# Switching to a new data directory **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [March 14, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697 "2017-03-14T15:12:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/1 "2017-03-14T15:12:33Z")
There are some reasons why you might want to start over again with a new data directory. - You got a bug which screwed up the internal data structure - ou want to protect your privacy by separating trades which are connected via the onion address and/or bitcoin transaction graph (see upcoming blog post about privacy on the web page for more info) - You have done a lot of trades and the application gets a bit slow as the wallet and overall data structure is getting dense (the more transactions you have the longer the bitcoin network sync can take) Using a new fresh data directory gives you a completely fresh setup (new wallet, new onion address). You don’t need to reinstall Bitsquare. Here are the steps you should follow: - If you have open offers, remove them (you will lose the “create offer” fee. - You must not have open trades and disputes, you would become unreachable after a change (new onion address) - Withdraw all your available funds to an external wallet. - Check with the emergency wallet tool (open with cmd + e or ctrl + e) to see if the balance is 0 after you have withdrew all your funds (in some rare cases bugs can cause an incorrect balance display in the UI). - Export the Fiat and Altcoin accounts for later importing this data so you don’t need to setup the accounts newly. - You can also export the transactions and trade history (csv format), though there is no import support for this data. - Make a backup of the existing data directory, just in case - Go to account/Backup and open the data directory from the button there - You got opened the data directory, navigate one level higher so you can see the data directory (folder name is Bitsquare). - Shut down Bitsquare Remove that folder (or move it for backup) - Start Bitsquare again and you will start from a completely fresh data directory - Import the account data if wanted Alternatively you could use a command line argument when starting the application from a terminal and pass the argument --appName=APP\_NAME\_YOU\_ASSIGN (APP\_NAME\_YOU\_ASSIGN is default Bitsquare, so it creates a data directory with the name Bitsquare. You could use Bitsquare\_2 or the like so you can run multiple applications in parallel. It is recommended to only use that option if you are familiar how to pass a program argument and if you want to maintain several applications. If you want to open the data directory manually can find it under those locations: - Mac OSX: /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Bitsquare - Linux: /home/username/.local/share/Bitsquare - Windows 7,8: C:\Documents and Settings\username\AppData\Roaming\Bitsquare - Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Bitsquare ---
**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/2 "2017-04-09T20:00:09Z")
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**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/3 "2017-06-09T17:06:00Z")
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**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/4 "2017-07-04T19:19:40Z")
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**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/5 "2019-10-03T12:37:41Z")
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**Author:** ![ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/user_avatar/bisq.community/manfredkarrer/32/26_2.png) [@ManfredKarrer](https://bisq.community/u/ManfredKarrer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://bisq.community/t/switching-to-a-new-data-directory/1697/6 "2019-10-03T12:38:54Z")