via Rane

This article has been kicking around the forums at Serato.com for some time now, but we felt it could use a revival. If you're new or old to digital DJing, at some point in your DJ career, you will inevitably need to move your Serato Software library to another computer or to another hard drive. This article covers the following common scenarios:

• Moving your library from an internal drive to and external drive.
• Moving your library from an external to an internal drive.
• Moving your library from an internal drive to another internal drive.
• Moving your library from an external drive to another external drive.

The longer you DJ, the more audio and/or video files you'll accumulate. Chances are, before long you'll find that the free space on your internal hard drive on your computer will start to run out. Luckily, these days external storage is very inexpensive and is an attractive option for expanding your storage options.

Note: Moving libraries is not an easy task, and requires a degree of computer knowledge, patience and care. Before you attempt to move your library, ensure you have made a backup in case you need to revert back. Check out our article on backing up your libraryhere.

Moving from an Internal Hard Drive to an External Hard Drive

This section will take you through the steps to move your library from your internal hard drive to an external hard drive:

1) Ensure your Serato Software is closed.

2) Connect your external hard drive to your computer.

3) Open Windows Explorer (PC) or Finder (Mac) and navigate to the location on your internal hard drive where your music and/or video files currently are.

4) Copy your music and/or video files to the new location on the external hard drive that you want them in.

Note: Never rename the files themselves when you copy them, they must retain the same original filename.

5) Go back to the original folder on your internal hard drive where your files were. Rename this folder (e.g. if this folder was called Music Files, rename it to Music Files_1).

6) Open your Serato Software.

7) Click the Files button to open the Files panel, then click the Rescan ID3 Tags button. Once this is complete, all the files in the folder you renamed will now be flagged as missing in your library (don't worry, this is what we want to happen).

8) While still in the Files panel, navigate to the new location on the external hard drive where you copied your files to. Drag this folder onto the Relocate Lost Files button (this button is also in the Files panel). Your Serato Software will look for the missing files in this folder.

When this completes, your library and crates will be matched up to the new location of your files on the external drive. If it hasn't recovered them try simply clicking Relocate Lost Files.

Note: Your original files are still on the Internal hard drive, however your Serato Software will no longer reference them in the library or in any crates. You can now either leave these files where they are or delete them.

Moving from an External Hard Drive to an Internal Hard Drive

This section will take you through the steps to move your library from your external hard drive to an internal hard drive:

1) Ensure your Serato Software is closed.

2) Connect your external hard drive to your computer.

3) Open Windows Explorer (PC) or Finder (Mac) and navigate to the location on your external hard drive where your music and/or video files currently are.

4)  Copy your music and/or video files to the new location on the internal hard drive that you want them in.

Note: Never rename the files themselves when you copy them, they must retain the same original filename.

5) Go back to the original folder on your external hard drive where your files were. Rename this folder(e.g if this folder was called Music Files, rename it to Music Files_1).

6) Open your Serato Software.

7) Click the Files button to open the Files panel, then click the Rescan ID3 Tags button. Once this is complete, all the files you've copied will now be flagged as missing in your library (don't worry, this is what we want to happen).

8) While still in the Files panel, navigate to the new location on the Internal hard drive where you copied your files to. Drag this folder onto the Relocate Lost Files button (this button is also in the Files panel). Your Serato Software

When this completes, your library and crates will be matched up to the new location of your files on the internal drive.

Note: Your original files are still on the External hard drive, however your Serato Software will no longer reference them in the library or in any crates. You can now either leave these files where they are or delete them. 

Moving Between Two Computers

When the time comes to upgrade, you'll need to move your library and crates to your new computer. Note: You will need an external hard drive to do this:

1) Ensure your Serato Software is closed.

2) Connect the external hard drive to the computer you're moving from.

3) Copy the folder containing your music and video files to the external hard drive.

4) Copy the _Serato_ folder to the external. Depending on which type of computer you have, you will find the _Serato_ folder in the following folder:

Windows XP/Vista/7: My Music

Mac: Music

Note: These are the default Music folders that the OS creates.

8) Copy your music and/or video files to the new location on the internal hard drive that you want them in.

9) Disconnect the external hard drive.

10) Open up your Serato Software.

11) Click the Files button to open the Files panel, then click the Rescan ID3 Tags button. Once this is complete, all the files you've copied will now be flagged as missing in your library (don't worry, this is what we want to happen).

12) While still in the Files panel, navigate to the new location on the internal hard drive where you copied your files to. Drag this folder onto the Relocate Lost Files button (this button is also in the Files panel). your Serato Software will look for the missing files in this folder.

When this completes, your library and crates will be matched up to the new location of your files on the internal drive.

Moving from one External Hard Drive to Another External Hard Drive

1) Ensure your Serato Software Intro is closed.

2) Connect both of the external hard drives to your computer.

3) Open Windows Explorer (PC) or Finder (Mac) and navigate to the external hard drive you want to copy from. In the root directory* of the drive you will see a _Serato_ folder. Copy this folder to the root directory* of the drive you want to copy to.

Note: The _Serato_ folder must be in the root directory* of an external drive. If it is not, your Serato Software will not see it and your library and crates will not display.

4) Navigate to the folder where your music and/or video files currently are on the external hard drive you want to copy from. Copy this folder to the new location on the external hard drive that you want them in.

5) Disconnect the external hard drive you copied from.

6) Open your Serato Software.

When this completes, your library and crates will be matched up to the new location of your files on the new external drive only if you have moved these to the exact same location as they were on the previous external drive. If you have not moved them to the exact location they were, you will need to follow these steps:

• Click the Files button to open the Files panel, then click the Rescan ID3 Tags button. Once this is complete, all the files you've copied will now be flagged as missing in your library (don't worry, this is what we want to happen).
• While still in the Files panel, navigate to the new location on the external hard drive where you copied your files to. Drag this folder onto the Relocate Lost Files button (this button is also in the Files panel). Your Serato Software will look for the missing files in this folder.
• Your library and crates should now be updated with the new locations on your new external hard drive.

Note: The term "root directory" refers to the first or top most directory in a file system hierachy.

Big thanks to the Michael R. and the support team at Serato for putting this together and to Serato for allowing Rane to host this article here!