How to get steam to see/recognize old games folder?

[lego116]

Hello, I had steam on a hard drive, I recently removed that hard drive so I had to reinstall steam. Now steam has made a new games folder on the hard drive, and made a new steam games folder on it. However, that hard drive already had a steam games folder. So right now steam is refusing to recognize the old folder. So I tried manually setting it on the storage manager, however steam just says it will use both folders. But it does not use both only the new one.
Anyone know how to solve this issue?

[crunchyfrog]

Depends on how much you've tried under the downloads manager settings under Staem.

If you've added this new folder and REMOVED the old one, it should work OK. If you can't remove the new one, then you can simply copy/paste manually all the data from the old folers to the new one and leave it at that.

[lego116]

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Depends on how much you've tried under the downloads manager settings under Staem.

If you've added this new folder and REMOVED the old one, it should work OK. If you can't remove the new one, then you can simply copy/paste manually all the data from the old folers to the new one and leave it at that.

Due to mods and what not I cant just copy and paste. Im not trying to add a new folder I just need it to recognize the old folder instead of the new one it created when I reinstalled steam.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by lego116:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Depends on how much you've tried under the downloads manager settings under Staem.

If you've added this new folder and REMOVED the old one, it should work OK. If you can't remove the new one, then you can simply copy/paste manually all the data from the old folers to the new one and leave it at that.

Due to mods and what not I cant just copy and paste. Im not trying to add a new folder I just need it to recognize the old folder instead of the new one it created when I reinstalled steam.

Have you tried installing steam itself to ANOTHER drive and then just adding this foler under downloads as that usually fixes this.

Steam often has a hard time dealing with more than one install folder on the same drive.

[lego116]

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Originally posted by lego116:

Due to mods and what not I cant just copy and paste. Im not trying to add a new folder I just need it to recognize the old folder instead of the new one it created when I reinstalled steam.

Have you tried installing steam itself to ANOTHER drive and then just adding this foler under downloads as that usually fixes this.

Steam often has a hard time dealing with more than one install folder on the same drive.

I have a steam folder on all my hard drives.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by lego116:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Have you tried installing steam itself to ANOTHER drive and then just adding this foler under downloads as that usually fixes this.

Steam often has a hard time dealing with more than one install folder on the same drive.

I have a steam folder on all my hard drives.

Yes but the point is do you have TWO folders on each drive? That's where the problem usually occurs.

If you have other drives to put the stuff on copy it over and then remove the one that Steam doesn't want to use. I know you have mods and such, but this is perhaps the cleanest way you're going to do it.

[tintingaroo]

Close Steam.

Open this file with Notepad: [Steam Installation]\config\libraryfolders.vdf

You'll see the entry for the path of the newly created Steam Library, e.g

"3"
{
"path" "D:\\SteamLibrary"

}

Replace it with previous Steam Library path (i.e. to the parent folder of steamapps folder).
Use double-backslashes if on Windows.

e.g. This is where your old Steam Library is and it's steamapps folder:
D:\Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps

Then this is what you'd change the path entry to in libraryfolders.vdf:
"path" "D:\\Games\\SteamLibrary"

Save the changes.

[lego116]

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Close Steam.

Open this file with Notepad: [Steam Installation]\config\libraryfolders.vdf

You'll see the entry for the path of the newly created Steam Library, e.g

"3"
{
"path" "D:\\SteamLibrary"

}

Replace it with previous Steam Library path (i.e. to the parent folder of steamapps folder).
Use double-backslashes if on Windows.

e.g. This is where your old Steam Library is and it's steamapps folder:
D:\Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps

Then this is what you'd change the path entry to in libraryfolders.vdf:
"path" "D:\\Games\\SteamLibrary"

Save the changes.

Im doing this but when I relaunch steam it just changes back to being from the new folder.

[tintingaroo]

Clear the other info for that library, so it's only the path entry line. See what happens then.

[lego116]

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Clear the other info for that library, so it's only the path entry line. See what happens then.

It cleared my other saved game folders. But kept the new one, so it did not work.

[tintingaroo]

Post the contents of libraryfolders.vdf, and tell me what is the path of the new Library.

Reading your initial post again, it looks like rather than dealing with just a Steam Library (an additional Library), it's the Steam installation Library.
If it's the first library (index "0") then you need to add the previous one rather than overwrite the new. Library "0" is always the main Steam installation location.

