Windows 10 - Disable NTFS Extended Attributes for Storing Metadata?

[Yousty]

So I have been happily using Filebot for several years now and decided to pay for the version in the Windows app store to support you guys. However one thing I would always change after installing new versions was to go into the filebot.l4j.ini file and edit the line DuseExtendedFileAttributes from "true" to "false" because I transfer my files to Unraid which doesn't support NTFS extended attributes. Unfortunately in Windows 10 it appears that this is now impossible to do because no matter what Security settings you change in Windows it will not let you modify any files in the C:\Program Files\WindowsApps folder which is where Filebot gets automatically installed.

Is there any way I can disable NTFS extended attributes?

[rednoah]

What's the problem? If you copy files with xattr to a filesystem that doesn't support xattr, then the xattr will just get silently lost.

[Yousty]

Because every single time I go to copy a file to Unraid that was renamed using FileBot I get the popup window "Are you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?" and I have to click Yes. For somebody who is copying dozens of files every day that is unbelievably annoying.

[rednoah]

Strange. I don't get that behaviour when copying files from NTFS drives to FAT drives.

If you really need to disable xattr (not recommended), then you can pass in system properties via the JAVA_OPTS environment variable.

i.e. open CMD and run this:

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setx JAVA_OPTS -DuseExtendedFileAttributes=false

[Yousty]

I ran that command, restarted Windows, renamed a file in FileBot, tried copying it to Unraid and am still getting the popup window

[rednoah]

What does the sysinfo output say?

EDIT:

Setting JAVA_OPTS does indeed not seem to have any effect anymore. Unfortunately, that means that you won't be able to disable xattr via environment variables.

You can create a New Shortcut and then use this command though:

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filebot.launcher.exe -no-xattr

[Yousty]

You can create a New Shortcut and then use this command though:

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filebot.launcher.exe -no-xattr

That worked!!! Thank you SO much for your help! This solution also means that I won't have to go in and edit the filebot.l4j.ini every time a new version gets installed anymore either.

[rednoah]

Nice! Yep, modifying the install directory was never a good idea.

[Haroldkidd]

I’m sorry I’m new to all of this and I’m having the same issue copying to my unraid server. What are the steps to go about this, making a shortcut to where and how do you enter the cmd. Sorry I’m not real savvy
You can create a New Shortcut and then use this command though:

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filebot.launcher.exe -no-xattr

[rednoah]

The correct way of passing additional command-line options is using the FILEBOT_OPTS environment variable. FILEBOT_OPTS will automatically be added to any FileBot command / launch.

You can set environment variables via the Windows Settings GUI, or via CMD:

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setx FILEBOT_OPTS -no-xattr

[Yousty]

The correct way of passing additional command-line options is using the FILEBOT_OPTS environment variable. FILEBOT_OPTS will automatically be added to any FileBot command / launch.

You can set environment variables via the Windows Settings GUI, or via CMD:

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setx FILEBOT_OPTS -no-xattr

So I ran the suggested command in CMD and now Filebot won't even launch. I get a popup saying:
Error. Could not create the Java Virtual Machine.
Error. A fatal exception has occurred. Program will exit.

Help!

Edit: I was able to find the environment variable and delete and now Filebot is loading again. Any suggestions on what I did wrong or how I can disable xattr in Filebot?

[Yousty]

Would it be possible to add a setting in Filebot's settings to disable xattr? It is so annoying having to hit yes on a popup box every single time I transfer a file to my unraid NAS (which is dozens of times per day). I used to be able to use one of the workarounds above but none seem to work anymore.

[rednoah]

1.
What version of Windows are you using?


2.
I recommend trying the latest FileBot 4.8.5 pre-release build. You can use the new -Dnet.filebot.xattr.store=.xattr option to store xattr as plain text files instead of NTFS alternative streams.

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setx FILEBOT_OPTS -Dnet.filebot.xattr.store=.xattr

3.
You can strip existing xattr with the xattr script:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5

[Yousty]

1. Windows 10

I purchased Filebot through the Windows app store, how do I get a license key to be able to try out the pre-release build?

[rednoah]

I see. Let's work with FileBot 4.8.2 then. In that case you can just disable xattr like so:

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setx FILEBOT_OPTS -DuseExtendedFileAttributes=false

[Yousty]

I see. Let's work with FileBot 4.8.2 then. In that case you can just disable xattr like so:

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setx FILEBOT_OPTS -DuseExtendedFileAttributes=false

That worked! Thank you so much!!!

[rednoah]

You're welcome.

Once 4.8.5 is released, and auto-updates via the Store, then I recommend enabling xattr but storing them to plain text files as previously discussed.