Moving MM to a new computer

Introduction

If you want to move MediaMonkey to a new computer (or hard drive) but retain your database, follow these steps. If these steps are followed correctly, all information that is maintained by your database will be retained, including PlayHistory, PlayCounts, Dates Added, PlayLists and all other fields within MM. This applies to changing computers, changing hard drives and reinstalling Windows.

Preparation

Before performing the migration, it's suggested that you update the tags of your files on your old pc, so that they contain up-to-date metadata.

1. Run MediaMonkey and select all files in your Library
   
2. Click Tools > Advanced Tag Management > Synchronize tags...
   

Copying your database

Then copy your original database to your new PC:

1. Find your database in Windows Explorer.  For its location see: http://www.mediamonkey.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/16
   (Note that you will have to enable viewing of hidden Files and Folders to find this file).
2. Copy the file, and back it up.  Then place another copy to the appropriate location on your new PC.
   
3. Optionally, you may also want to save your registry info as well, @ HKey_Current_ User\Software\Mediamonkey
4. Install MediaMonkey to the new computer.
   

Moving your music to the new PC

Next, you'll have to copy the music from the old PC onto the new one:

1. Copy all of the files, making sure that the file directory for each track stays the same as on the old PC (with the exception of drive letter, though that can remain the same.)

At this point, if you run MediaMonkey, all of the files will appear, but double-clicking any one of them won't play the files because the database is still pointing to the drive identifier of the old PC's drive.

Updating the database to point to the correct drive

Next you'll have to modify the database to point to the new drive instead of the old one.  There are 3 possible approaches to this:

1. Run the 'Update Location of Files in Database' addon:
   - Download and double-click the script to install it.
   - Follow the instructions in the forum.
   
2. Install this script to your new PC:
   To install the script, first shut down MM. Next, copy the contents in the 'Code:' box at the link provided into notepad. Save the file as 'MM_HDDSerial.vbs' (without the quotes) in your C:\Program Files\MediaMonkey\Scripts folder. Next, within that same folder, find 'Scripts.ini'. Open this file with notepad and copy the following lines and paste them onto the end of the file, then save.
   -Copy these lines into Scripts.ini:
   
   [HDDSerial]
   FileName=MM_HDDSerial.vbs
   ProcName=Change_HDD_Serial
   Order=99
   DisplayName=Move Device Content
   Description=Corrects broken links after exchanged harddrive
   Language=VBScript
   ScriptType=0
   
   -Now you're ready to run the script. Open MM (if you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, right click on the MM icon and choose "Run as administrator" even if your Windows user account has administrative rights) and run the script at Tools -> Scripts -> Move Device Content. If you receive any errors or the script doesn't appear under Tools -> Scripts, check that you have installed the script correctly, and/or try restarting MM.
   Running the script will change the drive-ID within the MediaMonkey database to recognize your new drive, and all your database information will be retained. If you can play your music from MM, and tracks do not 'grey out', then you have successfully moved your MM installation to a new computer.
3. If you have MediaMonkey Gold, you can use the Locate moved/missing files function:
   -Select all the greyed out tracks.
   -Click File > Locate moved/missing tracks
   This will attempt to find tracks on the new drive that match the filesize AND timestamp, or track metadata in the database.

After one of the above 3 approaches are taken, test out whether it worked by double-clicking a track in your library to see if it plays.

Related info: Why are tracks greyed out