Steam does not recognize my Witcher 3 folder ?

[Electronic_Beef]

Hello there,

i had some issues with the space on my ssd which included the witcher 3 ( on steam ). I took the witcher 3 folder from the steam folder and placed it on my HDD to make space on my ssd for some programms i needed for just a short period of time. After i deinstalled the programms i draged the witcher 3 folder from my HDD back to the steam folder on my ssd and placed it right back there where i took it from. I wanted to start witcher 3 on steam but i doesnt recognize the folder and wants to download witcher 3 again. I put a decent amount of time in playing witcher 3 and i dont want to lose the progress i made. Can anyone help me, how do i bring steam to recognize the folder and start the game ? Thanks for help :_)

[mimizukari]

did you not properly use the steam backup function? if not you'll have to install it. also you won't lose progress if you use steam cloud

[The Giving One]

I see you said that you placed the folder right back where you got it from. You need to be sure the .acf file for TW3 is in steamapps, and the game folder for TW3 is in the steamapps/common folder.

Do this all outside Steam with Steam fully closed. Then, restart Steam and log in and it should be as before.

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

I took the witcher 3 folder from the steam folder and placed it on my HDD )

You did not get TW3 folder from the Steam folder. You got it from the Steam/steamapps/common folder.

As far as saved progress, pretty sure the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in your documents area, to avoid issues such as this among others. Your saved progress should be fine, if so.

[Electronic_Beef]

The Giving One の投稿を引用：

I see you said that you placed the folder right back where you got it from. You need to be sure the .acf file for TW3 is in steamapps, and the game folder for TW3 is in the steamapps/common folder.

Do this all outside Steam with Steam fully closed. Then, restart Steam and log in and it should be as before.

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

I took the witcher 3 folder from the steam folder and placed it on my HDD )

You did not get TW3 folder from the Steam folder. You got it from the Steam/steamapps/common folder.

As far as saved progress, pretty sure the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in your documents area, to avoid issues such as this among others. Your saved progress should be fine, if so.

Yes, i did get TW3 folder from the steam/steamapps/common folder. So if i want steam to run TW3 without reinstalling, i just have to put this .acf file into steamapps folder ? If yes, where do i find this mysterious file ?

[Der Hexer]

...steam\steamapps\

the file is called like: appmanifest_xxxxxx.acf

where xxxxxx is the game/app ID - you can open them with a text editor, e.g. notepad to check which one is the TW3 one (292030 should be the number for TW3, but please double check it)

[Electronic_Beef]

Der Hexer の投稿を引用：

...steam\steamapps\

the file is called like: appmanifest_xxxxxx.acf

where xxxxxx is the game/app ID - you can open them with a text editor, e.g. notepad

ye found 2 of them with some numbers for the x's . So do i have to make a new one and then google the game/ap ID for TW3, place it where the x's are and then everything will work ?

[mimizukari]

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

Der Hexer の投稿を引用：

...steam\steamapps\

the file is called like: appmanifest_xxxxxx.acf

where xxxxxx is the game/app ID - you can open them with a text editor, e.g. notepad

ye found 2 of them with some numbers for the x's . So do i have to make a new one and then google the game/ap ID for TW3, place it where the x's are and then everything will work ?

no... if it's not there, you'll have to complete the installation normally. that's why steam has a backup feature, it puts all the files you need.

[Electronic_Beef]

Shiki Ryougi の投稿を引用：

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

ye found 2 of them with some numbers for the x's . So do i have to make a new one and then google the game/ap ID for TW3, place it where the x's are and then everything will work ?

no... if it's not there, you'll have to complete the installation normally. that's why steam has a backup feature, it puts all the files you need.

how do i know its not there ? because i cant lauch the game ? And i dont want to do the installtion normaly, wouldnt it restet all my progress ?

[The Giving One]

From your OP, you only mention moving TW3 folder around, and not the .acf file for it. The .acf file for games is the same number as you see in the URL on the Steam store page, just so you know in the future. You can go to the Store page for TW3 and see the URL in the top left and that number at the end is the .acf number.

The .acf files are the files that tell Steam your game is in fact installed. Without that file, you have to redownload the game.

The question is, what did you do with that file since you said you only moved the game's folder ?

You can "possibly" right click the Steam folder or drive where Steam is installed then go to properties then "previous versions" tab on top, and get a copy of that file from a restore point, but maybe not.

Check your restore points manually to see if you can find it.

Also, just to add, drive space being an issue is what seems to have started this. You need to always leave plenty of free space on a drive for that drive to not present issues. Never almost or totally fill a hard drive up.

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

how do i know its not there ? because i cant lauch the game ? And i dont want to do the installtion normaly, wouldnt it restet all my progress ?

