Use an external drive with Steam ?

[Cawotte]

Hi ! I got a laptop PC with a low storage ( 500Go HDD + 120Go SSD ) and wondered if it was possible to have a part of my steam library on an external hard drive ?
It is possible ? If yes then how ? ( I have to install Steam on the external drive, just make a specific folder or change a directory path ? )
If I can't, does it's possible to store some games on the hard drive, delete them on my PC, and then copy/paste them back in /common to play it again instead of download it again ?

Thanks ! :)

[lol]

yeah it's possible that's what i'm doing with my steam
i'm pretty sure you just install steam in the other drive and all the games will download from there

[demo]

All my steam games are on an external drive.

Go to "view" in the menu and open "settings" then click the downloads tab on the right of the pop-up, click "Steam library folders" and you`ll see another pop-up, you can create a new library folder by using the "Add library Folder" button.

Direct it to where you want the library on your external drive and save.

Now every time you install a game you`ll have the option of saving/installing to the new folder.

[Cawotte]

Thanks you ! :)

[V]

Yes , you can have Steam on an external hard drive.

Just redirect all your downloads and games into that hard drive and it'll work fine.

[aleup ҉]

Originally posted by demo:

All my steam games are on an external drive.

Go to "view" in the menu and open "settings" then click the downloads tab on the right of the pop-up, click "Steam library folders" and you`ll see another pop-up, you can create a new library folder by using the "Add library Folder" button.

Direct it to where you want the library on your external drive and save.

Now every time you install a game you`ll have the option of saving/installing to the new folder.

thanks

[Bundesotter]

The thread is old, but I write to 'you' anyway, in case anyone else finding this while searching for the same problem can see this:

Games heavily rely on 'Random Access' Speed, so Harddrives with Magnetic Disks are really not great for anything but saving Data anymore these days. USB Flash Drives do not have the reliability and longevity.

Maybe look into an External SSD, Samsung sells some, or you can build one out of an enclosure and an internal SSD. For 150€ you should be able to get a Terrabyte of external SSD, all in the size of a large USB Stick.

Note that you need USB 3 to make proper use of this either way. Playing games off USB 2 will NOT be fun.

Another question though, did you look into upgrading your internal storage?

[Cawotte]

I think in the end, I ended up saving big games I wasn't playing anymore in a Steam folder in the external hard drive, and moved them back on my internal storage when I wanted to play them again.

Since then, I got a new gear with a lot more storage, the average internet speed increased enough to make game quicker to download, and I also play less, effectively suppressing the issue.

An external SSD would probably works to get enough speed to play games correctly, but I think most people having internal storage issues are looking for cheaper solutions, otherwise they'd have probably upgraded directly the internal storage. Though travelers might have use for it.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Cawotte:

I think in the end, I ended up saving big games I wasn't playing anymore in a Steam folder in the external hard drive, and moved them back on my internal storage when I wanted to play them again.

This is what I always suggest, basically, as to store the files there and move them to the internal hard drive when wanting to play that game.

It does cause more writes to a drive, but gets around all the potential problems that using externals might create.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8379-RYIP-2998

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

This support pages state that using externals with Steam/games is "not recommended". But some do install them there and make it work, but everything has to be set up correctly. Storing the files and moving them, like you said, is better IMO.

[Phase_verocity]

I have 2 tablets and a laptop. I need all three for different things. My tablets can run fallout 4. Steams folder's are a pain. Basically if i start steam up and I don't have the external drive plugged in it forgets the folder. If I add the folder it finds the games but every game has to be reinitialized through its set up procedure.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

I have 2 tablets and a laptop. I need all three for different things. My tablets can run fallout 4. Steams folder's are a pain. Basically if i start steam up and I don't have the external drive plugged in it forgets the folder. If I add the folder it finds the games but every game has to be reinitialized through its set up procedure.

It's just one of the reasons using externals is not recommended with Steam and games :

It's covered in the support pages above :

Originally posted by The Giving One:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8379-RYIP-2998

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

Or a simple solution that I do is store game files on externals, then transfer them to internals.

- Solves the space problem of having an internal drive that is full due to games all the time
- Gets around the performance issues and connection issues with using externals with Steam

Move the files of the game you want to play with Steam closed, making sure to also get the .acf file for that game, place everything in the right place, restart Steam, and problem solved.

It only takes a few seconds to move files and folders. Only down side is, it causes more writes to a drive, but how long do people keep the same computer and drives nowadays anyway ?

[rawWwRrr]

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

Basically if i start steam up and I don't have the external drive plugged in it forgets the folder.

Soooo.... plug in the drive THEN start Steam.

[Phase_verocity]

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

Basically if i start steam up and I don't have the external drive plugged in it forgets the folder.

Soooo.... plug in the drive THEN start Steam.

I understand that. okay so basically i just can't use the games i've paid for when i don't have the drive plugged in or I have to reinitialize all 200 or so games. For a program that started by forcing the world to use their platform by taking triple A games out of the shops I sure would think they'd have the sense to do something about it. Not to mention the amount of money they make.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

okay so basically i just can't use the games i've paid for when i don't have the drive plugged in or I have to reinitialize all 200 or so games. For a program that started by forcing the world to use their platform by taking triple A games out of the shops I sure would think they'd have the sense to do something about it. Not to mention the amount of money they make.

