NAS Problems

[mjo]

Hello,
I buyed a NAS drive (WD My Cloud) and with some tutorials on web I did some setup to make the NAS as the drive Z:. Then I opened Steam settings and I created a new Steam library folder. I installed one game on it and everything was good. Now I have a problem. I can get to the NAS files from Windows Explorer and there is the Steam library folder and the game files. But when I want to play the game from icon on desktop (or from Steam client) the game beggins to install. I looked at the Steam settings > Downloads > Steam library folders and there isn't the drive Z: marked as it has the Steam library folder. What should I do? Do I need to add the existing Steam library folder in the drive Z: in settings and the Steam client will recognize that there's the game already installed and the game will be playable?

[Cathulhu]

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3246234/security/hardcoded-backdoor-in-12-western-digital-my-cloud-nas-devices.html
Not the best NAS you could have bought.
And using a NAS to play games from is a terrible idea as even a Gigabit LAN is not fast enough. S-ATA 3 is six times as fast.

[mjo]

Sorry, but as you can see, I don't want recommendation for which NAS I could buy or if is it good to play games. I have about 15 games bought on Steam, not 500 like you. My network, my PC and everything works good with NAS turned on. I want solution for my problem, not what I need to buy instead of my NAS
And I have all firmware updates installed so I am safe.

Thank you for some normal answers.

[ReBoot]

He's right though. Playing your games off a NAS is a terrible idea. Even if you get it to work, it won't be any fun as loading times wouldn't be exactly stellar. Really, this is a terrible idea. Are you really sure you don't want to just install a disk into your PC?

[mjo]

Can please someone answer me what should I do to play that game or not?

[ReBoot]

*sigh*
Well, have you tried adding the existing library folder in Steam?

[ArtOfTheDragon]

Look I don't want to assume anything about your setup or anything because maybe you have a laptop (trust me I know how it feels. 14 fps and unplayable games. kill me.) but why use a NAS drive. Arent they used for RAID arrays? I mean if you have a desktop and room for another one, why not get another and use that?

[mjo]

I had a NAS earlier and I dont want to buy normal drive, so I am using NAS.

I will try to add the existing folder and see what happens.

[BiRRdYY]

I use a Synology NAS to store games which are too big for my M.2 SSD. I don’t have any option to put HDDs in my SFF case, so singleplayer games like Batman, Bioshock or Dirt go straight to my NAS to not waste storage on my expensive M.2 drive.

I completely disagree to the comments above as the loading times are quite okay. I don't have a single game in my library which is not capable of caching game files to my RAM/SSD to make a great gaming experience. Especially in games like dirt, where you need instant reaction, there are only slightly longer loading times in the beginning of a race and after that it's like you were playing on a standard HDD. So please don't provide stupid comments instead of finding a solution here.

Now my final point: I guess I have the same issue as BaranSK. But my NAS Steam library is theoretical being recognized by steam on startup but it always wants to reinstall the games only to find out that they are already installed. The funny thing is, that when I am starting those games via my SteamLink on the same computer, it's all working fine, without any kind of reinstall needed. Btw I used iSCSI to establish my connection.

[tacoshy]

So many misinformation here:

1.) NAS drive isnt slower then a SATA drive. In fact the drive used in a NAS is a SATA III drive. LAN connection also is not slower. SATA III has a bandwidth of 6 Gbps while LAN with a CAT6 cable already has 10 Gbps (as fast as USB 3.1) and with CAT7 you can reach bandwidth up to 100 Gbps on short distance (1-2m).

2.) Being a dedicated NAS drive doesnt mean it is a drive for RAID. NAS drives can be the evry same drives you use in a consumer PC. Sometimes NAS even use faster 10,000 RPM drives which are louder but also much faster then a normal consumer would ever put in a PC. Being build for RAID doesnt mean you have to use it in RAID. RAID HDD's are normal HDD's with no downside just way lower risk of a RAID Array failure.

3.) See #2 there is nothing special about a NAS drive. you could take it out of the encasing and put it in your PC or you could just place any SSD or HDD from your PC in the NAS encasing.

4.) See #3 as a NAS drive is just a normal drive, it will also behave like one. In fact it will behave like an external HDD. So you need just to go to Steam Settings -> Downloads -> Add new Library
Then add the NAS drive as a new library and then restart steam to have the games on the NAS drive shown there. IF you missed to also copy the appmanifest files you need to install the games on the NAS drive which will not redownload the game but starts downloading and recognizing that it is already installed and just create a new appmanifest file.

[Washell]

İlk olarak tacoshy tarafından gönderildi:

So many misinformation here:

1.) NAS drive isnt slower then a SATA drive. In fact the drive used in a NAS is a SATA III drive. LAN connection also is not slower. SATA III has a bandwidth of 6 Gbps while LAN with a CAT6 cable already has 10 Gbps (as fast as USB 3.1) and with CAT7 you can reach bandwidth up to 100 Gbps on short distance (1-2m).

4.) See #3 as a NAS drive is just a normal drive, it will also behave like one. In fact it will behave like an external HDD.

1) LAN with a CAT 6 cable is not 10Gbps when 1Gbps ports are still the standard on consumer NAS devices, PC's, switches and routers. So right there you're down to only 1/6th the speed of SATA III. Second, family members watching netflix, doing downloads, accessing the NAS and whatever will instantly lower your speeds with the average consumer grade switches/routers. Third, raw throughput is only a very small part of getting data from storage to the memory/CPU where it's needed. Random 4k read is far more crucial to running software.

