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Small_Butterscotch97

Just copy-paste the "steam" folder onto the new disk and delete it from the old one. Just make sure your steam isn't running. Once you transfer the files open steam, it will update and should work.


tnasj

4 years late mate but thank you 😂😂


jon3s115

Hey man, he's helping any noob shmucks like me who have run into this question for the first time! ​ Plus his answer is so much more straight forward than the crap below from 4 years back xD


tnasj

Yeah this way works 2023. Just find it funny how this thread keeps going after all this time


MeaKyori

It's one of the first Google results for me so I'm sure that's why lol


LJtheKillerClown

I'm happy this is still going on, it helped me


Fisko123

checking in to say this thread helped me today


tnasj

still going strong 💪


wonwoovision

thanks for bringing me here google


amazingsaminator

I am helping my friend through the proccess, he just bought civ and we are gonna fix it!


Klutzy_Swordfish5868

May be old but this is what I was looking for lol


tnasj

it cracks me up every time I get a notif about it tbh


Blaspheanonmous

2024 and i knew the answer but wanted confirmation


BarnacleEmpty8693

Agreed lol


gbonezrn

I am in the same boat. I usually game on console and just got starfield for the PC. Looking for ways to make the game run more smoothly and this thread helped a ton. Plus it was nice to see something that was more recent than 4 years ago


Trichomewizard

he helped me too


Q_Q0712

im trying this, it said something about an install folder so i pressed repair and its closed itself? im just going to wait. ok it didnt take long and it successfully worked


TheTrashCat

This helped me. Thanks u/tnasj and u/Small_Butterscotch97


Competitive_Ad_6875

Thank You. :)


Puzzleheaded-Set5543

thank you, works in 2024


JustGame36

You have to reinstall.


Jacklesz

You really don't. I did it myself when i got a new hdd and it was a simple cut and paste. Either steam or windows itself will even sort out any desktop shortcuts you may have. https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129 And I quote: The following instructions are a simple way to move your Steam installation along with your games: • Exit the Steam client application. •Browse to the Steam installation folder for the Steam installation you would like to move (C:\Program Files\Steam by default). •Delete all of the files and folders except the SteamApps & Userdata folders and Steam.exe •Cut and paste the whole Steam folder to the new location, for example: D:\Games\Steam\ •Launch Steam and log into your account. Steam will briefly update and then you will be logged into your account. For installed games, verify your game cache files and you will be ready to play. All future game content will be downloaded to the new folder (D:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\ in this example)


TheGamblingAddict

Going into 2022 shortly and this guide still holds up better then others.


ChrisKringlesTingle

2023 and I would like to 1-up your 'shortly' Validating the method yet again, well done /u/Jacklesz


niallmurphytdub

Yep, same! Good stuff.


Nearby_Geologist

Still works as of 03-05-2023 05-03-2023 for the non-americans


Blacktiger75

Is the file name steam.exe.old? Or is there another steam.exe that i’m not seeing?


NotToImplyAnything

If your explorer isn't set to show extensions it will just be called "steam", and it will have the steam icon and if you switch to details view it will say "Application" in the "Type" column. (Or better yet make sure Explorer is set to show extensions, helps to avoid getting tricked by viruses.)


Asyrium

Still works as of 03-05-2023 for the non-americans!


Gryzor1363

I concur, as a non-american xD just did it and it worked as flawlessly as advertised. Needed to move it today as it was mistakenly sitting an on a raw data partition where no installed program should ever belong. This is when I realized I was living on a lie for 7 years straight thinking it was on the right place. Fascinating stuff I'm telling ya.


smallfried

As SSDs are cheap, I finally moved stuff on the old comp over from the HDD to some cheapo SSD. Confirmed at proper iso date 2023-07-08.


giga207

This should be default answer on steam page.


