Can't transfer my games via USB drive to new PC

[Scars n Stripes]

Hello Steam Community! I've done a lot of searching around online for this topic but I'm facing a bit of a unique situation with my problem due to a couple circumstances. I just built a new PC and have Windows 11 on it and I want to get all my games off my old PC that is still running Win 7.

Yes, I know that Steam has given ample warning that support for Win 7 was ending at the beginning of this year but I never assumed it would mean that the games on my local files wouldn't work if I wanted to copy them and put them on the new PC.

I wish it were as simple as me just installing Steam on the new PC and letting things go from there but I have a stupid metered internet connection and am limited to 100G per month so that's never gonna work for me and I need a solution where I can put my games on portable hardware and then get them on the SSD of the new PC.

I tried copying a few small games onto a USB and then putting them on the new PC and then I go into the game itself and try to launch the exe file, and it does respond as if it is trying to open but the screen never changes, and no pop up or warning messages.

I'm just assuming now that this probably has something to do with the mismatch of the OS on each computer? Hell, I dunno??

[Snapjak]

If you can have both PCs on at the same time and on the same network, you can simply do a local transfer using Steam's built in option.

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

[Jerry]

Remember, that you do not only need to copy the game files, but also the appmanifest files belonging to them (the number of a game matches the one in the url of its shop page). Those files are necessary for your Steam client to know, that the game in question is installed. Best would be to transfer the whole Steamapps folder at once through an external drive or network connection.


P.S.: Installations on different operating systems are absolutely no issue here. I got games, that I once downloaded on a 32 bit Windows XP and carried over through three different PCs, still being recognised without any problem. :-)

[matt]

Just copy the game files to where Steam expects to find them. Preferable, don't install Steam in C:\Program Files (x86). This directory is managed by Windows, and you don't want your games managed. Move Steam to C:\Games (or whatever) if you installed it to Program Files. Then, put the games in C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common.

[Satoru]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2937159382

[Scars n Stripes]

Thank you guys, all the input has been helpful! Satoru, I read the guide and I've been able to establish a LAN for my PC's. But for some reason the "allow transfers from my own PC" option isn't showing up and it only says "anyone", "only me" or "steam friends".

This is happening on both PC's but I definitely have a connection observed in steam because my new PC will allow me to STREAM the games on my old PC but I can't seem to begin importing the titles. I tried turning off my wifi connection on the new PC and clicking the INSTALL option instead on a game to test but it failed and said no internet connection.

Edit: I just tried the "stream" option now on one of the games for the hell of it and that isn't working either. It just does nothing and then about 30 seconds later a generic steam pop up message comes up and says AUTHENTICATION ERROR. And I just now tried it again and it gave a different message of timed out waiting for stream to launch.

I'm about to throw in the towel and start moving them manually one by one like the guide says...

[xarvn]

1. You need to have Steam running, connected to the internet on the same network, and logged in to your account on both PCs.
   
2. You also must go to Settings -> Downloads and have "Allow transfers from this device to...Only Me" turned on both computers.
   
3. On the new PC try installing a small game as a test.
   
4. Click "Manage Downloads" at the bottom of the Steam app and observe. Do you see the blue box with "Transferring game files on local network device?"
   
5. If test is successful then install the rest of the games.

[Scars n Stripes]

Right, these steps above I've followed already. Like I said - it is missing the option of allow transfers.....

All I can say at this point is this network connection seems to have some bizarre behavior going on too because I gave up and started putting games on a large USB drive and porting them over to the new PC with the directions Satoru helped with for single game migration. I removed the ethernet cabled connection from the two PC and then turned my wifi on with the new PC and then plugged the internet cable back into the old PC so both PC's are connected to the internet.

Shortly after migrating a few small titles, when I went to try to put Black Mesa on the new PC it gave a message on the install pop up that said I could use a network connection to my other PC to save data! :D And these displays for showing a network connection involved with the download were finally there!

Regardless I'll eventually get my library ported over - luckily all my titles are older games that are less than 100G

[Muppet among Puppets]

Just copy the steam folders on the same place on new pc.

And only if you want a game on another drive than before you manually copy the game and the appmanifest file (number like in store url)

[xarvn]

Originally posted by Scars n Stripes:

Right, these steps above I've followed already. Like I said - it is missing the option of allow transfers.....

Sorry. I should have been more specific. You need first to go to Steam -> Settings -Downloads and turn on "Game File Transfer over Local Network" then the option to "Allow transfers from this device to ..." will appear.

On further thought, file transfer over LAN may not be compatible with Windows 7. I am unable to test if this is so at the moment.