How to move installed games on a PC to a new hard drive - Web programmer's blog. How to transfer Steam games without installing them again

While you're upgrading your computer's hardware, you don't have to delete your existing Steam and reinstall all your games from scratch. You can transfer your games to another computer using a few simple and not so simple methods.

Please make sure you have a Steam username and password before attempting this method. If you are having any problems with your password, we recommend checking your Steam account connection to any of your emails. Moreover, we also do not recommend that you install Steam on an external hard drive as it may cause a lot of problems in the future.

Step #1 Create a backup of game files

Before you transfer Steam to your new computer, you need to back up every game in your library. If something goes wrong during installation, you can always simply recover.

However, you need to keep in mind that many of the games use third-party applications and installers to operate. If you have games of this type, then backup will definitely not work for them. This is especially true for MMO games, since they often only work with some additional programs or launchers.

The backup created in Steam will not include your custom maps, saves, or configuration files. If you want to save everything described, then go to the directory C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\<имя игры> and copy the contents of the following folders:

• /cfg/- configuration files
• /downloads/— possible location of files related to the multiplayer game
• /maps/— custom maps that are used for multiplayer mode
• /materials/— this folder can contain custom skins and textures
• /SAVE/- saves for single player

After you copy these files and make the necessary backups, you will need to return them to their original location.

• Open your Steam client and head to the Library tab. It will contain all your purchased games.
• Right-click on the desired game and select “Create a backup…”.
• In the next window, select all the games that you want to save to backup.
• Next, you need to choose where this entire backup will be saved. Choose a location that will make it easiest for you to reach them.
• Steam will now ask you to choose between a CD or DVD copy. If you have an external drive or USB storage, we recommend that you use DVD.
• After the backup process is complete, go to the previously specified directory where the backup of your games should have been saved, and transfer it to external media.

Step #2 Moving Steam Files

Due to the fact that we have already backed up all the games you need, if something suddenly goes wrong, you can move on to the next step - moving Steam to another computer.

• Click on your keyboard Windows+R.
• Enter taskmgr and press Enter.
• In Task Manager, end all processes that will be associated Steam Client Bootstrapper.
• Once all processes are completed, go to your Steam client directory. By default it is located on partition C.
• Locate the following files and folders:
  • SteamApps- folder
  • Userdata- folder
  • Steam.exe- executive file
• Remove everything from the Steam folder except what is listed above.
• Copy the remaining folders and files to external storage and move them to the new computer on which you will install Steam.
• Launch Steam using Administrator privileges and log into your account using your username and password.

What to do if an error appears?

You may encounter an error in Steam if you start moving some files around in it, which is associated with some technical difficulties. But you shouldn’t worry, because in this case too we have a list of actions that will help you get out of this situation. First of all, you need to completely uninstall your Steam so that we can reinstall it later. There are two ways to remove it: through the Control Panel and through the Windows Registry Editor.

Uninstalling Steam via Control Panel

• Quit all Steam client processes, as already shown in the previous paragraphs of the article.
• Go to the Steam directory.
• Move the folder SteamApps to your Desktop or any other location convenient for you, and then delete it from the Steam folder.
• Click on your keyboard Windows+R, enter control panel and press Enter.
• Go to Programs and Features.
• Find it in the list of installed Steam programs and remove it.

Uninstalling Steam via Windows Registry Editor

When we deal with the Registry, we need to be very careful not to damage anything there. If this is done, the entire functionality of the entire system may be disrupted.

• First, delete all files from the Steam root folder.
• Click on your keyboard Windows+R enter regedit and press Enter.
• Go to the directory:
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Valve\- for 32-bit systems.
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\- for 64-bit systems.
• Right click on Valve and select "Delete".
• Close Windows Registry Editor.

Step #3 Installing Steam

Since we have already uninstalled Steam again, it is time to start installing Steam again. You shouldn't have any problems with this. If you backed up the games as indicated in the previous paragraphs of the article, then you can easily restore the games without downloading them.

• After installing the client on your computer, click on the Steam button in the upper left corner of the window.
• From the context menu, select “Backup and restore games...”.
• You will be presented with two choices. Select "Restore from backup".
• After this, Steam will ask you to specify the directory in which the game backups will be located. Once you do this, Steam will automatically find the game and begin the process. Also be aware that the client may download some small files or folders from the network during this process in order to complete the recovery process.

Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Nowadays, no one is even talking about the popularity of mobile gadgets; phones have become an integral part of every person’s daily life and many people use them not only for calls but also for entertainment - games. Very often the question arises about transferring the game between Android devices with data saved. And this article will look at several simple ways to transfer a game from Android to Android with minimal time and knowledge of gadgets.

Using a personal account

Many modern applications have the option to create a personal account. This account stores all your personal game data in the form of achievements, levels completed, points earned, and more. The advantage of this method is that all you need to do is download the game on another device and simply log into your account. However, there are several disadvantages:

• Many applications are stored in the cache of the Android device itself.
• If you update the game via Play Market, you may lose your account data
• It is not possible to transfer games installed from third-party services in this way (since they are not linked to Google Play)

Using Titanium Backup (ROOT)

To transfer a game from one Android phone to another, you will need superuser rights. Obtaining these rights will remove your device from the warranty period, so do not use this method if your phone is still under warranty. You need to install several applications that are freely available on the Play Market or on the Internet.

The first program is ES Explorer. It can be downloaded through the Play Market, you only need to install it on the phone from which you will transfer the game. The only thing you need from this program is to open the “Tools” item, activate the “Root Explorer” switch and confirm your actions.
It is very important to note that before continuing the process of transferring the game with progress from one Android smartphone to another, you need to update the game in the Play Market to the latest version, so that later there will be no problems with the game versions.

