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Spreading Files over Multiple Drives

To spread files over different drives (internal, external, NAS, etc.), you can use Symbolic Links.

These links act as if the file is in the place you are linking to, and the software will interpret it as such.

Warnings and Recommendations

  • Do not have RetroDECK open while creating the Symbolic Links as the games are loaded on launch. Close RetroDECK before making changes to your Symbolic Links, then relaunch it.
  • Never unplug/disconnect the drive while RetroDECK is running if you have added a Symbolic Links.
  • Create a folder for each system on the drive you want to add to RetroDECK, so you don't need to create a Symbolic Links for each game.
  • Name the folders clearly to understand which drive they are coming from.
  • Each folder added will be interpreted as a subfolder within RetroDECK's ES-DE interface under the system you have added the Symbolic Links to.
  • You can also link other files this way, such as individual games instead of folders or save files, etc.

Guide - Creating Symbolic Linked Folders

Note:

If you have many games over several different drives, you can keep adding symbolic links and point them towards subfolders under the main folder.

Example Wii Games

You have several backups of Wii games you want to add to ~/retrodeck/roms/wii/.

These backups are on an external drive called 2nddrive in a folder called wii games.

The full path to 2nddrive is /var/mnt/2nddrive/wii games.

  1. Go to ~/retrodeck/roms/wii/.
  2. Right-click on an empty space and select Create New - Link to file or folder.
  3. Press the open file browser button and select Folder.
  4. Navigate to /var/mnt/2nddrive/wii games and highlight the wii games folder, then press OK.

Result

Now the Symbolic Link has been created and will show up in the ES-DE interface for RetroDECK. When you navigate to the Wii game section, the wii games folder should be accessible from the ES-DE menu as a subfolder with all the games.

Path: ~/retrodeck/roms/wii/wii games

Disclaimer: Not Recommended!

Do not do this unless you really know what you are doing, as upcoming updates to RetroDECK could cause link breakage. If you like to tinker and experiment, feel free to try it on your own.

What's the Use Case?

Instead of creating a link from 2nddrive as a subfolder /var/mnt/2nddrive/wii games to ~/retrodeck/roms/wii/wii games, you can replace the entire ~/retrodeck/roms/wii/ with the 2nddrive and only store your Wii games on the second drive.

Just create a symbolic link from ~/retrodeck/roms/ to a folder on an external drive called wii and point it towards /var/mnt/2nddrive/wii games. This way, you will have those games stored on an external drive permanently.