Can I store steam games on external hdd?

[CARROT CAKE]

I'm going to reset my computer, I have a 1TB external hdd and was wondering if I could copy paste steam games on there, reset my computer completely and then paste the games from my external hdd to my newly reset computer?

[mimizukari]

No, it is not recommended. Steam has a support infobase saying you should not use an external HDD.

[Reggaejunkiedrew]

Originally posted by Kurumi Tokisaki:

No, it is not recommended. Steam has a support infobase saying you should not use an external HDD.

He's just backing up the games on the external harddrive temporarily, not using it to run games off of.

No reason why not, they're just files.

[CARROT CAKE]

Yes so I don't have to reinstall them, my wifi is pretty slow

[Mad Scientist]

The answer is yes.

Originally posted by Kurumi Tokisaki:

No, it is not recommended. Steam has a support infobase saying you should not use an external HDD.

Try actually reading the whole thing next time.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Just copy over the entire Steamapps folder.

For save files...

https://www.gamesave-manager.com

userdata folder holds screenshots you haven't uploaded. Save that if you like.

[mimizukari]

not as simple as copy paste, you also need the acf files , etc. use backup and restore.

[vexviron]

Here is some information that may be helpful.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Kurumi Tokisaki:

not as simple as copy paste, you also need the acf files , etc. use backup and restore.

The Steamapps folder contains those. That's why I don't say copy over the Common file.

[Acroamatibus]

I also recommend to set up the external drive as steam library first, before moving the games to it, it will be recognised instantly on your new computer this way.
Also the savegames in the documents folder are important because the cloud only works for a few games.

[skooma addict]

It works fine for me so I guess it'll work fine for you as well. I have copy pasted my entire Steam folder to another hdd and back to the original hdd for years and they just work fine.

But the more proper way is to backup your games through steam client and once you installed steam on your new storage you can recover the backup files

[Ogami]

Absolutely no problem. I had a 8 TB external HDD for years filled with just Steam games.
I just created another Steam library on that drive and directly downloaded the games on it, if i then wanted to play it i used the internal library function to move games from one Steam library to another so i could play it from my SSD.

Worked like a charm and never had a problem with it.
I also never had any problems playing the games directly from the external HDD ( USB 3.0) but the loading times can be pretty brutal.

Nowadays since my internet is fast enough to download even big 100 GB games in under an hour, i given up on archiving them on an external HDD.

But it was a lifesafer when i had much slower internet.

[crunchyfrog]

Kurumi loves to say no about this, but it's complete nonsense.

You can ABSOLUTELY RUN games off a separate hard drive. I've been doing it all the time I've been on steam with several computers.

I know you are just temporarily storing it, which is also absolutely fine, but even running it is fine and dandy.

There seems to be a bit of an outdated (maybe) thing on here that it will cause horrendous issues. It could more on older USB external drives that couldn't transfer data quick enough (not that I ever had it myself) but it's almost redundant these days with USB3 and later.

So yeah, you can absolutely get a £40 1TB hard drive and slap it on your computer and run the games from there. As long as when you MOVE the games there, you make sure you first add that drive to the steam recognised install folders, and move the games within steam (by right clicking on the games and following the commands) you should be perfect.

You do have to be careful of one thing though - make sure you always plug the drive in BEFORE you start Steam. Otherwise it confuses it and won't see your games properly.

But absolutely a great way of running games.

Last point - DO NOT use memory sticks as drives - they don't work. Some do try this ;)

[CARROT CAKE]

Thank you, I appreciate all of your help but I feel like quite a few people misunderstood me or maybe I'm just confusing myself.
I'm not looking to run games off of my external HDD, but simply copy-pasting large games such as GTA V on my external HDD (temporarily) to then move them onto my newly reset computer avoiding the long downloading hours with my slow internet speed.
Do I still need the acf files for that?
With what I'm looking to do, can't I simply copy over the game file itself instead of everything with it to make up for a quicker install?
Cheers

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by CARROT CAKE:

Thank you, I appreciate all of your help but I feel like quite a few people misunderstood me or maybe I'm just confusing myself.
I'm not looking to run games off of my external HDD, but simply copy-pasting large games such as GTA V on my external HDD (temporarily) to then move them onto my newly reset computer avoiding the long downloading hours with my slow internet speed.
Do I still need the acf files for that?
With what I'm looking to do, can't I simply copy over the game file itself instead of everything with it to make up for a quicker install?
Cheers

Just make sure you listen to cSg|mc-Hotsauce about copying the steamapp folder, which contains files saying what you have and how much of it is downloaded.

I understood you, I actually read it.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by CARROT CAKE:

Thank you, I appreciate all of your help but I feel like quite a few people misunderstood me or maybe I'm just confusing myself.
I'm not looking to run games off of my external HDD, but simply copy-pasting large games such as GTA V on my external HDD (temporarily) to then move them onto my newly reset computer avoiding the long downloading hours with my slow internet speed.
Do I still need the acf files for that?
With what I'm looking to do, can't I simply copy over the game file itself instead of everything with it to make up for a quicker install?
Cheers

I think you may have misread what I posted. I did say I KNOW you just want to move things temporarily. I was just giving you as full an answer as I could - a bit of extra advice if you will.

As for the acf files, if you use steam itself to copy the files across you don't need to worry about that.

Unless you have a metric ♥♥♥♥ ton of games, it's better you do things this way as it avoids ♥♥♥♥ ups. Simply go to Steam settings > Downloads, and from the window that pops up, Choose "add library folder" and add the drive you're wanting to use to move stuff to. THen you can right click a game in your library and choose to move it. Steam will do the rest.

If you do it all manually, sure it';ll be quicker especially if you have a lot of games, but if you miss off the acf or vcf files (I can't remember which) you risk having the files there when you copy them back and Steam will just refuse to see them.

That's basically it.

But in summary, Hotsauce's advise is spot on.