Steam and HDD location

SeaWulf · Oct 9, 2009, 03:00 PM

Probably a dumb question

Steam loaded itself onto my C Drive.

I try to have all my games on my D Drive however. I wanat to reserve the C drive to OS plus related applications such as MS Office etc.

Can I just move the steam and its sub folder to the D drive and update the shortcuts?

Any advice is welcome!

thanks

BlueMak · Oct 9, 2009, 03:13 PM

Just move the whole root Steam folder to where you want it. It works just fine.

SeaWulf · Oct 9, 2009, 04:17 PM

thanks

Paul

MitchRapp · Oct 9, 2009, 09:40 PM

My steam folder was approaching 40gb back when I had all the games installed (every half-life related game, Sin games etc.........) so a cool thing is you can backup the GCF files on an external drive and just leave the ones that are needed for that 1 or those 2 games you REALLY play often.

If you decide you wanna play another game, put the GCF file back in the steamapps folder, open steam and voila.

(delete the GCF files means you have to re-download the content... wasting bandwith and time)

[hobo]eclipse · Oct 9, 2009, 10:23 PM

my steam install is located on the 2nd volume of my raid array, it had been there for quite awhile. multiple windows installs, 7 and vista and is now topping 70 gig! ne ways, all i do is get the steam installer every time i reformat and point it to the steam folder and off i go.

Cow_160483 · Jun 30, 2010, 10:26 AM

Hay guys sorry to resurrect this old thread but I was planning to format and upgrade to windows 7 64 bit and was wondering about the games that I have downloaded off of steam can I save them on a different drive, format and then install the stem client and then copy them back ??? is it really that simple ?

Dyre Straits · Jun 30, 2010, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cow_160483

Hay guys sorry to resurrect this old thread but I was planning to format and upgrade to windows 7 64 bit and was wondering about the games that I have downloaded off of steam can I save them on a different drive, format and then install the stem client and then copy them back ??? is it really that simple ?

Yep!

I just usually ZIP up the entire Steam directory and then extract it back to wherever I want it. Been doing it for years.

Sic Puppy · Jun 30, 2010, 11:13 AM

It's really that simple I just copy/backup the Steam/steamapps folder and copy it back once i've reinstalled steam a on fresh Windows install.

Cow_160483 · Jun 30, 2010, 12:10 PM

excellent thanks guys

ET3D · Jun 30, 2010, 12:46 PM

Only problem is some games keep saves and config in you user's profile, and then you'll lose that.

Tipstaff · Jun 30, 2010, 07:02 PM

For game save and miscellaneous steam game file locations give THIS article a read on Steams forums. While it doesn't cover every game it is very in-depth for what it does cover.

Also, wasn't one of the things Valve added to the Steam client a server side save game backup? I can't remember if it was for all Steam games, or just Valves though.

SFOSOK · Jun 30, 2010, 09:20 PM

Wow that is a really good idea.

I think I'm going to go with 1tb hdd pretty soon and use a 250 or 500 for my saved game files that I don't feel like re-downloading.

Sic Puppy · Jun 30, 2010, 09:58 PM

Yep, that's what I do. As we don't have unlimited bandwidth broadband over here, the thought of having to re-download 150GB of games again on a 40GB/month allowance is a bit daunting. I have a backup setup to copy the steamapp and my documents (where most of the games config/save games are) folder once a week to my external HDD so I don't lose any updates that steam downloads. The backup game feature is good on steam but not if you want a rolling backup, say once a week.

[hobo]eclipse · Jun 30, 2010, 10:06 PM

i just rar up ne game saves i have in my docs and toss it into a folder i made in the main steam folder called !!!saved games.

another nifty trick, delete everything in the steam folder except the steam.exe and steamapps (in my case i leave the !!!savedgames folder i made also). Move the steam folder to where you would like to have it installed, then run the steam.exe. it will download and install the client software with all games intact.

then fire up game of choice, let it boot once, exit and replace ne relevant files from !!!savedgames to my docs.

SFOSOK · Jul 1, 2010, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [hobo]eclipse

i just rar up ne game saves i have in my docs and toss it into a folder i made in the main steam folder called !!!saved games.

another nifty trick, delete everything in the steam folder except the steam.exe and steamapps (in my case i leave the !!!savedgames folder i made also). Move the steam folder to where you would like to have it installed, then run the steam.exe. it will download and install the client software with all games intact.

then fire up game of choice, let it boot once, exit and replace ne relevant files from !!!savedgames to my docs.

