Moving files and relinking

[sclough]

My PC crashed and has two projects that I had completed a significant amount of work on. The the video files and vsp files are stored on E\drive and music on D\drive. I had also created some painting creator files and am not sure where they will have been saved? Rather than try to reinstall windows and reformat the C drive I have decided to upgrade to a new PC. I could then remove the 2 slave drives from the old pc and use hard drive housings and a usb connection to link them to the new pc (don't feel confident enough to install them directly into the new one). I am concerned that the drives will then have different names and the vsp file will not recognise the files resulting in days of lost work. I notice that there is a function called relink but am not sure how this works and whether I will be able to use it to recover all of the edits easily.

The new PC will be intel i7 with nvidia gtx 570 graphics card, I have also ordered PROx4 ultimate so would prefer to use this.

The options as I see them are:
1. Reinstall windows and persevere with the old PC assuming that the slave drives are intact.
2. Remove the slave drives and connect through USB then try and rename the drive to the same as before (e and d)
3. Remove the drives and connect through USB, let the new pc allocate a name to them and use the relink function?

Any advice welcome

[BrianCee]

I keep all my videos on external hard drives and having just changed my computer I have just been through a similar procedure.

Your option 3 is the one to go for and it is much easier than you think to relink.

When you are up and running with your external drives plugged in open VideoStudio - then 'Open Project' - you will then have to manually browse to the location of your .vsp file and click 'open' - you will then receive an on screen message saying that VideoStudio cannot find the file and offering you the option to Relink (do not delete or cancel) - click on Relink and a browse window will open showing at the top the name of the file VS is looking for - manually browse to it - click on it and open. If all your files are in the same folder VS will automatically link to them all in the correct sequence - if some files are in different locations you may have to repeat the procedure - but VS will always be telling you the name of the file it needs. If you should select the wrong file VS will tell you immediately so don't think you can mix them up.

hopefully after two or three 'relinks' you will receive a message - "All files have been relinked successfully" - then away you go.

You will have to do that for each project you wish to open but having done it once per project it will not need doing again.

[sclough]

Thanks for the prompt response Brian,sounds very promising, I will let you know how I get on once my new PC has arrived. Simon

[UncleBoo]

I agree option 3 is the way to go, but I suggest you again consider the idea to install the legacy drives inside the new PC. Inside they will be protected from getting bumped around, you won't need to buy new cables to convert to USB, and you'll get significantly higher performance than with the relatively slow USB connection. Although the prospect may be intimidating, installing them is actually pretty easy.

Assuming the cabinet has spare slots for additional drives, then it's highly likely the cables you need to connect the drives are already installed. To get access you just need to remove one side of the cabinet (should be obvious and easy to do). Slide in the drives and secure them using the same screws that were used in the old PC. Then connect the power and data cables to the two drives. The connectors are designed such that you can't install them backwards. Replace the cabinet cover and you're good to go.