Just for the record, for years I have used the brute force, simple minded method: when there is an update, I unzip complete.zip over my LDraw folder, then on top of it, unzip current ldrawunf.zip (that I sometimes refresh between updates). No complex configuration to do, and I have yet to see ill effects of this method!
Granted, the thing I do is to make mpd of valuable models including unofficial parts, using mpdwizard and a reference folder containing complete.zip.
Granted, the thing I do is to make mpd of valuable models including unofficial parts, using mpdwizard and a reference folder containing complete.zip.