• Titanium+Backup
• Titanium+Backup+Patcher

The first program makes a backup of the application (saves) and with its help we will restore this application to its original form. But, since this program is paid and there are no free analogues, we will need a second program that expands the capabilities of the demo version of the program to a full one.

We download and install these applications, run Titanium+Backup first, open it and give it root access at startup. Then install the second program. In this program, we need to click only one button “Patch” and not touch anything else.

We wait a few seconds and open the first program. If everything is done correctly, you will see green checkmarks in the center of the screen when the program is fully launched. After that, in the upper right corner, click on the “Menu” button. In the window that opens, select “Back up all user software” and click “Start”. A list of all smartphone applications that can be archived will open. Here you need to select only your game and remove all third-party marks, then click on the green checkmark in the upper right corner of the screen.

Once the process is complete, you will need to go to the save folder for all backups. By default, this is the “sdcard 0” folder. You can go to it using the previously installed ES explorer, in the upper left corner. Open the “local storage” tab and select sdcard 0. This is where the game backup is located. It consists of three files. To transfer games to a second smartphone, you will need to transfer these files using a microSD card or computer.

Then, repeat installing all programs on the second device in the same sequence as you did for the first time and set root rights. By default, Titnium+Backup creates the “sdcard 0” folder during installation. Transfer the game backup there, namely these three files.

The Google Play account and Play Market must be the same on both devices, otherwise you will not be able to transfer the game from Android to Android.

Download the game on the second smartphone, launch it and immediately close it, then restart the phone. Open Tinatium+Backup and open the “Menu” section (upper right corner). Scroll down the list to the “Restore all software with data” column. Go into it and see the number 1 with the name of the application (this is your backup). Check the following boxes:

• Software+data
• exclude systemic
• the name of your game

And click on the green checkmark in the upper right corner. We wait until the backup is downloaded until the message about successful completion is displayed.
That's all, open the game, wait for it to fully load and continue to enjoy the game from where you finished it on another smartphone with the same bonuses, achievements, etc.

Using Wi-Fi (without ROOT rights)

Another way to transfer the game from one device to another without losing progress. The TapPouch Wi-Fi File Transfer utility will help us. This application is free and suitable for all Android OS versions 4.0 and above. The application must be installed on two devices. On the donor device it will open in standard mode " Share Mode" Select " Share files/folders" Then select the file storage, in this program marked as “Folder”, in it, select the file with the game and click the send button. On the second smartphone, click on “ Get files/folders" A 6-character security code will be generated on the first device, which must be entered on the second device and click on “ Get files" When finished, the files will be saved on the SD card or in the memory of the second phone.

Conclusion

The ways to transfer a game from Android to Android do not end there; there are countless of them. The main thing is that you can do this exactly in the conditions in which you find yourself. With the Internet, without it, or without using third-party software at all.

It is now possible to create multiple libraries for games in different folders. This way, all your games can be spread equally across disks and partitions. The installation folder is now selected during installation of a newly purchased game, but there is no option to transfer an already installed game. But you can get around this with the help of certain crutches.
If you can’t move the game in one fell swoop, then you can do it in stages.
So. To begin, from the menu, select the command "Steam > Backup and Restore Games...":

To begin the transfer, select “Create a backup copy of the program” and click “Next”.

In the list we find the game we are going to move. There are several to mention, but let’s focus on one first. In this case, the Steam client will tell you how much disk space the created backup copy will take. You need to worry about its presence immediately.
Click "Next" again.

Now we select the location where the backup copies will be written. The file system used does not matter. I’ll tell you about the reasons later, but for now click “Next”.

In this window you can set how the backup file will be split into parts. This is intended in case all this stuff will be transferred to another computer, and in our case it will be useful if we write to media with a file system that does not support large files, for example FAT32. Click "Next".

The archiving process has begun! All that remains is to wait for its completion.

Now we have an archive of the game. The next step is to delete the game files from its current location. To do this, open the properties of the selected game and on the “Local files” tab, click the “Remove from computer...” button.

And we agree to the request about the seriousness of our intentions.

Now we need to create a new library for the game on another disk. To do this, give the command “Steam > Settings” and in the window that opens, open the “Download + Cloud” tab:

Click the "Steam Library Folders" button:

To add another folder, click the “Add library folder” button and indicate the required folder in the directory tree. You can also specify the root of the disk, because the “Steam” folder will be created inside the specified folder, and games and programs will already be in it.

Now close all windows and restart the client if it asks.
The last step is to restore a previously saved game from a backup. To do this, again give the command “Steam > Backup and restore games...”, but this time select “Restore from backup”. Well, click “Next”:

Now we click the "Browse..." button and indicate the folder with the backup copy of our game, the folder inside which there are folders with the names "Disk_1", "Disk_2" and so on. If the folder is selected correctly, the name of the reserved game will appear in the window:

Now we have a choice of where to restore a saved game. Yes, Fallout NV turned out to be a bad example for porting a game.
Click "Next" to start the recovery process. You may be prompted to accept the license agreement before recovery begins. You will also be prompted to create shortcuts.

By the way, you can also create a new library folder from this window. Simply select the appropriate item from the drop-down list.

And now the restoration is over. Steam will show this window:

Now you can safely delete the folder with the game backup, because absolutely all game files have been moved to the new location, even those that were added to the game folder yourself.

Let me remind you that not all games can be transferred this way. Some even during installation cannot be placed in another folder.

This method has not been tested on the Linux version.

Transferring software from one computer to another can be a hassle, and computer games are no exception. Fortunately, there are programs like PickMeApp that can help solve this problem in some cases.

You will need

• - PickMeApp program.

Instructions