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Advanced: Replacing or Rebuilding an External Drive Vault by Copying Data at the OS Level

This article describes an advanced workflow for replacing or rebuilding an external storage device used with Mylio Photos by copying data directly from one external drive to another using your operating system.

This applies to external drives that are:

  • Configured as a Vault, or
  • Using a custom sync policy (such as Travel Backup or SpaceSaver with SyncCollections)

This method is useful when:

  • You’re upgrading to a larger external drive and want to avoid a full re-sync.
  • You’ve recovered data from a failing or failed external drive (assuming the original folder structure is intact).
  • You need to rebuild an external Mylio device from existing or recovered data without breaking Mylio’s reference to it.

⚠️ This workflow is intended for advanced users who are comfortable working at the operating system level.

How This Works

Mylio Photos identifies an external device using two things together:

  1. The drive name at the operating system level
  2. The Mylio system folder on that drive (for example: Mylio_XXXXXX)

For Mylio Photos to treat a replacement external drive as the same device:

  • The drive name must be identical, and
  • The Mylio system folder name must be identical

If both match exactly, Mylio Photos will recognize the new external drive as if it were the original one, regardless of whether it was configured as a Vault or using another sync policy.

Before You Begin

  • Quit Mylio Photos on all devices.
  • Ensure you have:
    • The original external drive or recovered data from that drive.
    • A new external drive that is equal to or larger than the original.
  • Format the new external drive using an appropriate file system:
    • APFS – macOS only
    • exFAT – macOS and Windows
    • NTFS – Windows only

Step 1: Copy the Data to the New External Drive

  1. Connect both the old external drive and the new external drive.
  2. Using Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows), copy all contents of the old external drive to the new external drive.

This includes:

  • All synced photo and video folders
  • The Mylio system folder (Mylio_XXXXXX)
  • Any hidden files

This OS-level copy is often much faster than allowing Mylio Photos to re-sync the device.

Step 2: Rename the New External Drive (Required)

On the new external drive:

  • Rename the drive so it has the exact same name as the original external drive.

The name must match character for character, including:

  • Spelling
  • Capitalization
  • Spaces

If the drive name does not match exactly, Mylio Photos will ignore the new device.

Step 3: Rename the Old Drive’s Mylio System Folder

On the old external drive:

  1. Locate the Mylio system folder:

Mylio_XXXXXX

  1. Rename it to something like:

Mylio_XXXXXXOLD

This prevents Mylio Photos from recognizing the old external drive as the active device.

Do not delete this folder unless you are certain it is no longer needed.

Step 4: Launch Mylio Photos

  1. Disconnect the old external drive.
  2. Connect the new external drive only.
  3. Launch Mylio Photos.

Mylio Photos should:

  • Automatically recognize the drive as the existing external device
  • Show it as connected in Dashboard > Devices
  • Reflect the available storage of the new drive immediately

No unregistering or re-adding is required.

When This Method Is Especially Useful

Upgrading to a larger external drive

You gain more space instantly without waiting for a full re-sync.

Recovering from external drive failure

Allows you to restore a Mylio device from recovered data without breaking Mylio’s reference to it.

Large libraries

OS-level copy is typically much faster than syncing.

Critical Warnings

  • The external drive name must match exactly.
  • Never connect both external drives at the same time with the same drive name and Mylio system folder.
  • Do not modify the contents of the Mylio system folder.
  • Do not open Mylio Photos while copying data.

Ignoring these rules can cause device conflicts or unexpected behavior.

When Not to Use This Method

  • If the data on the old external drive is incomplete or corrupted.
  • If you’re unsure how to copy hidden files correctly.
  • If you prefer a fully guided, standard workflow.

In those cases, use the standard Add Device / Add Vault process instead.