I said above that I was pretty sure that the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in your documents area of your Windows, so if so, no you will not lose saved progress. If the saves are stored in the game's folder, you seem to have saved that, so again, your saved progress should be there fine.

If you have to redownload the game, SAVE that old game folder just in case as a backup. Then you can move the saves over to the new installation if the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in the game's folder.

I have it on GOG so I am not sure about Steam's version.

[Electronic_Beef]

The Giving One の投稿を引用：

From your OP, you only mention moving TW3 folder around, and not the .acf file for it. The .acf file for games is the same number as you see in the URL on the Steam store page, just so you know in the future. You can go to the Store page for TW3 and see the URL in the top left and that number at the end is the .acf number.

The .acf files are the files that tell Steam your game is in fact installed. Without that file, you have to redownload the game.

The question is, what did you do with that file since you said you only moved the game's folder ?

You can "possibly" right click the Steam folder or drive where Steam is installed then go to properties then "previous versions" tab on top, and get a copy of that file from a restore point, but maybe not.

Check your restore points manually to see if you can find it.

Also, just to add, drive space being an issue is what seems to have started this. You need to always leave plenty of free space on a drive for that drive to not present issues. Never almost or totally fill a hard drive up.

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

how do i know its not there ? because i cant lauch the game ? And i dont want to do the installtion normaly, wouldnt it restet all my progress ?

I said above that I was pretty sure that the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in your documents area of your Windows, so if so, no you will not lose saved progress. If the saves are stored in the game's folder, you seem to have saved that, so again, your saved progress should be there fine.

If you have to redownload the game, SAVE that old game folder just in case as a backup. Then you can move the saves over to the new installation if the Steam version of TW3 saves progress in the game's folder.

I have it on GOG so I am not sure about Steam's version.

Could i just reinstall the game so i get the .acf file, then delete everything expect the file and then just put my old TW3 folder back at its place ? Would that work ?

Btw i really appreicate your huge anwsers, iam really thankfull :)

[The Giving One]

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

Could i just reinstall the game so i get the .acf file, then delete everything expect the file and then just put my old TW3 folder back at its place ? Would that work ?

Btw i really appreicate your huge anwsers, iam really thankfull :)

You can do that, yes. You are welcome, by the way. I would not delete the newly installed one just in case something goes wrong. Just drag it out to your desktop or some place. Don't delete it. ( I know you had a drive space issue so you may have to keep it on another drive or something. This will be up to you how you do it.)

Then, drag in the old one. This way, if there is a problem, you have two folders with files in them that you can use in case any errors happen.

Don't forget to log out and exit Steam before you try to move files or folders around.

EDIT..

GOG's version of TW3 has the saves in Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves (Windows 7)

I do not know where Steam's version keeps the save folder, but I "assume" it is the same place. You can check if you want. Redownloading the game on Steam should not mess with Documents or erase your progress. But if you want to be totally secure, you can make a copy of the gamesaves folder also.

[Electronic_Beef]

The Giving One の投稿を引用：

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

Could i just reinstall the game so i get the .acf file, then delete everything expect the file and then just put my old TW3 folder back at its place ? Would that work ?

Btw i really appreicate your huge anwsers, iam really thankfull :)

You can do that, yes. You are welcome, by the way. I would not delete the newly installed one just in case something goes wrong. Just drag it out to your desktop or some place. Don't delete it. ( I know you had a drive space issue so you may have to keep it on another drive or something. This will be up to you how you do it.)

Then, drag in the old one. This way, if there is a problem, you have two folders with files in them that you can use in case any errors happen.

Don't forget to log out and exit Steam before you try to move files or folders around.

EDIT..

GOG's version of TW3 has the saves in Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves (Windows 7)

I do not know where Steam's version keeps the save folder, but I "assume" it is the same place. You can check if you want. Redownloading the game on Steam should not mess with Documents or erase your progress. But if you want to be totally secure, you can make a copy of the gamesaves folder also.

I just reinstalled the witcher 3 and pressed play -> all game progress and mods are still there !

I really have to thank you, is there a way i can support or recommend you ?

[The Giving One]

Electronic_Beef SFFBM の投稿を引用：

I just reinstalled the witcher 3 and pressed play -> all game progress and mods are still there !

I really have to thank you, is there a way i can support or recommend you ?

Then it must also save progress in the Documents folder on Steam's version also, or elsewhere besides the game's own folder.

Your thanks and reply as to what you did to fix it is more than enough appreciation. That is very kind of you. We in the community will try to help you if you have Steam issues anytime. Good luck to you always.

[841672943]

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[TKD]

841672943 の投稿を引用：

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