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+--- Thread: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? (/t-migrating-from-one-pc-to-another-what-will-i-lose)
Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - tompw - 2025-01-22
My JF server is a very old PC that causes me all kinds of grief (for non-JF reasons), so I'm planning on getting a new PC.
All my media is on an external hard drive. My plan is to connect that to my new PC, install JF, and point it at the relevant folders.
My question is: what data / things / stuff will I lose by doing this?
Things I know I will have lose (and have to re-create):
* Collections
* User profiles
* Playlists
* Watch history
Things I will know will remain (right?):
* Album / song metadata
* Custom thumbnails for media
Things I am unsure about:
* Artist/author images?
* ... what else?
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - fontmasterflex - 2025-01-22
I'm fairly new but if your media is on an external... and jellyfin web interface is on the web... why would you lose any of that?
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - tompw - 2025-01-22
(2025-01-22, 03:40 PM)fontmasterflex Wrote: I'm fairly new but if your media is on an external... and jellyfin web interface is on the web... why would you lose any of that?
Great question!
The answer is the Jellyfin server database is *not* stored in the same place as the media; it's wherever you installed the serve software.
So in my case, the server database sits on the internal hard drive of my computer, and that won't be copied to my new computer. I'm essentially asking what info is stored in the database.
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - TheDreadPirate - 2025-01-22
What OS is the server running?
Backup the folder that applies to your OS/install type and restore it on the new server.
Windows - C:\ProgramData\Jellyfin
Linux - /etc/jellyfin /var/lib/jellyfin /var/cache/jellyfin
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - theguymadmax - 2025-01-22
If you're moving between the same OS (I'm assuming Windows to Windows), then backing up and restoring shouldn't be an issue. You just need to ensure the media is in the same path.
For example:
- If your media is stored at:
D:\media\
- When you set up the new computer, as long as the media is in the same path and you copy the backup over, everything should work just fine.
However, if the media paths differ, it won't work. For example:
- If your old media path is:
C:\Users\Maximus\Documents\Media
- But your new path is:
C:\Users\Max\Documents\Media
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - KodiUser1138 - 2025-09-05
Whelp, trying to make my server life better and now stuck with no clue what's happening. Migrated my server to a new( sorta) machine, migration didn't work, started pretty mch from scratch with a fresh install, now JF can't find network paths despite the host PC having no issue finding the network folders. And other weird things. Unsure why or how to fix this. Frustrated!!! I love you Jellyfin, why do you hate me so much!!!
RE: Migrating from one PC to another - what will I lose? - KodiUser1138 - 2025-09-06
OK trying to understand what is happening. I copied my entire server programdata to a new server windows pc. The file paths are exactly the same. Try to start Jellyfin and it just won't. Fails every time.
After wasting tons of time trying to figure that out I started with a fresh JF server and now can't add network locations as sources. Nor can I add a network shared folder mounted as a local drive. So I can't add anything to this new sever accept, oddly, the network location for the local shared movies folder. Go figure.
At least I seem to have resolved the other 2 issues I was having in this venture. Any help would be great!