---
title: Relocating you Fox dataset to a new server
description: How to move Ezy data to new server
---
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1. [Fox Support Centre](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support?hsLang=en-au)
2. [Data Set Up](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/data-set-up?hsLang=en-au)
# Relocating you Fox dataset to a new server
## Audience: Client IT / network administrators. Technical walkthrough for relocating the Fox data engine and application share to a new server, including prerequisites, permissions, workstation reconfiguration and validation.
[**1. Before you start**](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Before_you_start)
[**2. New server prerequisites**](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#New_server_prerequisites)
[**3. Back up and move the data**](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Back_up_move_data)
**[4. Antivirus / EDR exclusions](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Antivirus)**
[**5. Permissions — domain security group**](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Permissions)
**[6. Scheduled tasks](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Scheduled_tasks)**
**[7. Workstation reconfiguration](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Work_station_Config)**
[8. Post-migration validation](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Post_mig_Val)
[**Trouble Shoot Guide**](https://knowledge.ezysys.com.au/fox-support/relocating-you-fox-#Trouble_shoot)
**⚠️ Important — Read before starting**
Fox is a legacy Visual FoxPro data engine. It is highly path-sensitive: DBCs, free tables and any hard-coded UNC/drive-letter paths must resolve to the same location after the move, or the application will fail to open tables. Schedule this as an after-hours change and confirm a verified backup exists before touching production data.
**1. Before you start**
**Confirm with the client:** exact current server name/IP, share name, drive letter mapped on workstations, and the domain security group currently granting access. Record these — you will replicate them (or deliberately change them, see step 6) on the new server.
- **Full backup:** take a verified backup of the entire Ezy/Fox root folder (data, config, executables) before any file is touched. Confirm the backup restores, don't just confirm it completed.
- Notify all users to close Ezy Systems before the migration window opens — Fox tables are exclusive-lock sensitive and a mid-write copy will corrupt data.
- Confirm the new server has adequate disk, and that AntiVirus/Endpoint Detection and Response is already installed (exclusions are configured **before** first run, not after — see step 4).
**2. New server prerequisites**
| **Requirement** | **Detail** |
| --- | --- |
| **OS** | Windows Server version equal to or newer than the source server. Confirm the source server's OS/build before decommissioning it. |
| **MS Common Controls 6.0** | MSCOMCTL.OCX must be present and registered — Fox/VB front-end components depend on it. Register with: regsvr32 MSCOMCTL.OCX (run elevated Command Prompt). |
| **Folder path** | Recreate the exact same folder structure and, ideally, the same drive letter/share name as the source. If the path must change, every workstation's mapped drive and any config files referencing the old path need updating (see step 6). |
| **File sharing** | SMB share created with the same share name where possible, permissions applied per step 5. |
**3. Back up and move the data**
**1. Stop the Ezy Systems service / confirm no users are connected.** Check for open file handles on the share before copying.
**2. Zip the Ezy root folder** on the source server - preserves attributes better than a raw network copy and gives you a single verifiable artefact for the backup.
**3. Copy the zip to the new server** over a wired connection where possible — not Wi-Fi — for a folder this size.
**4. Extract to the target location** on the new server, matching the folder structure identified in step 2 of the prerequisites above.
**5. Spot-check file counts and total size** against the source before proceeding — a partial copy is the most common cause of "table not found" errors after go-live.
**6. Run as administrator** on the new server the first time the application is launched from that location, so Fox can complete any initial setup it needs.
**4. Antivirus / EDR exclusions**
Add the Ezy root folder (and all subfolders) to the antivirus/EDR exclusion list on the new server **before** first launch. Fox tables are opened and rewritten constantly; real-time scanning causes file locking conflicts and can corrupt data mid-write.
🚨**Security note:** excluding a folder from AV scanning removes a layer of protection for everything inside it. Keep the exclusion scoped to the Ezy root folder only — never exclude an entire drive — and make sure the folder isn't writable by anyone outside the domain group configured in step 5.
**5. Permissions — domain security group**
Apply share and NTFS permissions at the domain group level, not to individual users — this is how Ezy Systems access should already be controlled and keeps the migration consistent with the client's existing model.
- Confirm the existing domain group used for Fox/Ezy access (e.g. DOMAIN\\EzySystemsUsers — replace with the client's actual group name).
- Recreate the same NTFS + share permissions on the new server's Ezy folder: Modify for the user group, Full Control for the service/admin account if one is used.
- Do not grant Everyone or Authenticated Users — scope strictly to the domain group identified above.
- If the new server sits in a different OU or the group doesn't already have rights delegated to it, raise this with the domain admin before go-live, not during.
