Photo, Music, Video and Windows 8

Ever since I was using the Windows 8 Developer Preview, I was struggling trying to make the Video, Music and Photo Windows Store Apps recognizing the media content on my system.  I have them added to the corresponding Windows 8 Library, but these 3 apps refused to recognize my files, and got me very fustrated.

Interesting enough, SkyDrive for Windows (desktop) was able to recognize at least my photos library, and then show them up on all of the Photo App of all Windows 8 environment that I logged in.  In fact, I wasn't even realize that "Sharing files on this PC" setting on SkyDrive cloud app was for this capability until very recently.  I used to access my photo library at home using Blinq Photo on my iPad, and now I have one more app to do the same feature.

Well, back to my Windows 8 headache.  Yesterday I finally upgraded my home server to Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center.  I was hoping that the media library problem would be resolved, that I could really access the video, photo and music on my machine using the Video, Photo and Music WinRT app.  When it didn't work.  I even followed WinSupersite's advice, and still didn't work.

Funny thing happened when I tried the "Import ..." feature on Photo app, and that's when I realized that my media drive, Z drive, was being recognized as "external media", because when I used the import from media feature, Drive W and Z shows up.  I thought, and realized that W and Z are USB external hardisk, while my U an V drives are external SATA harddisk connected through eSATA port.  I started to wonder, if those media (music, photo, video) are on U and V drive, will the Video, Music and Photo WinRT apps recognize them?

Bingo, once I copied media to U drive, and added them to corresponding media libraries, they showed up in Photo WinRT app.  I was like, WTF.  So the system somehow discriminate the USB drives and treated eSATA drive as internal drive.  But then I really don't want to move all my stuff from Z to U ....

And then I installed SkyDrive for Windows on desktop, and something magical happened.  All the sudden the system started doing index on my Z drive, and then I see video, photo and music shows up in the corresponding apps!  So somehow merely installing this SkyDrive for Windows app triggered something and caused the system to "do the right thing". 

I have to say that right now I am still in WTF mode, seeing the Z drive kept accessing and indexing and wonder what is the world is happening.  Maybe I should just leave it alone for a while, wait for a night, and see what crazy result I got tomorrow.