All Discussions > Steam Forums > Help and Tips > Topic Details

Meccanizer Jun 9, 2014 @ 3:54pm

Can i compress the steam folder

I relized steam takes up alot of space 187gb!!! so i wanted to know if i can compress the folder to save up some space and if so should i use a programm for it?

Last edited by Meccanizer; Jun 10, 2014 @ 12:30pm

Something went wrong while displaying this content. Refresh

Error Reference: Community_9721151_

Loading CSS chunk 7561 failed.
(error: https://community.fastly.steamstatic.com/public/css/applications/community/communityawardsapp.css?contenthash=789dd1fbdb6c6b5c773d)

Showing 1-12 of 12 comments

TirithRR Jun 9, 2014 @ 3:57pm

Some Operating systems can automatically compress drives (but it slows the drive down). But it's better just to get another HDD, they are cheap these days. IMO, the speed drop isn't worth it.

Last edited by TirithRR; Jun 9, 2014 @ 3:58pm

ᴠᴀʀ Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:02pm

You can refresh your steam files by deleting files inside the steamfolder. This may get you some more free space. Don't be suprised if it's just a few MB...

You can refresh these files without deleting your game files.
Please follow this process to refresh your Steam files:

Exit Steam
Navigate to your Steam installation directory. (C:\Program Files\Steam\ by default.)
Delete everything in that directory EXCEPT the following:
steam.exe
steamapps directory (All of Steam's game files are kept here.)
OPTIONAL : Userdata directory (Contains screenshots + steamguard + autologin)
Restart Steam (Click the steam.exe)

Last edited by ᴠᴀʀ; Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:04pm

TirithRR Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:03pm

Refreshing Steam files isn't the question here :)

ᴠᴀʀ Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:05pm

Originally posted by TirithRR:
Refreshing Steam files isn't the question here :)

It's not refreshing, it's clearing up log files and old data. Or is compression something different these day's? Surely it ain't the same, but the purpose (Gaining more free space) is totaly relevant.

Last edited by ᴠᴀʀ; Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:06pm

Meccanizer Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:09pm

Originally posted by sm0:
You can refresh your steam files by deleting files inside the steamfolder. This may get you some more free space. Don't be suprised if it's just a few MB...

You can refresh these files without deleting your game files.
Please follow this process to refresh your Steam files:
Exit Steam
Navigate to your Steam installation directory. (C:\Program Files\Steam\ by default.)
Delete everything in that directory EXCEPT the following:
steam.exe
steamapps directory (All of Steam's game files are kept here.)
OPTIONAL : Userdata directory (Contains screenshots + steamguard + autologin)
Restart Steam (Click the steam.exe)

i dont wana delete all my steam files except steam.exe i will feel like everything will be lost

gladiator Jun 9, 2014 @ 4:15pm

Just buy new hdd.

KKiONI Jun 9, 2014 @ 5:39pm

It's not the best idea to compress the folder that stores game data. This could introduce stuttering in your game caused by the game taking longer to retrieve assets.

Originally posted by Mangekyo Sharingan:
i dont wana delete all my steam files except steam.exe i will feel like everything will be lost

It shouldn't harm data you would want to keep provided you follow the steps exactly. Although, the amount of space you'd gain from that would be minimal.

My suggestion would be to just get an external hard drive to install your games on or to go through your list of installed games and uninstall games you haven't played in a while.

Last edited by KKiONI; Jun 9, 2014 @ 5:47pm

Silicon Vampire Jun 9, 2014 @ 5:42pm

You would not gain much space for the drawbacks it causes. games are mostly compressed anyway...

SlayaNoob Dec 6, 2015 @ 12:30am

I compress my steam library. 1.12 TB down to 922 GB. Use the built in Windows Compression. There are some drawbacks. The games are slower to update and if you do this on an SSD, you will kill your SSD faster from excess writes. The benefits are you would get more space depending on your games and possible increase on loading speed. I have noticed faster loading speed as smaller data can be read quicker and the processor can decompress the data on the fly.

✪ BlackMaster ✪ Mar 19, 2016 @ 12:01pm

i keep all my steam games on separate HDD but only dota 2 is on my SSD in the steam install folder. i have the entire steam folder compressed with windows and it drops from 15.6 GB to 11.4 GB, wich is not something to ignore and i have noticed apsolutely no difference in fps, load times etc. Don't know how this would affect HDD but maybe you can try, it worst case scenario you get longer load times and uncompress it. Windows compresion works by making files smaller and decompressing them with CPU while they are in RAM.

#10