That sounds like a lot of downloading. My connection usually takes 2hrs to DL a full size game and I usually do one at a time then defrag after every game.

I think I will buy a 1TB internal HDD for steam games (DL all of them to that one) use my current 500GB for system, apps, and non steam games and I should be set. Man, if I pick up the THQ pack on sale right now, that is going to be a lot of DLin anyway. But I will only have to do it once...unless I restore my comp again.

Cow_160483 · Jul 1, 2010, 02:05 PM

Hay guys where are the games waht folder should I copy over to my other HDD befor formating ?
I only have two games on steam dirt and AVP

BlueMak · Jul 1, 2010, 03:27 PM

c:\steam

the whole root folder STEAM.

[hobo]eclipse · Jul 1, 2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFOSOK

That sounds like a lot of downloading. My connection usually takes 2hrs to DL a full size game and I usually do one at a time then defrag after every game.

I think I will buy a 1TB internal HDD for steam games (DL all of them to that one) use my current 500GB for system, apps, and non steam games and I should be set. Man, if I pick up the THQ pack on sale right now, that is going to be a lot of DLin anyway. But I will only have to do it once...unless I restore my comp again.

no, your moving the steam apps, which has all the games

cow,
doin as i described is a bit cleaner method, delete all in that folder except steamapps and steam.exe. move the steam folder containing steamapps and steam.exe to your location of choice, open the .exe and the steam client will be redownloaded and installed to that location, picking up on any games you left in the steamapps folder. copying the entire folder is plausable too, but i feel this is a cleaner install method for steam client. its like deleting the cleintregistry.blob, we all heard of that to try and solve any steam oddities right? same concept, just with the entire steam client.

Cow_160483 · Jul 1, 2010, 08:13 PM

Thanks guys will try it and then, let you know what happened .

Sic Puppy · Jul 1, 2010, 10:01 PM

Good Luck

Tyrsonswood · Jul 1, 2010, 10:14 PM

You guys do realize he's going to kill you when his games get deleted......

Sic Puppy · Jul 1, 2010, 10:29 PM

We'll all just hide when he gets back

Cow_160483 · Jul 2, 2010, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

You guys do realize he's going to kill you when his games get deleted......

Not only kill but murder them as well

[hobo]eclipse · Jul 2, 2010, 08:40 AM

orly! duel! if ya ever get steam re installed!

Cow_160483 · Jul 6, 2010, 08:23 AM

I don't know if it was Ty or hobo but one of the jinxed it for me ... Here is the problem after the fresh installation of W7 I downloaded and installed steam then copied and pasted over the old steam folder, when I run steam iyt tries to log on to my account and does not respond , when I go to task manager it says not responding ?? What did I do wrong ?

Dyre Straits · Jul 6, 2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cow_160483

I don't know if it was Ty or hobo but one of the jinxed it for me ... Here is the problem after the fresh installation of W7 I downloaded and installed steam then copied and pasted over the old steam folder, when I run steam iyt tries to log on to my account and does not respond , when I go to task manager it says not responding ?? What did I do wrong ?

I really hate to hear this.

I guess my post was overlooked or I didn't provide enough details to help you out.

But, over several fresh Windows installations I've never had to "re-download Steam" at all! I simply ZIPped or RARed the entire Steam directory onto a back up HDD first. Then, extracted it back to the Program Files (x86) directory and then Run the Steam.exe already in that folder.

However, I don't do this but maybe once a year or so and all the intricate details are not at my ready command. But, I've never had a problem with Steam at all doing it this way.

I did, however, take note that, in order to keep your saved games, you DO need to also back up wherever the saved games are located in whichever Windows version you're using.

Good luck getting it back up and running.

Cow_160483 · Jul 6, 2010, 09:15 AM

@ dyre am going to try un-installing the steam client then just copying over the whole steam folder to program files X86 and try running it from there thanks for the tip will see of that fixes the issue .

BlueMak · Jul 6, 2010, 09:33 AM

Why don't you just do a proper backup of the games and do a clean installation and restore the files?

Cow_160483 · Jul 6, 2010, 09:44 AM

How do you mean? I thought that backing up the whole folder is the best option as I only have two games from steam and I was not too sure which folder contained the actual game refer to the pic I posted earlier.

