MT4 Data export different drives (portable mode)

General discussion about the Tickstory Lite software package.
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tradesbyjames
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:22 pm

MT4 Data export different drives (portable mode)

Post by tradesbyjames »

Dear Tickstory,

When I use "Export to MT4" and in settings I have my data folder ://D drive (normal 2TB disk).
(my mt4 is installed on my 500gb SSD)
After the export is complete I see that suddenly my C drive (ssd) is totally full..
I see there is data extracted to D but why is it also going to my C drive making it full?

Should I maybe change the FXT directory? Because that folder is making my PC full
\Terminal\1DAFD9A67DC84FE37EAA1FC1E5CF75\tester\history

Thanks in advance.

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: MT4 Data export different drives (portable mode)

Post by tickstory »

Hi Tradesbyjames,

By default, Metatrader 4 automatically selects the local c: drive as the data folder. If you want to change MT4's behavior, it has a special mode called "portable mode" which stores data in the same folder as the installation (eg. D:\MT4). "Portable mode" requires a special startup configuration for MT4 which is discussed further in the manual (searching for 'portable' in the forum will also provide some useful information).

Once you are configured for portable mode, you can delete your existing FXT files and re-export them to your removable drive. To save extra space, only export the FXT time-frames that you intend to test with (eg. M15). Further details are available in the manual for this, if you require.

Thanks.

tradesbyjames
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:22 pm

Re: MT4 Data export different drives (portable mode)

Post by tradesbyjames »

Dear Tickstory,

Thank you for the reply.

I tried to setup the portable mode for roughly two hours but was not able to succeed..
(external hard drive: /D (where I want the big data)
Image
https://imgur.com/20vaS5W

MT4 Settings:
Image
https://imgur.com/CeDT4uq

I really do not understand how I use my MT4 installation on my SSD /C drive while using the FXT files from my data folder -> like in image 1 ..

When I run in it like this in portable mode it just opens a clean MT4 for from the SSD drive.

Sorry if I am missing something here, thank you in advance.

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: MT4 Data export different drives (portable mode)

Post by tickstory »

Hi Tradesbyjames,

Ignoring Tickstory for a moment, MT4's portable mode is to ensure that your MT4 installation and associated data reside in the same place.
Therefore, you will firstly need to install MT4 on your D: drive in a folder such as:

D:\Trading\MetaTrader 4 IC Markets

When you run MT4 with the /portable command-line switch, this will ensure all your data files (FXT, HST, etc) are written to that same folder. You should see that when you select File->Open Data Folder from Metatrader, the above-mentioned folder will be shown in Windows Explorer. This shows that your Metatrader is configured properly for portable mode.

Now, it's time to configure Tickstory. Your settings in Tickstory should look like the attached screenshot.
Tickstory Portable settings.png
Tickstory Portable settings.png (9.93 KiB) Viewed 8488 times
(NOTE: If you are having troubles selecting the data folder in Tickstory, it means that some residual folders still exist and/or you haven't done the above-mentioned steps of starting your Metatrader in portable mode. You can force a configuration using the method outlined here: https://tickstory.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 298&p=6150).

(NOTE: You can also leave your Dukascopy Store Folder the same as your screenshot. This is the data folder for all the tick data downloaded from the internet which will get transformed into Metatrader 4 FXT files).

Hope this helps.

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