Is it possible to purchase and run TWO copies of Skyrim on the SAME PC....

[Theleb_Kaarna]

...under the Same User Account? I do a lot of modding and tinkering and ideally would like to have one copy of Skyrim that's modded, stable and that I primarily play on, and one copy of Skyrim that I use for experimentation, mod testing and compatibility testing.

Crazy request I know, just wondering if it's possible with the way Steam operates. Appreciate any thoughtful responses, thanks in advance!

[Spawn of Totoro]

Not under the same account no.

You can make another account and install another Steam in a diffrent directory. That is as close as you can get.

What is it you are trying to do?

[Theleb_Kaarna]

Thanks for the response, ya, agreed, would definitely wait for a sale.

1. OK, so to be perfectly clear, I can purchase a second copy of Skyrim as a "Gift", then what? Do I somehow have to send it to myself or will it just automatically show up in my Games Library, stacked right above or below my original copy ready to be downloaded/installed?

2. Which I assume means it's associated with my same User Account as the original copy?

3. Also, and to be clear, once it's installed it will act completely independent of my original copy, correct?

4. So for example I could set one to "auto update" and the other to not "auto-update", or purchase/install Official DLCs/plug-ins for one copy but not the other?

Thanks again=)

[Spawn of Totoro]

A gift will sit in your inventory. Steam will not allow a second Skyrim to be added to the same account.

What are you trying to do? If you tell me, I can offer a way that may work.

@TheBDK
He is trying to add a second copy to his current account. That is not possible. He doesn't want to gift it, he wants them both on one account.

[Theleb_Kaarna]

Thanks for the responses Guys.

@Spawn of Totoro just check my original post to see why I want two copies of Skyrim.

I would've been surprised if I could actually have two copies of the same game on one Account, especially considering all the security related issues associated with Steam. For example just seeing what's involved with cleanly removing Steam from a PC altogether shows really how your Account is tied to your PC itself, not just the hard drive. So this brings me to my next (possibly final) question:

I have four separate hard drives on my PC. To be clear, not one hard drive with four partitions, but four physical hard drives. So would it be possible to create a new Account, install a second copy of Steam on one of my other hard drives, then purchase a second copy of Skyrim and other games, so effectively having two installs of Steam on the same PC?

[Spawn of Totoro]

rezleraz の投稿を引用：

I have four separate hard drives on my PC. To be clear, not one hard drive with four partitions, but four physical hard drives. So would it be possible to create a new Account, install a second copy of Steam on one of my other hard drives, then purchase a second copy of Skyrim and other games, so effectively having two installs of Steam on the same PC?

I suggested that in my other post. I haven't tried it, but I hear it is possible. Not sure about running both at one time. May need a monster of a computer to do it.

If you are doing this for modding, you can run Skyrim and the CK at the same time. There is a console command tha reload the mods so you don't have to keep restarting Skyrim. I forget what the command was, but it was listen in the patch notes a few patches back.

[Theleb_Kaarna]

I wouldn't need to run them at the same time, in fact I would only ever need to logged-in to one Account at-a-time. I found this on Steam Support:

Can I use multiple Steam accounts on one computer?

Yes, you can access different Steam accounts from one computer. However, you may only access one account at a time.

The accounts will share the core files for any games the accounts have in common, but each account will maintain its own custom content and configuration files.

So apparently "Yes you can", however the last line: "The accounts will share the core files for any games the accounts have in common, but each account will maintain its own custom content and configuration files." is a possible problem(?). The reason is when modding I go into the Skyrim "Game Directory" and "Data" folders and make alterations/modifications there. If I did this to one of my copies of Skyrim, I wouldn't want my other copy idetically altered automatically by Steam. So I guess my question now is would it do that or would my copies of Skyrim remain independent of one another?

[Spawn of Totoro]

So you want one copy to mod as you like and the other to play (with or withour mods)?

That artical is refering to the accounts, not the installs.

Try this.

Copy everything but the Steamapps folder into another directory. Log in using the new "Steam". If it shows everything needs to be installed, download a small game to test with. If it is in the Steamapps folder in that directory, then you can create a new account, buy Skyrim and download it in there. You should be able to keep them seperate if it works like I think it will.

[Phase_verocity]

I don't think its a good idea to run two copies of steam games through two accounts as a lot of the games settings are stored in the registry such as its location. For instance there is a skyrim registry setting that points it to its location. Running the second copy after you have run the first without verifying the games files would mean the second copy would get the first copies location from the registry. Better option is to copy the contents of one game to a new folder then simply rename the one you want to use to the right name that steam sees it. Another option is to use a mod manager like mod organizer or nexus mod manager. Then you just have to switch profiles.

[Phase_verocity]

I don't think its a good idea to run two copies of steam games through two accounts as a lot of the games settings are stored in the registry such as its location. For instance there is a skyrim registry setting that points it to its location. Running the second copy after you have run the first without verifying the games files would mean the second copy would get the first copies location from the registry. Better option is to copy the contents of one game to a new folder then simply rename the one you want to use to the right name that steam sees it. Another option is to use a mod manager like mod organizer or nexus mod manager. Then you just have to switch profiles.