BlueMak · Jul 6, 2010, 01:43 PM

Open Steam, go to Library, see the list of your games that you have installed. Right click on it, Back up files...

Oct 9, 2009, 03:00 PM	#1
SeaWulf HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Burbs of Philly Posts: 102 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Steam and HDD location Probably a dumb question Steam loaded itself onto my C Drive. I try to have all my games on my D Drive however. I wanat to reserve the C drive to OS plus related applications such as MS Office etc. Can I just move the steam and its sub folder to the D drive and update the shortcuts? Any advice is welcome! thanks __________________ Double Secret Probation Additional system information Titanium X FI PCIE 2 LG H55L DVD+RW (IDE)

Oct 9, 2009, 03:13 PM	#2
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Just move the whole root Steam folder to where you want it. It works just fine. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 9, 2009, 04:17 PM	Thread Starter #3
SeaWulf HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Burbs of Philly Posts: 102 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location thanks Paul __________________ Double Secret Probation Additional system information Titanium X FI PCIE 2 LG H55L DVD+RW (IDE)

Oct 9, 2009, 09:40 PM	#4
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 49 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location My steam folder was approaching 40gb back when I had all the games installed (every half-life related game, Sin games etc.........) so a cool thing is you can backup the GCF files on an external drive and just leave the ones that are needed for that 1 or those 2 games you REALLY play often. If you decide you wanna play another game, put the GCF file back in the steamapps folder, open steam and voila. (delete the GCF files means you have to re-download the content... wasting bandwith and time)

Oct 9, 2009, 10:23 PM	#5
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,897 Rep Power: 107 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location my steam install is located on the 2nd volume of my raid array, it had been there for quite awhile. multiple windows installs, 7 and vista and is now topping 70 gig! ne ways, all i do is get the steam installer every time i reformat and point it to the steam folder and off i go.

Jun 30, 2010, 10:26 AM	#6
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Hay guys sorry to resurrect this old thread but I was planning to format and upgrade to windows 7 64 bit and was wondering about the games that I have downloaded off of steam can I save them on a different drive, format and then install the stem client and then copy them back ??? is it really that simple ? __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jun 30, 2010, 11:13 AM	#8
Sic Puppy Le' me Merc It! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Wanganui, New Zealand Posts: 786 Rep Power: 82 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location It's really that simple I just copy/backup the Steam/steamapps folder and copy it back once i've reinstalled steam a on fresh Windows install. __________________ PC:- Intel i5 760 with CM 212 Hyper HS&F - Asus P7P55D-E Pro - 8GB G.Skill 1600 Sniper CL9 & 4GB G.Skill 1600 Ripjaws CL9 - Gigabyte GV-R585OC-1GB ATI 5850 - CoolerMaster CM690II Advanced - WD Cavier 320GB - Seagate 7200.11 500GB - Seagate 7200.12 1TB - Sidewinder X8 - Logitech G510 - LG Flatron W2353V 23" & Dell 17" LCD - Razer Goliathus Alpha - Logitech Z4

Jun 30, 2010, 12:10 PM	#9
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location excellent thanks guys __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jun 30, 2010, 12:46 PM	#10
ET3D Hopeless Dreamer Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dreamland, near the pool of infinite graphics cards Posts: 3,055 Rep Power: 103 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Only problem is some games keep saves and config in you user's profile, and then you'll lose that. __________________ ET's Place ET's Place competition list

Jun 30, 2010, 07:02 PM	#11
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,658 Rep Power: 187 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location For game save and miscellaneous steam game file locations give THIS article a read on Steams forums. While it doesn't cover every game it is very in-depth for what it does cover. Also, wasn't one of the things Valve added to the Steam client a server side save game backup? I can't remember if it was for all Steam games, or just Valves though. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Jun 30, 2010, 09:20 PM	#12
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Wow that is a really good idea. I think I'm going to go with 1tb hdd pretty soon and use a 250 or 500 for my saved game files that I don't feel like re-downloading. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Jun 30, 2010, 09:58 PM	#13
Sic Puppy Le' me Merc It! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Wanganui, New Zealand Posts: 786 Rep Power: 82 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Yep, that's what I do. As we don't have unlimited bandwidth broadband over here, the thought of having to re-download 150GB of games again on a 40GB/month allowance is a bit daunting. I have a backup setup to copy the steamapp and my documents (where most of the games config/save games are) folder once a week to my external HDD so I don't lose any updates that steam downloads. The backup game feature is good on steam but not if you want a rolling backup, say once a week. __________________ PC:- Intel i5 760 with CM 212 Hyper HS&F - Asus P7P55D-E Pro - 8GB G.Skill 1600 Sniper CL9 & 4GB G.Skill 1600 Ripjaws CL9 - Gigabyte GV-R585OC-1GB ATI 5850 - CoolerMaster CM690II Advanced - WD Cavier 320GB - Seagate 7200.11 500GB - Seagate 7200.12 1TB - Sidewinder X8 - Logitech G510 - LG Flatron W2353V 23" & Dell 17" LCD - Razer Goliathus Alpha - Logitech Z4

