Common questions and troubleshooting

Classification

A file is shown as "without a reference" although it is in use. Why?

Because none of the enabled search areas found a reference. Open the detail view: it says where the search happened. Typical causes:

• A search area is switched off (Options → scan areas), the deep scan for instance.
• An extension is not covered — then the coverage notice appears and deleting for good is blocked anyway.
• The file is used outside Joomla: in a newsletter, a PDF, another website. No software can detect that. That is exactly what quarantine and 404 monitoring are for.

Why is deleting for good blocked?

Because at least one of the twelve conditions is not met. Media Organizer names all violations at once. The most common:

• The retention period is still running. Wait, or adjust the period in the options.
• Incomplete coverage. An installed extension has no profile.
• The file was changed. Checksum or modification date differ from the scan — scan again.
• 404 hits. The file was accessed since it went into quarantine. A strong reason to restore it.

What does "incomplete coverage" mean?

Media Organizer knows for many third-party extensions where they store media — that knowledge sits in vetted profiles. If an installed extension is not among them, it cannot be ruled out that it uses files. That is why deleting for good is blocked.

Quarantine and restoring stay possible — both are reversible. So you can still clean up safely, just not permanently.

Why does the same occurrence appear more than once?

Because several search areas searched independently and found the same thing. That is not a fault but a confirmation.

Operation

Can a scan damage my website?

No. A scan never writes to the file system. It reads and puts the result into the database.

The scan aborts or runs into a timeout.

The scan runs in steps, and its progress is kept in the database. A step that was cut short therefore does not cost the whole run: click Resume scan and it carries on from the same place.

If it happens again, reduce the step size under Performance in the options. If that does not help either, run the scan as a scheduled task or from the command line — both share their progress with the backend and can finish what was started there.

There is a page on this in full: Large websites and tight time limits — including which of your server's time limits actually bites.

How much memory does Media Organizer need?

The extension is built to process even very large collections with tight PHP memory. Results are not loaded into memory in full but processed step by step.

Does the scheduled scan delete automatically?

No — and that is not a setting but a deliberate product decision. The scheduled scan and the command line can find and report. Moving and deleting always requires a human who selects and confirms.

Does data leave my website?

No. Media Organizer contacts no external services. The only exception is the update process, which Joomla itself performs when you trigger it.

Restoring and deleting

I moved too much to quarantine. What now?

Select it and Restore. The files move back to their original place. As long as nothing was deleted for good, nothing is lost.

I deleted for good and need the file after all.

Then only your backup helps. Deleting for good is irreversible — that is why the retention period comes before it and why quarantine is the normal case.

What happens with duplicates?

The duplicates report only displays them. Cleaning up runs through quarantine and confirmation here as well — you decide which copy stays.

More questions?

If you are stuck here, get in touch through the product page. Helpful for a quick answer: the Joomla and PHP version, what you expected and what happened instead — and, if it is about a classification, a look at the detail view of the file concerned.

Applies to version 1.2.0.

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