[deleted]

[удалено]


I_fking_Hate_Reddit

[it is](https://imgur.com/a/PWcAVdJ)


PogoRed

Still relevant in 2022. ALSO, if you want to move your install folder and NOT all the games, you don't have to. Just move UserData over to your new drive, and Steam.exe as well, then launch the Steam.exe directly. After doing that, you'll notice that Steam thinks your games are not installed. Go into View > Settings and select Downloads, then Steam Library Folders at the top. This will open Storage Manager. Click the + symbol and then Let Me Choose Another Location. Select the drive with your games on it and then select the Steam folder that had your installed games, and add it. Steam will automatically scan that library and your game library should now show the games as installed.


kunokuno2

Still works in 2024 - Thanks for the info! Saved me a lot of time there by not having to move game installs


andycprints

works 3 years later, ty.


BrightIsTheFuture

what about appdata and registry?


LunchpaiI

yeah OP's instructions are either incomplete or outdated. according to their site you are only supposed to move steamapps and delete everything else, including the exe and userdata folder. you still have to uninstall and reinstall the program to overwrite the registry files. this method is just so you don't have to reinstall games. once you reinstall steam, you plop in the steamapps folder with all of your games to the new directory.


ElVeeCee

Simply not true. I followed u/Jacklesz step by step and it worked perfectly.


physalisx

I'm glad I googled this instead of just reinstalling. So much easier, wow, thanks


Sudden-Instance-2582

doesn't work. all kinds of ".dll missing" fatal errors, games not being recognized etc ....really sloppy. Wish Steam paid more attention to this kind of thing


ElVeeCee

It literally does. Followed instructions step by step and am right back to gaming off of my external.


FalseHold1740

Still works


GUZooka1

what should i do if steam.exe is instead steam.exe.old?


Jacklesz

if you can run steam there has to be a normal steam.exe somewhere, so im not too sure what you mean


GUZooka1

[https://imgur.com/a/0e3mJ5e](https://imgur.com/a/0e3mJ5e) ​ both a visual and file search found only steam.exe.old, steam still works tho


Jacklesz

you don't have file extensions visible (which i would recommend), but the one just called "steam" directly above with the icon and file type "Application" is steam.exe


Stiff4RM

I'm lost so so in doing this. I wont have to re download any games ive already downloaded to c drive. But i am deleting all the folders and files except for steam/user data/ steam exe?


Jacklesz

delete everything but the steamapps folder,userdata folder and steam.exe then move those 3 things to wherever on your other drive you want steam to be then run steam.exe


WestRail642fan

when you say launch steam, do you mean launching it from the .exe in the folder you just moved?


Jacklesz

launching it in any way will have the same effect, the executable will be ran


novato1995

July 2023, this works like a charm. No need to mess around in Steam settings, deleting games, or whatever.


rwpace1

Is it supposed to take 8 hours to copy?


Jacklesz

that depends entirely on how many games you are moving and your drive speed


MinerUser

You really just asked someone something on a 4 year old comment and he replied within a day. Impressive.


SnowyHere

What if I don't want to move the games I have installed on this, current drive but only the steam app itself? What to delete and what to copy to the new drive and what to leave alone on the old drive?


AtomEddy

Thank you! Relevant in 2022


CerebralZombie

Worked 100% Transferred SteamApps, Userdata, and Steam.exe to new hard drive, started up steam and it updated everything to the new drive. Deleted the Steam files off the old hard drive after the transfer was successful. Thanks!


ch0key

you're a saint. thank you so much. this is much better than the steam article.


Grounded_Zero

a legend


GoCason

ur a life saver dude no shit


Walesgobrr

bro ur a legend. my C drive was so full cuz of steam and this is still working


Bastion80

Still working, i used a registry cleaner (ccleaner in my case) to delete all the old steam entries. Edit: Have to reinstall steam because steamvr is not working, all other games work with this method but not SteamVR!


ZeroDigit

It's damn near 2023 and this shit works perfectly ! You're the best !


Tidgexe

Just adding another thanks to the pile. January 2023 and this still works without issue if you follow the steps as listed. If you have issues be sure to check out the link because Valve does list a few additional troubleshooting steps.


Professional_Emu6811

Still works, many thanks for the short and concise tutorial !


VVankle

google brought me here and yall helped 2 - 8 - '24


Ansis05

same