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Manually move shared folders to a different location

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Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

Windows SBS 2008 provides wizards that help you move data to a different folder, partition, hard disk drive, or external storage device. However, the wizards cannot move shared folders that you create. To move shared folders that you create, you must manually create a copy of the folder and the folder contents, and then share the copied folder.

Warning

Do not use this procedure to manually move data folders that can be moved by using the wizards that Windows SBS 2008 provides.

To ensure success with this process, perform the following steps in the order listed:

  1. Record the custom share permissions for the folder and subfolders that you want to move.

  2. Stop sharing the folder that you want to move.

  3. Copy the folder and contents to a new location.

  4. Share the newly created folder copy.

  5. Delete the original folder.

To record the custom share permissions for the folder and subfolders that you want to move

  1. On the navigation bar, click Shared Folders and Web Sites. The list view displays the shared folders that are located on your server.

  2. In the list view, right-click the shared folder that you want to move, and then click Change folder permissions. The Folder properties page appears.

  3. In Users and groups, select each user or group in the list, and record the permissions that are assigned to that user or group.

  4. When you are finished recording the folder permissions for all users and groups, proceed with the next step.

To stop sharing the folder that you want to move

  1. On the navigation bar, click Shared Folders and Web Sites. The list view displays the shared folders that are located on your server.

  2. In the list view, right-click the shared folder that you want to stop sharing, and then click Stop sharing this folder.

  3. In the Shared Folders dialog box, click Yes to confirm your action.

To copy the folder and contents to a new location

  1. Open a Command Prompt window. (To do this click Start, type cmd, and then press ENTER.)

  2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    robocopy drive:\currentfoldername newdrive:\newfoldername/copy:DATSO /MIR

    where:

    • drive:\currentfoldername is the drive location and folder name of the folder that you want to copy

    • newdrive:\newfoldername is the new location and new folder name of the copy

    • /copy:DATSO /MIR copies the full directory tree and NTFS permissions of the specified folder to the specified location

  3. Confirm that you created a full copy of the shared folder and its contents in the location that you specified, and then proceed with the next step.

To share the newly created folder copy

  1. On the navigation bar, click Shared Folders and Web Sites. The list view displays the shared folders that are located on your server.

  2. In Shared Folder Tasks, click Add a new shared folder. The Provision a Shared Folder Wizard appears.

  3. On the Shared Folder Location page, browse for and select the new folder copy that you created earlier, and then click OK.

  4. In the wizard, click Next to accept the default settings until you arrive at the SMB Settings page.

  5. On the SMB Settings page, select Users and groups have custom share permissions, and then click Permissions. The Permissions for Folder dialog box appears.

  6. In Group or user names, select each user or group in the list, and then assign the permissions that you recorded earlier for each user or group account.

  7. Follow the instructions in the wizard to finish sharing the folder.

To delete the original folder

  1. Open Windows Explorer.

  2. Browse for the original folder, and click the folder to select it.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To delete the folder and send it to the Recycle bin, press DELETE.

    • To permanently delete the folder, press SHIFT+DELETE.