Media and network storage after a move
Why shares that pointed at your old machine always fail on a new one, and where to put a media library so both ends can reach it.
Updated 28 August 2026 storagemigrationmedia
Network storage settings travel inside your backup exactly as they were written.
If a share pointed at the old machine itself — anything using localhost or
127.0.0.1 — it cannot work anywhere else, and will show as failed after a
restore.
This is worth knowing in advance because it is entirely predictable: a share whose server is "this very machine" can only ever work on that machine.
Where to put it instead
localhost means "this very machine". An
address both ends can reach is what makes the library survive the move.
- Put the files somewhere reachable from the new machine. A share on a portable disk attached to the old box will vanish with it.
- Share it over SMB with a dedicated user.
- In Home Assistant: Settings → System → Storage → Add network storage,
using an address both ends can reach rather than
localhost. - Repoint any media applications at the new location.
The library does not need to stay in the house
A portable hard disk or a NAS you have to operate was the answer to a
bandwidth problem. Most household lines are now hundreds of megabits;
a disk in a datacentre is the better copy — powered, backed up, and not
sitting in a cupboard. The trap this page is about is still the same:
localhost means the old machine, wherever you intended the files to
live. The longer argument is
sovereignty is not a cupboard.