Transfer Steam games to a new drive without redownloading

[Julio Franco]

Although SSDs have steadily increased in capacity, so too have the size of game installs. Today's triple-A titles commonly occupy upwards of 20GB with many approaching or exceeding 60GB, especially after accounting for downloadable content. Here's how to move your games to a new faster drive.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1429-move-steam-game-library/

 

[ypsylon]

Biggest problem of Steam backup system is that if you running downloaded mods or you modified game yourself (older games or locally run like for example EUIV) Steam will just repair all "faulty" files turning every title into vanilla version.

Much better is to use something different or simply copy whole directory.

 

[EEatGDL]

Hahaha, I was about to suggest mklink, I use that from time to time to move programs in general that require that upgrade in loading time.

 

[Puiu]

Biggest problem of Steam backup system is that if you running downloaded mods or you modified game yourself (older games or locally run like for example EUIV) Steam will just repair all "faulty" files turning every title into vanilla version.

Much better is to use something different or simply copy whole directory.

That's not a problem but normal. steam needs to check if the game was installed, If not it will do the script for when you open the game for the first time and checks the files for modifications and if your system has things like the correct directx or things like Visual C++ installed so the game can run properly.

 

[Rhialto]

Cool that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the one that serve as an example in the article...

 

[psycros]

I've tried to use Steam's built in backup feature several times and its never once been successful. Buckups will *never* restore.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Backups will *never* restore.

I've *never* had a problem with Steam Backups. I do however have a game that will not backup. I've tried on several occasions to backup the game. And I'm certain if it ever did backup, it would restore without issue.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Biggest problem of Steam backup system is that if you running downloaded mods or you modified game yourself (older games or locally run like for example EUIV) Steam will just repair all "faulty" files turning every title into vanilla version.

Much better is to use something different or simply copy whole directory.

THIS. Backing up steam games is as simple as dragging, dropping, and going for a sandwich if it's a big set of files.

Who on earth would use steam backup when you can literally just copy paste every single game over and back?

 

[Trillionsin]

Biggest problem of Steam backup system is that if you running downloaded mods or you modified game yourself (older games or locally run like for example EUIV) Steam will just repair all "faulty" files turning every title into vanilla version.

Much better is to use something different or simply copy whole directory.

THIS. Backing up steam games is as simple as dragging, dropping, and going for a sandwich if it's a big set of files.

Who on earth would use steam backup when you can literally just copy paste every single game over and back?

I'm not sure if this article has great info, or if its just full of redundant useless features. lmao To get your game data to a different drive, can't you just delete it and reinstall on the new drive? (guess this would use up data, if you have a data cap or something) but don't see it being a problem for most. (I guess those without internet after the initial download, but who has steam and doesnt have internet(for long))

 

[Hellbishop]

Thanks for the excellent article TECHSPOT. With the STEAM summer sale going on I was shocked to see how fast my new 2 terabytes of harddrive space disappeared.

 

[m4a4]

Biggest problem of Steam backup system is that if you running downloaded mods or you modified game yourself (older games or locally run like for example EUIV) Steam will just repair all "faulty" files turning every title into vanilla version.

Much better is to use something different or simply copy whole directory.

THIS. Backing up steam games is as simple as dragging, dropping, and going for a sandwich if it's a big set of files.

Who on earth would use steam backup when you can literally just copy paste every single game over and back?

It compresses it into a few files and it's easier for the less tech savvy people (when it works). I use it when I'm giving games to people over an external, but don't generally care if I'm immediately using it.

 

[failquail]

Hahaha, I was about to suggest mklink, I use that from time to time to move programs in general that require that upgrade in loading time.

Another option is Link Shell Extension
http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html

Does the same job as mklink, but handily integrates into explorer's right-click menu, far less fiddly to use

 

[ddferrari]

Been using Steam Mover for years to transfer games I'm currently playing to my SSD, so I have no reason to learn another method of doing the same thing. But for those who are new to the concept, at least they have a few options.

 

[Adhmuz]

I've just moved the folder manually, deleted it in the Steam client and then reinstalled it in the new directory allowing Steam to rediscover the files. 99% of the time this works and nothing needs to be downloaded. Can even do this over a network, with external HDDs, even used a phone once years ago. Best to close Steam when copying the data but I've done it with it running as long as the game itself is not being accessed. This has worked for as long as I can remember, Steam has always been good this way, unlike other game download software from the developers, Origin use to be a nightmare, Uplay I'm pretty sure still doesn't allow this but who uses that right? Epicgames is hit or miss as Fortnite will sometimes allow this to be done and sometimes force you to re-download the files, but that's going back to when it first came out, things might be different now.

 

[veLa]

Just copy your steamapps folder.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Just copy your steamapps folder.

I do that for games that don't backup.

 

[DelJo63]

Hahaha, I was about to suggest mklink, I use that from time to time to move programs in general that require that upgrade in loading time.

The description of MKLINK reads:

There are two type of symbolic links: Hard and soft. Soft symbolic links work similarly to a standard shortcut. When you open a soft link to a folder, you will be redirected to the folder where the files are stored. However, a hard link makes it appear as though the file or folder actually exists at the location of the symbolic link, and your applications won’t know any better. That makes hard symbolic links more useful in most situations.​

Most unfortunate choice of use for symbolic links! Those with computer degrees will recognize the misuse of the generic term.

Other systems and the generic concept is a LINK (not a symbolic link):

• A symbolic form which is a pointer to a file name located elsewhere in the file system
• A hard link form which creates another name, but shares the same set of data clusters such the a change made to one is instantly visible in the other.

Once again MS muddles the concepts

 

[mrjgriffin]

Perhaps I'm just too simple of a man.......but this is overcomplicated.

step 1 enable steam cloud sync

step 2 manually back up your saves if you're paranoid

step 3 go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common and drag all your games in there over to your new drive to the same folder..........uh way easier. you're welcome. you won't break mods this way either.

I mean I assume the new drive will be in the same pc as the old one and the old 1 is still hooked up so.......just drag and drop the files over, no redownloading or breaking things and the settings will even carry over unless they're store in the user folder instead of the actual game folder within the steam folder.

 

[LNCPapa]

I wrote a powershell script that looks for any folders I've moved from my C drive to similar folders on my 2.5" SSD and 3.5 mechanical drive and makes a junction via mklink back to my NVMe drive at C:...\steamapps\common. This way I can move my folders around based on what is being played most often and give it an appropriate tier of storage (gold [NVMe], silver [2.5" SSD], or bronze [3.5" spindle])

 

[cliffordcooley]

@LNCPapa - Sounds like something I would do.