Let me include how to add:
In libraryfolders.vdf file, before the last }, insert this:
"INDEX" {"path" "PATH-TO-OLD"}

Replace INDEX with the index of the last library in the file + 1
Replace PATH-TO-OLD with the directory you were entering in before

So if your file looks like

"0"
{
"path" "bla bla"
other data
}

"1"
{
data data
}

The index of the last library in the file is 1, so for the library you're gonna add, index is 2.

[lego116]

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Post the contents of libraryfolders.vdf, and tell me what is the path of the new Library.

Reading your initial post again, it looks like rather than dealing with just a Steam Library (an additional Library), it's the Steam installation Library.
If it's the first library (index "0") then you need to add the previous one rather than overwrite the new. Library "0" is always the main Steam installation location.

Let me include how to add:
In libraryfolders.vdf file, before the last }, insert this:
"INDEX" {"path" "PATH-TO-OLD"}

Replace INDEX with the index of the last library in the file + 1
Replace PATH-TO-OLD with the directory you were entering in before

So if your file looks like

"0"
{
"path" "bla bla"
other data
}

"1"
{
data data
}

The index of the last library in the file is 1, so for the library you're gonna add, index is 2.

here is how it currently is. sorry for getting back to you so late.

"0"
{
"path" "F:\\Games\\steam"
"label" ""
"contentid" "7071093825777119709"
"totalsize" "0"
"update_clean_bytes_tally" "0"
"time_last_update_corruption" "0"
"apps"
{
"228980" "394985507"
}

[tintingaroo]

No worries - I was mistaking the situation in the first place.

Same steps, close Steam etc

At the end of the file, before the last }, paste in:

"1" {"path" "XXXXXX"}

Then the same process, replace XXXXXX with the path to the previous Steam library i.e. the parent folder of its steamapps folder. So for you that'll be your old Steam installation folder. Remember to use double-backslashes. Save & close and things should be OK.

[lego116]

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

No worries - I was mistaking the situation in the first place.

Same steps, close Steam etc

At the end of the file, before the last }, paste in:

"1" {"path" "XXXXXX"}

Then the same process, replace XXXXXX with the path to the previous Steam library i.e. the parent folder of its steamapps folder. So for you that'll be your old Steam installation folder. Remember to use double-backslashes. Save & close and things should be OK.

so where do I paste in "1" {"path" "XXXXXX"}? Do I do this "0" ie old folder one and replace "F:\\Games\\steam" ?

[tintingaroo]

You'll paste in the "1" etc, at the end of libraryfolders.vdf, but before the last } in the file.
e.g.

"libraryfolders"
{
      "0"
      {
            "path" "F:\\Games\\steam"
            "label" ""
            "contentid" "7071093825777119709"
            "totalsize" "0"
            "update_clean_bytes_tally" "0"
            "time_last_update_corruption" "0"
            "apps"
            {
                "228980" "394985507"
            }
      }

"1" {"path" "XXXXXX"}
}

The path of 0 should be the location where you have Steam installed. Steam will set it, like you saw when Steam was undoing the replacement.

The path of 1 should be the old library.


I don't know if F:\Games\steam is the new or old folder. If it's the new/where you have Steam installed, then your file would follow what's in the box above, and you'd change the X's in the path of 1 to the old library.

If F:\Games\steam is the old library, run Steam so it'll correct the file. Then open the file and add "1" {"path" "F:\\Games\\steam"} at the end of the file but before the last }.

If stuck, let me know both directories and which is the old and which is the new.

[lego116]

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

You'll paste in the "1" etc, at the end of libraryfolders.vdf, but before the last } in the file.
e.g.

"libraryfolders"
{
      "0"
      {
            "path" "F:\\Games\\steam"
            "label" ""
            "contentid" "7071093825777119709"
            "totalsize" "0"
            "update_clean_bytes_tally" "0"
            "time_last_update_corruption" "0"
            "apps"
            {
                "228980" "394985507"
            }
      }

"1" {"path" "XXXXXX"}
}

The path of 0 should be the location where you have Steam installed. Steam will set it, like you saw when Steam was undoing the replacement.

The path of 1 should be the old library.


I don't know if F:\Games\steam is the new or old folder. If it's the new/where you have Steam installed, then your file would follow what's in the box above, and you'd change the X's in the path of 1 to the old library.

If F:\Games\steam is the old library, run Steam so it'll correct the file. Then open the file and add "1" {"path" "F:\\Games\\steam"} at the end of the file but before the last }.

If stuck, let me know both directories and which is the old and which is the new.

So 0/F games is the new steam install location. The one with "1" right now is my other hard drive that also has steam games on it. So I'm trying to replace only "0" not "1".