4.) Adding the network to the mix means it behaves very different from an external drive.

That said, most games can handle slow storage just fine, you might see a few more texture pop ins and level loads will take longer, but no worse. Building an actual 10Gbps network is possible, but far cheaper, faster and more reliable to get a bigger case (if needed) and add an internal drive.

İlk olarak BaranSK tarafından gönderildi:

I had a NAS earlier and I dont want to buy normal drive, so I am using NAS.

I will try to add the existing folder and see what happens.

That's fine. But if you're using an unconventional setup, the problems are yours to solve and you'll have to accept that whenever you're asking for help, people will tell you to stop using the unconventional setup. People just can't help themselves when they see an opportunity to kick down an open door.

The steam client already has a habit of losing libraries on conventional setups, so better document how you fix it, because you'll be doing it again and again.

[BiRRdYY]

İlk olarak Washell tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak tacoshy tarafından gönderildi:

So many misinformation here:

1.) NAS drive isnt slower then a SATA drive. In fact the drive used in a NAS is a SATA III drive. LAN connection also is not slower. SATA III has a bandwidth of 6 Gbps while LAN with a CAT6 cable already has 10 Gbps (as fast as USB 3.1) and with CAT7 you can reach bandwidth up to 100 Gbps on short distance (1-2m).

4.) See #3 as a NAS drive is just a normal drive, it will also behave like one. In fact it will behave like an external HDD.

1) LAN with a CAT 6 cable is not 10Gbps when 1Gbps ports are still the standard on consumer NAS devices, PC's, switches and routers. So right there you're down to only 1/6th the speed of SATA III. Second, family members watching netflix, doing downloads, accessing the NAS and whatever will instantly lower your speeds with the average consumer grade switches/routers. Third, raw throughput is only a very small part of getting data from storage to the memory/CPU where it's needed. Random 4k read is far more crucial to running software.

4.) Adding the network to the mix means it behaves very different from an external drive.

That said, most games can handle slow storage just fine, you might see a few more texture pop ins and level loads will take longer, but no worse. Building an actual 10Gbps network is possible, but far cheaper, faster and more reliable to get a bigger case (if needed) and add an internal drive.

İlk olarak BaranSK tarafından gönderildi:

I had a NAS earlier and I dont want to buy normal drive, so I am using NAS.

I will try to add the existing folder and see what happens.

That's fine. But if you're using an unconventional setup, the problems are yours to solve and you'll have to accept that whenever you're asking for help, people will tell you to stop using the unconventional setup. People just can't help themselves when they see an opportunity to kick down an open door.

The steam client already has a habit of losing libraries on conventional setups, so better document how you fix it, because you'll be doing it again and again.

Thanks for not helping at all and just justifying your own stupid behavior. As there are many comments on the internet about Steam and NAS I would not consider that setup unconventional anymore. In a time of cloud storage, remote access and multi device services, NAS solutions are nothing you should bash. Especially when nobody was asking for a theoretical thesis about the pros and cons of a NAS Steam library. Trust me, I know enough to choose the right infrastructure myself.

Why do people even comment on this, when they don't provide any kind of help? Ah, I know cause of internet stupidity and the intrinsic motivation to get attention.

------

Regarding my own issue, Bioshock is working fine the last days without changing any settings. I guess if I play games more often, steam will keep the necessary files to recognize the installation on my NAS. But I will also check if the manifest files are there.

[Washell]

İlk olarak xBiRRdYYx tarafından gönderildi:

Why do people even comment on this,

So people don't buy Cat 6 cable and expecting to magically get 10Gbps ethernet. So 10 students in a dorm don't buy a NAS to pool their games and are disappointed by the performance. You know the limitations, I know the limitations, but this thread was painting a flawed and idealized picture.

İlk olarak xBiRRdYYx tarafından gönderildi:

NAS solutions are nothing you should bash.

There's a time and a place for NAS deployment. Running a client already notorious for losing its library isn't it. It's fine if you want to as long as you're aware it takes extra troubleshooting and maintenance.

[Tesityr]

If I may pop in, go to Steam > Settings > Downloads and click on Steam Library Folders and Add it in there (you state you already checked and it wasn't there). Sometimes, you need to add it manually in this window - it sometimes does not work from the Install steps of the game itself.

So, try creating the Steam Library folder first, then Installing the game after (since you already installed the game, Move the game files in Windows Explorer to the Steam Library Folder you create, and hopefully it will detect the game and only download what it needs to complete the installation).

[NOCHOX]

Hello Bro. I totally understand you about other comments, we are not here asking for a set up.

I have the same NAS that you have, this is what I did.

-Uninstalled all the games I wanted to move
-Mapped the drive as Z:
-Created a game folder "Steam Library"
-Went to Steam and added it as a library
-Installed all the games back to the NAS

After a reboot be sure to open your Z: drive to ensure it is connectec and mapped to your PC then run the games, you can also notice not all games can run from a NAS server, (For honor for example)

I have used this 2 months with no issues just that some games don't work.

Hope this work for you as well

[XistenZ]

WD is the worst brand, everything is broken even before it leaves the toyfactories in China.

Get another NAS. If you're also using WD-drives in the NAS *shudder*, you of course should have noticed by now that they exploded. Exchange the drives as well.
You're welcome.