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[jacobacci]

I just did a library backup with MC26 and I noticed that in the course of saving the backup, a directory "Media Center 23" is created next to the "Media Center 26" one. MC23 is long gone on my PC.
I have deleted the the directory several times, but it keeps coming back when doing a library backup. I have attached a screenshot.
What might be causing this?

[JimH]

Check your settings in MC.

[jacobacci]

Thanks, found it. The entry in the settings for the backup location was "D:\My Documents\Media Center 23\Library Backups"
Interestingly the backups did not get stored there, but in "D:\My Documents\Media Center 26\Library Backups". The "Media Center 23" directory got created at every backup, but stayed empty.

[RoderickGI]

When you do a manual Library Backup MC always uses the last used directory, so if you saved a backup in the MC26 location, manually, then MC26 would continue to place manual backups in that location. MC will propose the same location to Restore a Library from as well.

Automatic MC Library Backups will be placed in the location as per the settings. I suspect that MC checks the settings whenever you do a manual Library Backup, or maybe it just checks according to its normal scheduled backup process, which will run whether you have done a manual backup or not. Whichever, when MC checks the settings it checks that all the directories in the "Options > File Location" section exist, and if they don't, it creates them. In your case, I think that if you have done a recent manual backup then MC won't create another automatic backup. MC manages the automatic backups, creating them as required. But even if MC decides a new automatic backup isn't required, it has already at that stage re-created the directory specified in the settings.

For the above reasons I have moved my backup location to a non-version specific directory on a separate (backup) drive. Both automatic and manual Backups and Restores now refer only to that directory.

I have also set up the MC Scheduler to create a daily backup so that I know I always have a very recent one. See "Left Navigation Bar > Service & Plug-ins > Scheduler". Since I implemented that scheduled task MC hasn't created many automatic backups. Just the monthly summary ones, although it seems to use my scheduled backup for those sometimes, if the timing aligns.

The naming of the scheduled backups is still left to MC, so a regular backup may be named:
MC Library Backup (AMINTHA Local Library - 2020-04-05 07-49).zip

While the monthly summary backup would be named:
MC Library Backup (AMINTHA Local Library - April).zip

Neat, huh?

[wer]

I think it's a shortcoming that MC doesn't upgrade the library backup location when a version upgrade is done.

What happens now just co-mingles the automatic backups of the old and new versions, and that's just bad.

[EdBrady]

I think it's a shortcoming that MC doesn't upgrade the library backup location when a version upgrade is done.

Yes! I have run into this many times. If the old version used the default backup location, the new version should substitute its default location, perhaps asking for the user's permission. There could be a dialog saying something like "Default backup location used in library. Update to new default location?"