diff --git a/PROGRESS.md b/PROGRESS.md
index 0273a5b..7068456 100644
--- a/PROGRESS.md
+++ b/PROGRESS.md
@@ -56,6 +56,37 @@ and until now nothing set them.
 
 ---
 
+## 2026-09-10 — Database cleanup, and the 304 trap it walked into
+
+Cleaned up on request: removed the `CT Log Archive Torrents` folder (123 preallocated files from the
+abandoned 1.6 TB tuscolo torrent, **19 GB real** on disk, no row referencing any of it, feed no
+longer subscribed), the unsubscribed ct-log feed's rows, and every OPML-derived entry/enclosure that
+held no file so a rescan could rebuild them with the current parser. Kept every row holding a file,
+so nothing on disk was orphaned, and kept the skipped/reaped history, without which the next scan
+would re-download the 149 images just deleted. Disk 22 GB -> 3.8 GB, database 22.8 MB -> 5.2 MB.
+
+Correction worth recording: mid-download I checked that torrent folder, saw `du -sh` report 8 KB,
+and told Ray it was sparse with nothing written. By the time it was abandoned it had allocated 19 GB.
+The reassurance had a shelf life I did not mention.
+
+**Then "Abort Retry Fail is empty".** The cleanup deleted entries but left each feed's
+ETag/Last-Modified. The rescan sent them, servers answered 304 (120 times in the log), the daemon
+skipped parsing, and 57 feeds stayed empty -- and would have until a publisher happened to change
+something. Cleared the validators on the empty feeds and rescanned: entries 1524 -> 3009, feeds with
+content 19 -> 64, Abort Retry Fail back to 20.
+
+Fixed in code so it cannot recur: a 304 arriving while the feed has **zero stored entries** means the
+validator has outlived the data -- a restore, a manual edit, a cleanup. The daemon now believes the
+database over the validator, drops it and asks again. Proved live by deleting a feed's entries,
+leaving its ETag, and rescanning: 20 entries rebuilt, self-heal logged once.
+
+**"not a wanted media type"** was internal jargon reaching the UI, and it was stored in `last_error`
+so an ordinary filter decision rendered in red as though something had failed. Reworded to "not
+audio or video", 144 existing rows updated, and the UI now paints a reason red only when the state
+is actually `error`.
+
+---
+
 ## 2026-09-10 — Multiple enclosures per item, and viewing without downloading
 
 **View without downloading.** A non-audio/video enclosure now carries a View link opening in a new
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 84d545a..b977e66 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -795,7 +795,7 @@ async fn scan_one(
     feed_cfg: &config::Feed,
     state: &db::HttpState,
 ) -> Result<Outcome> {
-    let fetched = feed::fetch(
+    let mut fetched = feed::fetch(
         &ctx.client,
         feed_cfg,
         state.etag.as_deref(),
@@ -803,6 +803,16 @@ async fn scan_one(
     )
     .await?;
 
+    // A 304 while nothing is stored means the validator has outlived the data -- a restore
+    // from backup, a manual edit, a cleanup that removed entries. Believe the database over
+    // the validator: drop it and ask again, or the feed stays empty until the publisher
+    // happens to change something.
+    if matches!(fetched, feed::Fetched::NotModified) && ctx.db.feed_summary(id)?.entries == 0 {
+        tracing::info!(feed = id, "not modified, but nothing stored; refetching without the validator");
+        ctx.db.clear_validators(id)?;
+        fetched = feed::fetch(&ctx.client, feed_cfg, None, None).await?;
+    }
+
     let (bytes, etag, last_modified) = match fetched {
         feed::Fetched::NotModified => {
             ctx.db.touch_feed(id, &feed_cfg.url)?;
@@ -1011,7 +1021,7 @@ fn reject(
         .as_deref()
         .unwrap_or(&cfg.general.media_types);
     if !config::wanted_media(enc.mime.as_deref(), wanted) {
-        return Some("not a wanted media type");
+        return Some("not audio or video");
     }
     if entry.explicit && !feed_cfg.allow_explicit {
         return Some("explicit");
diff --git a/web/index.html b/web/index.html
index d2e5884..308f35a 100644
--- a/web/index.html
+++ b/web/index.html
@@ -646,7 +646,8 @@ function epEl(e){
         ${e.flagged?'<span class="dot"></span><span>★ kept</span>':''}
       </div>
       ${enc&&!has?`<div class="dlbar" data-bar="${enc.id}"><i></i></div>`:''}
-      ${enc&&enc.last_error?`<div class="line" style="color:var(--bad)">${esc(enc.last_error)}</div>`:''}
+      ${enc&&enc.last_error&&enc.state==='error'
+        ?`<div class="line" style="color:var(--bad)">${esc(enc.last_error)}</div>`:''}
     </div>
     <div class="rowacts">
       ${playable?`<button class="iconbtn" data-a="play" title="Play">▶</button>`:
@@ -780,7 +781,8 @@ function encBox(x){
   return `<div class="encbox">
     <span class="chip ${esc(x.state)}">${x.state==='skipped'?kindOf(x):esc(x.state)}</span>
     <span class="meta" style="flex:1">${esc(kindOf(x))}${size?' \u00b7 '+size:''}</span>
-    ${x.last_error?`<span class="err">${esc(x.last_error)}</span>`:''}
+    ${x.last_error&&x.state==='error'?`<span class="err">${esc(x.last_error)}</span>`
+      :(x.last_error?`<span class="meta">${esc(x.last_error)}</span>`:'')}
     ${viewable?`<a class="btn" href="${esc(x.url)}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View</a>`:''}
     <button class="btn" data-a="get" data-enc="${x.id}">Download</button>
   </div>`;