Workaround for LB Stuck on "Refreshing Local Metadata" Loop when Importing/Adding

[bikeking8]

1. Import ROMs as usual but do not check the box pertaining to checking the local metadata
2. When games are successfully imported and media is downloaded, click on "Tools\Download\Force Update Games Database Metadata"
3. Select all newly added games and click on "Tools\Download\Update Metadata and Media for Selected Games"

I have been running into the refresh loop a lot recently and found this is what enabled LB to actually import when I came across it. I tried not running LB as admin, updating LB, updating windows, updating GPU drivers, reinstalling mouse firmware, refreshing toaster BIOS, uninstalling and reinstalling Notepad using a bash script, hemming a pair of khakis, editing the Windows 98 registry subframe stack, reinstalling Windows from scratch off of a stack of 677 5 1/4" floppies, regexxing the query strudel and many other flavors of that's-not-the-problem-and-I'm-tired-of-pretending-it-is-Vanilla.

[NalleMann]

Thank you, this worked!

[Boomerps2]

Is this going to get fixed?

[JoeViking245]

2 minutes ago, Boomerps2 said:

Is this going to get fixed?

I don't think anyone's submitted a Bug Report about it.   I happened to have come across this issue this morning and submitted a report.

[Boomerps2]

10 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

I don't think anyone's submitted a Bug Report about it.   I happened to have come across this issue this morning and submitted a report.

Appreciate it

[OkieDoke]

Add me to the list of people experiencing this issue. I figured it was that I had not played for a long while. I figured out the same work around as well.

Thank you for this awesome software!

[chickenracer]

I have the same issue. The process never ends. My workaround was to update it manually via "force update games database metadata". But even that is not working 100% anymore.

[JoeViking245]

There is a fix in place in the latest beta release (13.27-beta-3) that is requesting some end-user "stress testing".

Quote

- Local metadata package refreshes now use SHA-256 verification with retry handling and a shorter refresh path

- Run a metadata refresh from Tools > Download Metadata and Media, from any import workflow that refreshes metadata, or from a metadata search, then confirm it completes successfully and feels faster now that the older extended validation steps have been replaced

 

[SiriusVI]

On 4/26/2026 at 3:02 PM, JoeViking245 said:

There is a fix in place in the latest beta release (13.27-beta-3) that is requesting some end-user "stress testing".

 

I know this is ann old issue, but I'm still experiencing Launchbox being stuck at applying metadata with the new version 14 and I still have to use the "Force Update Games Database Metadata" workaround.

[JoeViking245]

2 hours ago, SiriusVI said:

I know this is ann old issue, but I'm still experiencing Launchbox being stuck at applying metadata with the new version 14 and I still have to use the "Force Update Games Database Metadata" workaround.

I don't know if Admin follows or will look at this thread.  May want to post it in the 14.0 release thread where I know @AstroBob is 'following'.  

LaunchBox for Windows 14.0 Released! - News and Updates - LaunchBox Community Forums

 

To clarify, it's getting stuck when 'updating' the local database before attempting to downloading metadata & media? And doing the Force Update prior to any 'downloading' resolves it?  May also include your Windows version, using 14.0.1 (though I don't believe any changes were made to this between 14.0 and 14.0.1), your install is on a local drive vs on a lan and any other pertinent info that may help.  (You may have previously provided this data, but my guess is they don't keep a running database of who's on which Windows version and PC setup/specs. )

 

I've tested a few times (v14.0.1), and it appears to work here. I know it 'takes some time', but it does complete. Don't recall if during the update if it appeared to stop/get stuck. But it does complete [then continue with the media download]. And it's notably 'faster' that it had been with previous versions. I haven't checked the time difference between updating the local database file during Update Metadata and Media for All Games vs Force Update.  But I know in the past, the latter was definitely faster.