It is possible to move an existing MailStore Server archive to a new hard-disk, machine or network-share at any time. What is required to successfully move an archive is described in the following sections.

Moving the Archive to an External Hard-Disk

To move the MailStore Server archive to a new location, proceed with these steps:

Stop the MailStore Server service, either trough the MailStore Base Configuration or the service control panel or by executing the command 'net stop "MailStore Server"' from the command-line.
Copy the archive directory (default: C:\MailArchive) and all subdirectories to the new location. Directory structure must be preserved.
Run the MailStore Server Base Configuration utility and change the directory of the "Master Database" to the new location.
Start the MailStore Server service again, either trough the MailStore Base Configuration or the service control panel or by executing the command 'net start "MailStore Server"' from the command-line.

Notice: Please be aware, that the throughput of the external hard-disk may have a negative impact on the performance of MailStore Server.

Moving the Archive to a New Machine

To move the MailStore Server archive to a new machine including all users, settings and emails follow these steps:

Stop the MailStore Server service on the current machine, either trough the MailStore Base Configuration or the service control panel or by executing the command 'net stop "MailStore Server"' from the command-line.
Copy the directory "MailArchive" and all file-groups that exist on the current machine to the new machine. Directory structure should be preserved.
Uninstall MailStore Server on the current machine. Use Add/Remove Programs available in the control panel.
Move the file MailStoreServer.lic (can be found in %programfiles%\deepinvent\MailStore Server\MailStoreServer.lic) to a save location (e.g. USB-Disk) before removing the MailStore Server program directory. The program directory is located at:
```
%programfiles%\deepinvent\MailStore Server
```
Install MailStore Server on the new machine. Choose "Existing Archive" and select the path to the directory where you copied your archive to.
Start Mailstore Server and install MailStoreServer.lic license file.
Now set up the scheduled tasks again.

Moving the Archive onto a NAS-share

When moving an already running Installation, only the databases and container files are moved onto the NAS-share. The MailStore Server program itself remains at it's original location.

The descriptions from the article Using_Network_Attached_Storage_(NAS) are analogical. The following steps are required to move the archive:

Stop the MailStore Server service on the current machine, either trough the MailStore Base Configuration or the service control panel or by executing the command 'net stop "MailStore Server"' from the command-line.
Create a backup of our MailStore Server archive.
Create a new share on the NAS-system.
Either grant the MailStore Server machine account or a user with administrative privileges on the MailStore Server machine read-/write-permissions on that newly created share.
If you granted the permissions to a user-object, make sure the MailStore Server-Service is executed under the scope of that user-object.
Move all files from the original archive-folder to the share.
Open the MailStore Server Base Configuration and set the path to the MailStore Server Master-Database to the UNC path of the share e.g. \\computer\myshare\...
Start the MailStore Server service again, either trough the MailStore Base Configuration or the service control panel or by executing the command 'net start "MailStore Server"' from the command-line.