The quoted post below is written by @RoderickGI and is from an MC23 for Windows thread, "Best way to copy files to another drive".
I've been having great troubles getting my system running properly after copying all my media files to a NAS. What I wonder is if the procedure below will work for copying media files from an external USB drive (where my files currently reside and my Library works) to a NAS. Of course, in @RoderickGI's procedure below, I'd substitute "USB drive" for "PC1" and "NAS" for "PC2".
Procedure to transfer media from one PC to an external disk for use with another PC.
Assuming that the MC installation on the second PC is a new installation, then this is how you do what you want.
1. Start again. Make sure you have all your files on PC 1. Delete the stuff you have already copied to the external drive.
2. Select all files in your library and run the "Update Tags (from library)" library tool over them. This will take quite some time, and is just in case. You should have those tags in the files anyway, to avoid future issues.
3. Turn off Auto Import in MC on PC 1. "Options > Library & Folders > Auto-import" Uncheck "Run auto-import in background".
4. Backup the library on PC 1 manually. Note where it is going to be stored. Give the ZIP file a name that you will readily recognise.
5. Copy the Library Backup you just made to the external drive. Store it in a suitable place, not in with your media files. A separate directory makes sense.
6. Find your Cover Art directory. It will be located in the directory defined under "Options > File Location > Cover Art > Folder". Copy that directory to the external drive as well, into a suitable location.
7. Copy and Paste the complete directory structure holding your audio/media files from PC 1 to the external drive. As above, do not drag and drop, although that should give you the option to Copy rather than Move. Make an explicit choice by using Copy & Paste. This will take a long time, so expect it to do so. It will stress your hard disks quite a lot, but that should be fine. There are applications that make this sort of copy foolproof, and allow stopped copy processes to be recommenced. i.e. SyncBack. Google such things if you wish to use one. Otherwise, make sure the PC isn't going to be shut down, or lose power, or be interrupted for any other reason, and just use Windows Copy and Paste.
8. Move the external drive to PC 2. Make sure it is visible and working.
9. If all your media files on PC 1 were stored on the D: drive originally, for example, and that drive letter is not used already on PC 2, optionally change the external drive letter of the external drive to D: (or whatever it was on PC 1). This can be done using the Windows Disk Management application, under the "Action > All Tasks > Change Drive Letter and Paths" menu. If in doubt, Google it. There are other methods and tools that can do this, but the Disk Management application is already installed. External drives will sometimes be given a different drive letter when they are disconnected and later reconnected to a PC. There are ways to ensure that the same drive letter is always assigned, and that is important for your MC installation on PC 2. If you have this problem, Google it, or search these forums, or ask again if you can't find the answer.
If your media file were originally on the "C:" drive on PC 1, which you obviously can't change the external drive letter to on PC 2 as it is the Windows boot disk, change the external drive letter to "M:" on PC 2. Trust me. It will make things easier later.
10. Copy the Cover Art directory to PC 2 if you want the Cover Art to be stored there. You could leave it on the external drive if you want to, and just tell MC where it is now. If you copy it to PC 2, put it in a sensible place. Perhaps in the same location as it was on PC 1. The default location is "C:\Users\[UserID]\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 23\Cover Art\"
11. Start MC on PC 2, and let it load the default (main) library. Stop any import countdown in the Action Window (bottom left of MC) if it starts. This library is going to be trashed. You have done some work in it, so you should backup this library, just in case this procedure hits a problem. As always, save and name the backup so that you can easily find it.
12. Restore the MC backup you created on PC 1 to PC 2.
13. If you didn't have an identical location for the Cover Art on PC 2 to what it used to be on PC 1, change the location now in this new library under "Options > File Location > Cover Art > Folder".
14. If you were not able to set the external drive letter when connected to PC 2 to the same drive letter that stored your media files were stored in on PC 1, you will need to update the drive letter that MC looks for media files in this library now. Use the Rename, Move, & Copy Files function.
Use a View to select all media files in the library.
Launch the Rename, Move, & Copy Files function.
Untick the "Directories" and "Filename" check boxes, and tick the "Find & Replace" checkbox in that function.
If your media file were originally on the "C:" drive, and you changed the external drive letter to "M:" on PC 2 as above, then you need to put C: in the "Find What:" field, and M: in the "Replace With:" field.
When you click OK, the library will be updated to look at the new location of the external drive. You can do the whole library at once, since you still have a backup of the library from PC 1. This may take some time, but should be pretty quick compared to the file copying and tag updates above.
15. You should now have a working MC installation on PC2, with access to all your media files, which should play correctly. If so, turn on Auto Import in MC on PC 2, "Options > Library & Folders > Auto-import" Check "Run auto-import in background".
You are now done.
If you add new files added to PC 1 in future, make sure that the tags are written to the files. Use the "Update Tags (from library)" function it be sure, then just copy the media files plus any Sidecar and Cover Art files across to the external drive into the correct locations, and let Auto Import run to find them.
There have been threads discussing the above transfer process, and how to maintain the two installations, in the recent past. The above consolidates my thoughts on the initial transfer. Search the forum for ideas on how to maintain the two installations, as some people do it a little differently, using network copies for example. (EDIT: For example MikeO's suggested to use SyncBack.) But do follow the procedure above to get a clean transfer and start on PC 2.
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Topic: Best Way to Copy Files to Another Drive - Redux (Read 350 times)