Oh boy......

1. The ability to use the games or not has nothing to do with Steam in this case. It's how you are managing your computer's space or hardware use there. That's up to you how you do that, not Steam or Valve. You don't even have to keep 200 games installed all the time, at the same time.

You can manage the games as I said above. Games stored, not installed, on the external, and moved to the internal when you want to play a certain game. Problem solved.

2. No one is "forcing" anyone to do anything. You choose to use Steam and that's your responsibility, too. The fact that they have a good platform and makes people more likely to want to choose them, still leaves the decision to join Steam up to the potential user. In this case, you.

3. Valve did not take AAA games out of shops. That's just the way of the industry. That's like saying that the most popular singer of the age of music when we had CD's first being used for music, was at fault for the end of cassette tapes no longer being sold.

Physical medial is going away in not just games, but with music, movies, etc., too. Is that also Valve's fault ?

4. How much money they make is due to the choice people make in order to spend it here.

Look, you revived a thread that was posted in 2016 and I clearly outlined how you can get around this in my post. How you store your game files there is totally up to you.

Stop looking for someone or something else to blame, please.

[Phase_verocity]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

okay so basically i just can't use the games i've paid for when i don't have the drive plugged in or I have to reinitialize all 200 or so games. For a program that started by forcing the world to use their platform by taking triple A games out of the shops I sure would think they'd have the sense to do something about it. Not to mention the amount of money they make.

Oh boy......

1. The ability to use the games or not has nothing to do with Steam in this case. It's how you are managing your computer's space or hardware use there. That's up to you how you do that, not Steam or Valve. You don't even have to keep 200 games installed all the time, at the same time.

You can manage the games as I said above. Games stored, not installed, on the external, and moved to the internal when you want to play a certain game. Problem solved.


2. No one is "forcing" anyone to do anything. You choose to use Steam and that's your responsibility, too. The fact that they have a good platform and makes people more likely to want to choose them, still leaves the decision to join Steam up to the potential user. In this case, you.

3. Valve did not take AAA games out of shops. That's just the way of the industry. That's like saying that the most popular singer of the age of music when we had CD's first being used for music, was at fault for the end of cassette tapes no longer being sold.

Physical medial is going away in not just games, but with music, movies, etc., too. Is that also Valve's fault ?

4. How much money they make is due to the choice people make in order to spend it here.

Look, you revived a thread that was posted in 2016 and I clearly outlined how you can get around this in my post. How you store your game files there is totally up to you.

Stop looking for someone or something else to blame, please.

point 1. yes it does have to do with steam. if they want people to keep buying games that they want to play. I mean what is the point in paying for games if you're not going to play them. I like to play all my games sometimes.

point 2. of course no one is forcing me to buy AAA games of steam. I can just go to a games store and buy them.. oh wait. even if i buy them from a games store I still have to install steam. People complain about epic stopping sales of games on steam. steam did exactly the same thing.

point 3. AAA games disappeared from shops when steam began its online store. I mean what's the point in buying the disc when you have to download it anyway.

point 4. How much money they make depends how many game developers produce good games. They take 30% of the game developers money to do it. while this still works out cheaper for developers it doesn't cost them anywhere near that much to put it on steam. Of course we can see how hard they work when they can't even fix the external drive problem.


oh yeah.. also i don't want to have to spend up to 4 hours waiting for a game to be reinstalled from a backup. Yes that's how long you're way takes.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

point 1. yes it does have to do with steam. if they want people to keep buying games that they want to play. I mean what is the point in paying for games if you're not going to play them. I like to play all my games sometimes.

They will keep on selling games with or without those that don't understand basic computer use and storage capabilities. You not understanding these is not their fault.

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

point 2. of course no one is forcing me to buy AAA games of steam. I can just go to a games store and buy them.. oh wait. even if i buy them from a games store I still have to install steam. People complain about epic stopping sales of games on steam. steam did exactly the same thing.

No, you don't have to install Steam. You can buy from GoG, for example. Plenty of other places you can buy games, but your CHOOSE to buy here. That's on you.

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

point 3. AAA games disappeared from shops when steam began its online store. I mean what's the point in buying the disc when you have to download it anyway.

Then download it some place else, like GoG for example. Regardless, you will still have to understand basic computer hardware and storage capabilities wherever you download them from, and you need help in that area of understanding, clearly.

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

Of course we can see how hard they work when they can't even fix the external drive problem.

The external drive "problem" is not a "they" problem.......it is a "you" problem. Created by you and continues to exist because of you.

How you store your games there is not Valve's fault. That's on you.

Originally posted by Phase_verocity:

oh yeah.. also i don't want to have to spend up to 4 hours waiting for a game to be reinstalled from a backup. Yes that's how long you're way takes.

Then you have worse problems on your system than I thought. Takes literally seconds for a copy of game files to be restored from backups here on my system. Drag, drop....play.

Simple.