Can't Re-use Old Amarok Collection Anymore

hello, community!

i need my huge collection database in amarok: i'm using ratings.

i am doing it since years:
when i install a new version of (open)suse, or i have to reinstall it after adding/removing harddisks, i always backup my home directory and use it to get the amarok collection database to the newly installed suse. it worked every time (with few exceptions where only parts of collection were imported).

now, having amarok 1.4.9.1 on both "old" suse10.3 and suse11.0-beta-[2|3], i can NOT do this anymore.

i have a symlink, called /MUSIC, with all my music inside (the directories inside are NOT symlinks). i have noticed, that the "old" installation of amarok uses following entry inside ~/.kde/share/config/amarokrc:

[Collection Folders]
45=./MUSIC

(yes, with the leading dot, i don't know why, but is was always this way)

now, under newly installed suse 11.0-beta-x, when i replace the "new" amarokrc with the old one (and also replace the new share/apps/amarok completely with the old one), amarok doesn't read the collection at all (no ratings),
but after few restarts, it starts building a NEW collection (by replacing the old), thus overwriting all ratings. the strange thing now is: share/config/amarokrc contains:

[Collection Folders]
49=./MUSIC

when i edit this back to 45= ..., amarok doesn't recognizes my /MUSIC as collection (seen in the collection settings). and when i add /MUSIC through this collection setting window again, the file contains:

[Collection Folders]
45=./MUSIC
49=./MUSIC

again, the old collection is either ignored, or overwritten by rebuilding a new

help please!

many thanks in advice!