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[Mr Swordfish]

I have a new desktop PC with Windows 11 to replace my current Windows 10, running MC v 22.

I've obtained the license for MC v 34 and will install that.

All the MC files are currently on the C drive of the current PC and the plan is to just move the drive to the new PC where it will be  the D drive.  It's a 1tb SSD drive so should be sufficiently reliable and have enough space.  Is there a simple way to tell MC "everything that used to be on the C drive is now found in exactly the same place on the D drive"?  I'm seeing a lot of documentation about how to move files from one drive to the other, but that's not the planned process.

I'll do a backup of MC, move that file to the new PC, physically move the old C drive and get windows to recognize it as the D drive, install MC on the new PC, and then... Restore the backup before telling it about the drive swap?  Or do something else first to tell MC to look in the D drive?

Thanks.

[HPBEME]

You can easily accomplish what you want using the Rename, Move, and Copy tool (oftentimes referred to as RMC in the forum) by using the "Update database…" option.  Depending on your specific situation and order of operations, the "Copy and Update…" Option may work better.

The wiki link below explains the RMC tool in greater detail.  I highly recommend you read it - it is an extremely powerful tool that can change everything in one stroke - so be careful. It is generally best to perform on a small subset of files until you fully understand what is happening before modifying your entire database.
https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Rename,_Move,_and_Copy_Files

[Mr Swordfish]

Thanks for the link to the wiki page. I haven't tried anything yet, but I'm wondering whether I have this right:

After installing MC 34 and restoring the backup, MC won't find any files on the C drive. Presumably, since they are in the database I'll be able so see them and use the tool to "Update database to point to new location".

This will (I think) update the file paths in the database to point to the D drive instead of the C.  Sounds pretty straightforward.

Are there other parts of MC that will need to be told about the new location e.g. cover art or the MC database itself?  I think it will be fine to have the database live on the C drive while the music files are on the D, but perhaps there are other components that need to be updated to point to the new location?

[HPBEME]

It is pretty straightforward, nevertheless, you should still test on a subset of files to make sure you're getting the results you expected/want.  If you decide not to and disaster strikes, I can only say you were forewarned!

If you keep your album art in the same folder as your album/music files, those should move with the update command. If you keep all your album art in a single folder (which is what I do), then be sure to look at Tools > Options > File Locations too. Depending on what paths you specified there, they are likely not covered by the RMC update operation.

That said, those paths may get updated when you restore your C drive backup (as long as you have the "settings" box ticked when launching restore) - I can't remember for sure.

[lepa]

Also if you have fix broken links setting on or auto import enabled, disable both first so that MC doesn't try to update database itself. Save the library after that so that the settings stick.

As this gets asked quite regularly I tried to write a small guide some years ago
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,134520.0.html

[HPBEME]

Nice guide, lepa. Way more useful/complete than my post, with extra critical info.