• UpdateingMediaPortal

Updating your MediaPortal installation

• Please follow these instructions to update an existing MediaPortal installation. If you don't have MediaPortal installed yet, then instead read Installing MediaPortal.

Backup and cleanup

Backup

• Automatic backup system

  • When updating MediaPortal, the installer will make backups of your configuration and installation folders.

  • These backup folders are named MediaPortal or MediaPortal TV Server, followed by _BACKUP_ and the date and time the backup was made.

  • Backups are made for both the program files and application data folders.

  • Note: The uninstallers offer a Clean uninstall option. If you use that, then no backups will be made, everything will be deleted!

  • If you want to ensure that all your old files get backed up, we suggest that you create a manual backup in addition to the automatic one.

  • When making a backup yourself, you can also at a later point restore your previous MediaPortal version.

• To make a backup manually:

  • Accessing Userfiles

    • To be able to backup the files and folders located in the application data, you need to access this folder first.

    • The easiest way to get to the UserFiles is to go to the:

      • Windows Start Button -> Programs -> Team MediaPortal" -> MediaPortal" -> UserFiles

    • This will then open a new explorer window, where you see all the userfiles from MediaPortal.

    • If you press the folder up button, you will get one level up in the foldertree, where you can now see the TV-Server userfiles folder (if installed), and backup folders of old installations of MediaPortal and/or TV-Server.

  • TV-Server (if installed)

    • Export your TV channels, Radiostations and recording schedules list:

      • open TV-Server Configuration, go to TV Channels, click the Export button on the bottom of the screen, and save the XML file in a safe location (preferably not within your MediaPortal folders).

  • MediaPortal

    • Make a copy of the Team MediaPortal program files folder, naming it Team MediaPortal Programs Backup or something like that. (Note that restricted users are not able to write to the program files folder, so you may have to place the copy in another folder.)

    • Make a copy of the Team MediaPortal application data folder, naming it Team MediaPortal Data Backup or something like that.

Cleanup

• In order to avoid problems during the installation process, uninstall both MediaPortal and the TV-Server, either through Control Panel or the uninstall shortcuts in the MediaPortal and TV-Server program groups.

• (This will not do anything to your backup.)

Upgrading

Installation

1. Make sure your system still meets the requirements; these may have changed for the current version!

2. Download the latest release of MediaPortal.

3. Make sure that you already uninstalled MediaPortal and if present the TV-Server, as mentioned in the Backup and Cleanup stepo earlier.

4. Install MediaPortal. Detailed instructions can be found on the Installing MediaPortal page.

   • Note: Always run the installer from your local harddisk, not from a networkshare. The Installer is a .net application which can not be started if they are located on a networkshare.

Restore configuration

• Note:

  • If possible, please do a clean installation, which means not to re-use old configuration files, plugins or skins.

  • Re-using these files has a high chance to break your new installation of MediaPortal, because of the changes in the new release.

  • You can restore the backup files you created manually, or use the backup folders which were created by the installer inside the program files and application data folders.

• Backup files which can be restored without risking to break the new installation

  • MediaPortal

    • The following folders and files, from your application data MediaPortal data backup folder:

      • The Thumbs folder.

  • TV-Server

    • Import TV Channels, Radio Stations and recording schedules:

      • Start TV-Server Configuration > TV-Channels > import button > select your exported xml file

    • Import old recordings:

      • TV-Server Configuration > Recording settings > Database import

      • Note: You have to configure the recording path to point to the folder where your recordings are stored before you do the Database import.

• Backup files where restoring means to risk that your new installation will break

  • MediaPortal

    • The following folders and files, from your application data MediaPortal data backup folder:

      • The InputDeviceMappings\custom folder.

      • The Database folder.

      • All XML files in the base folder.

    • The following folders and files, from your program files MediaPortal Programs backup folder:

      • Plugins Folder
      • Skins Folder
      • every other Folder