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Moving SimHub to a new PC

Last updated · SimHub 9.11.22

Copy the whole SimHub folder — C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\ — from the old machine to the same path on the new one, then install the latest SimHub version over the top. Afterwards delete C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\Packages\PackagesInstalled.json so drivers are reinstalled, and delete PluginsData\Common\JoystickNames.json to avoid controller detection problems with new hardware. Four things do not come with it: your licence, which must be reapplied from the original .lic file emailed to you, controller names, which will change if the hardware has, and ShakeIt sound card mappings, which need exporting and reimporting separately even though the effect profiles themselves do transfer.

This is a good thing to read before your old PC is gone rather than after, because one of the four things that does not transfer is only recoverable from an email you may not have kept.

The move

  1. Copy the folder

    Copy C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\ in its entirety from the old machine, and put it at the same path on the new one. Everything SimHub knows about you lives under there — dashboards, profiles, ShakeIt effects, settings.

  2. Install the latest version over it

    Run the current SimHub installer against that folder. You are bringing the program up to date around the configuration you have just placed, not replacing it.

  3. Delete PackagesInstalled.json

    Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\Packages\PackagesInstalled.json. That file is SimHub's record of which drivers it has already installed — on a new machine the record is true of the old one, so removing it forces the drivers to be installed here.

  4. Delete JoystickNames.json

    Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\PluginsData\Common\JoystickNames.json. Optional, but it minimises controller detection problems with hardware the old machine never saw.

  5. Reapply your licence

    From the original .lic file that came to you by email at purchase. This is not optional and it is not recoverable from the old install — see the warning below.

  6. Redo the ShakeIt audio mappings

    Effect profiles transfer; which sound card each one plays through does not. Export the audio configuration on the old machine before you retire it, and reimport here.

Back up the purchase email before you wipe anything. SimHub's documentation is explicit: for safety reasons, copies of licence files are not provided once activated. The .lic attachment in your original purchase email is therefore the artefact that matters, and copying the install folder does not rescue it. Save it somewhere that outlives the machine.

What will not be the same

Controller names
New hardware is detected as different devices, so bindings made against a device name on the old machine may need remaking. This is why deleting JoystickNames.json helps: it stops the old names getting in the way of the new ones.
ShakeIt sound card mappings
The effects survive; the routing does not. This is the one that catches people, because ShakeIt appears to have transferred perfectly until nothing comes out of the shakers.
The licence
Reapplied from your own file, not carried across.
Drivers
Reinstalled, which is the point of deleting PackagesInstalled.json. Expect the usual Windows driver prompts on first run.

Same trick for a backup. The copy step is also how you take a backup. Copy the folder somewhere safe before a Windows reinstall or a big SimHub upgrade, and you have a working state to fall back to.

First run on the new machine

  1. Expect SmartScreen and possibly an antivirus prompt — a fresh executable on a machine that has not seen it before. That has its own page if it becomes a fight.
  2. Check games are enabled in settings. The game list is per-install configuration and worth confirming rather than assuming.
  3. Reconnect and re-detect Arduinos. COM port numbers are assigned per machine and will not match the old ones.
  4. Test the shakers before a session, not during one — this is where the missing audio mapping shows up.

Common questions

How do I move SimHub to a new computer?

Copy C:\Program Files (x86)\SimHub\ to the same path on the new machine, install the latest SimHub over it, then delete Packages\PackagesInstalled.json so drivers reinstall and PluginsData\Common\JoystickNames.json to avoid controller detection problems. Then reapply your licence from your original .lic file.

Will I lose my dashboards and profiles?

No. Dashboards, profiles, settings and ShakeIt effects all live in the folder you are copying. What does not come across is the licence, controller names, and the ShakeIt sound card mappings.

Can I get my licence file re-sent?

SimHub's documentation states that for safety reasons copies of licence files are not provided once activated, so the original purchase email is what you need. Save that attachment somewhere outside the machine before you retire it.

Why do my bass shakers work on the old PC but not the new one?

ShakeIt effect profiles transfer but sound card mappings do not. Export the audio output configuration from the old machine and reimport it, or set the outputs again by hand.

Why delete PackagesInstalled.json?

It is SimHub's record of which drivers it has already installed. Copied to a new machine that record is false, so SimHub would skip installing drivers this machine has never had. Deleting it forces the install.

Can I use this as a backup method?

Yes, and it is worth doing. Copy the SimHub folder somewhere safe before a Windows reinstall or a major upgrade and you have a known-good state to return to.

Sources

SimHub is developed independently by Wotever and is not affiliated with OESimRacing. This page was checked against SimHub 9.11.22 on 4 August 2026; where the interface has moved on since, the version stamp tells you how far. More on what SimHub is and what it costs.