Managing Game Files, Folders, and Paths

LaunchBox does not normally store a game inside its library database. Instead, each game entry stores a path to the file that should be launched, such as a ROM, disc image, executable, shortcut, or script. Understanding that distinction makes it much easier to reorganize files without leaving broken entries behind.

The key idea: the library entry and the game file are separate. Moving a file in File Explorer does not update its LaunchBox entry, and changing an entry's path does not move the file. When deleting a game from LaunchBox, however, LaunchBox may offer to permanently delete its associated files too, so read every deletion prompt carefully.

What a game path does

When you start a game, LaunchBox reads the entry's saved path and either passes that file to the configured emulator or launches it directly for a non-emulated game. If the file is renamed, moved, disconnected, or unavailable, the game can still appear normally in the library but will no longer start from that path.

To inspect an entry, right-click the game and choose Edit > Edit Metadata/Media..., or press Ctrl+E. On Launching, the main path is labeled Application Path for a non-emulated game and ROM File (Emulation is enabled) for an emulated game. Also check Metadata > Additional Versions and Metadata > Additional Apps for other launchable files, discs, versions, or helper programs.

Choose what happens to files during import

The ROM Import Wizard asks, Would you like to move or copy the files? Its destination is based on the selected platform's Game folder, which defaults to a folder beneath LaunchBox\Games unless you have changed it.

• Use the files in their current location: LaunchBox points to the existing files without moving them. This is a good choice when the collection is already organized and its location will remain stable.

• Copy the files into my LaunchBox games folder: LaunchBox copies the imported files to the destination shown by the wizard and leaves the originals in place. This is the safer way to test a new layout, but it uses additional disk space.

• Move the files into my LaunchBox games folder: LaunchBox moves the imported files to that destination. Use this only when you are ready to change the source location, because other frontends, scripts, and shortcuts may still expect the old path.

Some games need more than one selected ROM or executable. Depending on the platform and import options, LaunchBox can also copy or move related files or whole game folders. Test a small, representative set before reorganizing a large collection.

Relative paths and external locations

LaunchBox saves selected file paths relative to its main folder when possible. A game stored beneath the main LaunchBox folder (for example, LaunchBox\Games\Nintendo 64) is easy to keep working when the entire LaunchBox folder moves because the same internal relationship is preserved.

A file outside the LaunchBox folder still depends on that external location. Its saved path may be drive-specific, a relative path that includes parent folders such as ..\, or a network path. Changing a drive letter, renaming an outside folder, moving only LaunchBox, or disconnecting the network location can therefore break it. UNC network paths remain network paths rather than being converted to local relative paths.

Move one game safely

1. Create a LaunchBox data backup. This protects the library records and settings in the Data folder, not the game files themselves.

2. Copy the complete game or required file set to its new location. Copying first is safer than immediately deleting or moving the original.

3. Right-click the game and choose Edit > Edit Metadata/Media....

4. Open Launching and browse to the new Application Path or ROM File.

5. Check Metadata > Additional Versions and Metadata > Additional Apps for other paths that may also need to change.

6. Save the entry and launch the game. Remove the old copy only after the new one works.

For compressed sets or games made of several files, move the complete required set, not only the file displayed as the main path. An emulator may also depend on cue sheets, playlists, companion files, subfolders, BIOS files, or firmware.

Update many paths after the files have already moved

If you have already moved a group of emulated game files into one folder and kept their filenames unchanged, select the affected games and choose Tools > File Management > Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games....

This command does not move or copy anything. For each selected emulated game, it combines the chosen folder with the existing filename and updates the saved path. Non-emulated games are skipped. It can also update related Additional Versions or Additional Apps that are configured to use an emulator.

Important limitations: this is a single-folder path repair. It does not preserve different source subfolders, and it does not discover renamed files. LaunchBox checks for each expected file and warns when files are missing; beginners should cancel or decline changes for missing files and resolve them first.

Copy selected ROMs without changing their saved paths

Tools > File Management > Export/Copy ROM Files from Selected Games to New Folder... copies each selected game's main file plus disc-tagged Additional Versions or Additional Apps that LaunchBox can find. It does not change any saved application paths, so it is useful for assembling a copy for another device or a temporary working set, not for repairing the current library.

The export places the files together in the chosen destination folder. It does not recreate their original subfolders or overwrite a destination file that already has the same filename. Check for duplicate filenames and verify the exported set before relying on it.

What a platform's Folders settings do

To review these settings, open Tools > Manage > Platforms..., select the platform, choose Edit, and open Folders. The Game row is the platform's default games folder and is used by workflows such as later imports. Image, video, manual, and music rows control those separate content locations.

Changing the platform's Game folder should not be treated as a bulk move or a rewrite of every existing game's saved path. Use the individual editor or the selected-games path command for existing entries. Game files are also separate from downloaded media: moving a ROM does not move its box art or videos, and changing an image or video folder does not change the ROM path.

External drives and network storage

• Give a removable drive a stable Windows drive letter before importing a large collection.

• Reconnect the drive or network share at the same path before launching its games.

• Expect network speed and availability to affect imports, file scans, media access, and game startup.

• Do not disconnect storage while an import, copy, metadata download, emulator, or game is using it.

• Keep a separate backup of important game files; LaunchBox data backups do not contain ROMs, game installs, downloaded media, emulators, BIOS files, or firmware.

Move the whole LaunchBox installation

A portable setup is easiest to move when LaunchBox, portable emulators, and game files all live beneath the main LaunchBox folder. Close LaunchBox and all running emulators, then copy the complete LaunchBox folder, not only its Data folder.

Anything outside that folder must remain available or be moved separately. This can include external ROMs, separately installed emulators, BIOS and firmware, emulator configuration stored in Windows user folders, and paths that use ..\ to reach outside the LaunchBox folder. See Moving Your LaunchBox Instance to Another Computer for the complete migration process.

A safe workflow for a large move

1. Make a LaunchBox data backup and a separate backup of the files being moved.

2. Test the process with a few representative games, including a multi-disc, folder-based, or compressed game if your collection uses them.

3. Copy files to the destination before removing the originals.

4. Update LaunchBox using the method that matches what you changed.

5. Test launches, Additional Versions, Additional Apps, emulator dependencies, and removable or network storage.

6. Clean up the old location only after the new setup has been verified.

Common reasons a game stops launching

• The drive letter or network path changed.

• The file or a parent folder was renamed.

• The main file moved, but a cue sheet, playlist, second disc, Additional Version, or Additional App did not.

• The game path is correct, but the emulator, BIOS, firmware, configuration file, or working directory is missing.

• A network share or removable drive is offline.

• The bulk folder-path command was used even though filenames or subfolders also changed.

Start by opening Edit > Edit Metadata/Media... > Launching and confirming that the main path resolves to a real file. Then check the emulator and every related entry under Additional Versions and Additional Apps.