**6. Scheduled tasks**
Check the source server's Windows Task Scheduler before decommissioning it — automated jobs (end-of-day processes, backups, report exports, imports/exports to other systems) live outside the Ezy folder and won't move with a file copy. Easy to miss because nothing fails immediately; it just quietly stops running.
- **Audit the source server:** open Task Scheduler and list every task, not just ones obviously named "Ezy" or "Fox" — check the **Actions** tab on each to see if it points at anything inside the Ezy root folder or calls an Ezy executable.
- **Record for each task:** trigger/schedule, the account it runs as, the exact command/arguments, and the working directory ("Start in").
- **Recreate on the new server:** don't export/import the task XML blindly if the folder path or drive letter has changed — update the action's path and working directory to match the new location first.
- **Check the "run as" account:** if a task runs under a specific domain service account, confirm that account has the same NTFS/share permissions on the new server (see Section 5) — a task that ran fine under the old server's local permissions can silently fail on the new one.
- **Test each recreated task manually** ("Run" from Task Scheduler) rather than waiting for its next scheduled trigger, so you catch path/permission issues during the migration window, not overnight.
- **Leave the old tasks disabled, not deleted,** on the source server until the rollback window has passed.
**7. Workstation reconfiguration**
Each workstation needs its mapped drive repointed and, on first launch, an elevated run so Fox/Ezy can write its initial local configuration.
**1. Remap the network drive** on each workstation to the new server path (update logon script / GPO drive mapping if one is used, rather than remapping manually on every machine where possible).
**2. First launch after the move:** run Ezy Systems as administrator once on each workstation. This lets the application write registry keys and local config it can't create under a standard user context — subsequent launches don't need elevation.
**3. Confirm the workstation's domain account** is a member of the security group from step 5 — a remapped drive with no underlying permission will show the share but fail to open the data.
**4. Test** opening Ezy Systems, opening a module that reads and writes data, and closing cleanly, before releasing the workstation back to the user.
### Desktop icons / shortcuts
Launch Fox/Ezy from a desktop shortcut — it won't follow the drive remap automatically.
- **Target:** point it at the new server path — either the remapped drive letter (e.g. Z:\\Vfp\\vfp.exe -t ..\\foxfxp\\ezy) or the new UNC path if the client doesn't use mapped drives. Please note some site will have a Vfp90 instead of Vfp. check the exisiting short cut.
- **Start in (working directory):** update this to match the new Ezy root folder. This is the field most people miss — Fox/Ezy often resolves its config and data paths relative to "Start in", not just the target, so a shortcut with the right target but the old "Start in" value can still fail to find tables.
- **Icon file:** if the shortcut's icon is sourced from a file inside the old path, it may show a blank/generic icon after the move — cosmetic only, but worth re-pointing to the icon file in the new location so it doesn't generate confused support calls.
**Fix blank Icon:** Requires administrator to change Group Policy as per below link.
1. Open **Group Policy Editor**
2. Navigate to, **Computer Configuration \> Administrative Templates \> Windows Components \> File Explorer**
3. Enable **Allow the use of remote paths in file shortcut icons**
- **Run as administrator (if required):** set this under the shortcut's Properties \> Compatibility tab if the client needs the shortcut itself to always elevate, rather than relying on a one-off manual elevated launch.
- **Test** the shortcut itself, not just a manual launch from the exe — some issues (wrong "Start in" path) only show up via the shortcut.
**8. Post-migration validation**
- Confirm file counts/sizes on the new server match the source (from step 3.5).
- Have at least one user in each department log in and perform a normal transaction end-to-end.
- Check the Windows Event Log / AV log on the new server for blocked-access events in the first hour — this surfaces missed exclusions or permission gaps quickly.
- Keep the old server and the zipped backup untouched for an agreed rollback window (recommend a minimum of 5 business days) before decommissioning.
**Troubleshooting quick reference**
| **Symptom** | **Likely cause** |
| --- | --- |
| **"Table not found" or "Path not found" on open** | Folder structure or drive letter doesn't match what's referenced in Ezy config — see prerequisites, folder path. |
| **App won't launch / missing control errors** | MSCOMCTL.OCX not registered on the new server or workstation — re-run regsvr32. |
| **Data appears to intermittently "lock up" or corrupt** | AV/EDR not excluded, or exclusion scoped incorrectly — revisit step 4. |
| **Share visible but access denied** | Workstation account not in the domain group, or NTFS permissions not replicated — revisit step 5. |
| **First-run errors only on some workstations** | Elevated first run was skipped on those machines — see step 6. |
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