added of all tracks will be replaced with that days date.