Jun 30, 2010, 10:06 PM	#14
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,897 Rep Power: 107 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location i just rar up ne game saves i have in my docs and toss it into a folder i made in the main steam folder called !!!saved games. another nifty trick, delete everything in the steam folder except the steam.exe and steamapps (in my case i leave the !!!savedgames folder i made also). Move the steam folder to where you would like to have it installed, then run the steam.exe. it will download and install the client software with all games intact. then fire up game of choice, let it boot once, exit and replace ne relevant files from !!!savedgames to my docs.

Jul 1, 2010, 02:05 PM	#16
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Hay guys where are the games waht folder should I copy over to my other HDD befor formating ? I only have two games on steam dirt and AVP __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jul 1, 2010, 03:27 PM	#17
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location c:\steam the whole root folder STEAM. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Jul 1, 2010, 08:13 PM	#19
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Thanks guys will try it and then, let you know what happened . __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jul 1, 2010, 10:01 PM	#20
Sic Puppy Le' me Merc It! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Wanganui, New Zealand Posts: 786 Rep Power: 82 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Good Luck __________________ PC:- Intel i5 760 with CM 212 Hyper HS&F - Asus P7P55D-E Pro - 8GB G.Skill 1600 Sniper CL9 & 4GB G.Skill 1600 Ripjaws CL9 - Gigabyte GV-R585OC-1GB ATI 5850 - CoolerMaster CM690II Advanced - WD Cavier 320GB - Seagate 7200.11 500GB - Seagate 7200.12 1TB - Sidewinder X8 - Logitech G510 - LG Flatron W2353V 23" & Dell 17" LCD - Razer Goliathus Alpha - Logitech Z4

Jul 1, 2010, 10:29 PM	#22
Sic Puppy Le' me Merc It! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Wanganui, New Zealand Posts: 786 Rep Power: 82 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location We'll all just hide when he gets back __________________ PC:- Intel i5 760 with CM 212 Hyper HS&F - Asus P7P55D-E Pro - 8GB G.Skill 1600 Sniper CL9 & 4GB G.Skill 1600 Ripjaws CL9 - Gigabyte GV-R585OC-1GB ATI 5850 - CoolerMaster CM690II Advanced - WD Cavier 320GB - Seagate 7200.11 500GB - Seagate 7200.12 1TB - Sidewinder X8 - Logitech G510 - LG Flatron W2353V 23" & Dell 17" LCD - Razer Goliathus Alpha - Logitech Z4

Jul 2, 2010, 08:40 AM	#24
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,897 Rep Power: 107 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location orly! duel! if ya ever get steam re installed!

Jul 6, 2010, 08:23 AM	#25
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location I don't know if it was Ty or hobo but one of the jinxed it for me ... Here is the problem after the fresh installation of W7 I downloaded and installed steam then copied and pasted over the old steam folder, when I run steam iyt tries to log on to my account and does not respond , when I go to task manager it says not responding ?? What did I do wrong ? __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jul 6, 2010, 09:15 AM	#27
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location @ dyre am going to try un-installing the steam client then just copying over the whole steam folder to program files X86 and try running it from there thanks for the tip will see of that fixes the issue . __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jul 6, 2010, 09:33 AM	#28
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Why don't you just do a proper backup of the games and do a clean installation and restore the files? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Jul 6, 2010, 09:44 AM	#29
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,687 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location How do you mean? I thought that backing up the whole folder is the best option as I only have two games from steam and I was not too sure which folder contained the actual game refer to the pic I posted earlier. __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Jul 6, 2010, 01:43 PM	#30
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Re: Steam and HDD location Open Steam, go to Library, see the list of your games that you have installed. Right click on it, Back up files... __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*