Copying my games that have Denuvo to another computer

[Cyber Akuma]

I am setting up a new computer, and rather than re-downloading several hundreds of gigs of games, I wanted to just copy the games from my existing system to the new one. I just would need to copy the game's folders from my existing system's "\steamapps\common" to the new system's "\steamapps\common" folder after I install Steam on it right?

But then what about games that have Denuvo? Will they work or will they think it's an unauthorized system and refuse to work? Would they re-validate or something when I first launch them or is there some validation process? Or would I have to re-download those?

[Brian9824]

It would depend on how a game uses denuvo, but for the most part denuvo just checks to see if you have a valid license when you login from steam. So as long as you have steam installed and run the game there is no issue.

Sometimes you have to copy steam's manifest file or something like that when copying between PC's for Steam to find the games you copy, I've never done it so can't help you there, but denuvo shouldn't pose any issues whatsoever in that process.

[Cyber Akuma]

Manifest files? I saw some files named that but I have no idea what they are for.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Cyber Akuma:

Manifest files? I saw some files named that but I have no idea what they are for.

They're the .acf files in the Steamapps folder.

[rawWwRrr]

I've done several library moves between PCs. Some tips:

Install and run Steam on the new PC before you start copying files. Use it to set up the library folders if you're planning to use a non-default location.

Make sure Steam is not running at all while making manual changes to the library files.

Always copy the app manifest files as well. A lot of people assume they only need the game folders from \common\ and miss the manifests.

Just copy the \steamapps\ folder as a whole to the new computer's Steam library folder. Follow the correct library structure:

Game files folders are in \common\
\common\ is in \steamapps\
App manifest files are in \steamapps\
\steamapps\ is in the library folder.
Example:
G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\DOOM\

When you're done copying the games over, the first time Steam runs it will initially go through all of the game files and may try to update or install them. Maybe there was an update or file that didn't copy over correctly, or there are redistributable or shader files to download. It may take several minutes before Steam realizes they are all there.

As far as Denuvo protected games, I've not encountered any issues. Denuvo protection usually involves a number of installs of a game's files within a certain timeline, such as 6 installs per day or 3 PCs per month, etc. If you're just copying files from one PC to another, it shouldn't raise any issues to Denuvo protected games.

Good luck. If all else fails, remember, you can always just reinstall the games from Steam.

[Rieve Nailo]

I read that steam just recently added a local download option, so you can get games from around your LAN instead of from their datacenters. A good cost saving measure for them, and nice for users as well. I haven't tried it yet myself.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/46BD-6BA8-B012-CE43

[Cyber Akuma]

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

I've done several library moves between PCs. Always copy the app manifest files as well. A lot of people assume they only need the game folders from \common\ and miss the manifests.

The problem is, how do I know which manifest belongs to which game if I don't want to copy all of them over?

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Cyber Akuma:

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

I've done several library moves between PCs. Always copy the app manifest files as well. A lot of people assume they only need the game folders from \common\ and miss the manifests.

The problem is, how do I know which manifest belongs to which game if I don't want to copy all of them over?

The app manifests are ordered by AppID. Two ways to quickly check which belongs to the game:
- Go to the store page of the game. The link in the address bar has the AppID (a number, for example 290340 for Armello) in it.
- Go to the Steamdb.info site and search for the game. There too the AppID will be listed.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Ice Mountain:

Originally posted by Cyber Akuma:

The problem is, how do I know which manifest belongs to which game if I don't want to copy all of them over?

You don't need to copy the manifest at all. Just copy the folder over, use Steams function to find the game and it'll take care of the rest. Or just use Steams features that lets you download the game from the other computer instead of the internet. There is no reason to transfer the manifests at all.

Without the manifest file steam will often just re-download everything.

[Rieve Nailo]

Originally posted by Cyber Akuma:

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

I've done several library moves between PCs. Always copy the app manifest files as well. A lot of people assume they only need the game folders from \common\ and miss the manifests.

The problem is, how do I know which manifest belongs to which game if I don't want to copy all of them over?

Take a screenshot. Open the folder with that screenshot through steam. The folder name, generally a long number, will match up to a manifest file
Example, Star Ocean the Divine Force screenshots go to folder 1776380 and the manifest file is appmanifest_1776380.acf.

[Cyber Akuma]

Thanks for all the help everyone. Sounds like this shouldn't be hard to do at all.