Installing Steam as a normal user in Windows

[ferferga]

Last day, I wanted to install Steam in a shared computer where there aren't administration rights for my user account, because it is linked to a domain. I thought at first that I could install Steam in my user directory (like Spotify, installed in AppData). Unfortunately, I needed to run the installer as admin all the time, even if I extract the Steam executable from the installer, at first run, I need administration rights.

Imagine that I want indie games in a shared computer in an organization or something. Why to bother with the domain settings or all the system and make easier the installing of Steam?.

I think that a command line parameter can be added to perform the installation (so people with admin rights would have an easy installation as well, without the need of right-clicking the installer and choosing "Run as admin".). The way to install the program as admin could be posted in the help forums or near the download button, with instructions in how to install, so everything is clear.

That would be really cool, and probably useful for many people, as the aim of Steam is to be available in as much sites as possible.

Thanks!

[Darren]

Most people don't do their gaming in environments where they don't have administrative rights on the machine. Additionally the administrator could install Steam and then everyone can run it because Steam works the same no matter what Windows account tries to use it (i.e. it's not installed per user it's installed per system).

There would be a lot of work to refactor it to a per user system which would remove the administrative rights.

[Start_Running]

Not possible. Quitre simply. the powers of a normal user are not standardized and can vary from system to system. Secondly. Well, an installer simply needs certain powers to function.. like creating directories, modifying the registry. etc.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Just get DRM-free copies of all the games instead.

[Darren]

Oh it's definitely possible to do it. There is no reason for 90% (maybe even 100%) of what Steam does to require more than standard user permissions (installing games to a User directory like My Games for example). It's just the system wasn't written that way, and it was written in the days where everything had to be installed with Administrator permissions.

Of course even if Steam did work with just a user installation, it would still require for some games Administrative priveleges. But while it's possible to do it we are talking months of effort they'd basically have to rewrite Steam from the ground up as a user isolated system.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Quint the Island Fox:

Just get DRM-free copies of all the games instead.

Wouldn't really make a difference. Depending on how the game's installer works it's likely to have the same problems. meaning system redistributeables . and registry entries. Some games actually do require some notes in the registry and sadly this is not something DRM-Free can fix since for the most part all that has been done is to put a wrapper around the installer to make it think the install disks are present.

The other point is. If you don't have admin rights to the system you're installing steam on.. you probably shouldn't be installing steam on it. Since clearly you are not the owner and the opwner does not like things installed without their permission and had you their permission you would have admin access.

[ferferga]

I think that only changes in the installer are needed, and probably some changes on how the games are installed (the uninstall registry should be added somehow, the same as should be done with Steam, but Spotify, for example, has). Also, requisites like DirectX and so on would need to be installed into the game directory instead into the system, so the game would load the DirectX and requisites from the game main directory.

Oh, and with Steam you can run games without internet, the only thing you need is admini rights (that's why I suggest this) :D

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by ferferga:

I think that only changes in the installer are needed, and probably some changes on how the games are installed (the uninstall registry should be added somehow, the same as should be done with Steam, but Spotify, for example, has). Also, requisites like DirectX and so on would need to be installed into the game directory instead into the system, so the game would load the DirectX and requisites from the game main directory.

Oh, and with Steam you can run games without internet, the only thing you need is admini rights (that's why I suggest this) :D

And thusly every game would have a copy of the entire directX library.

As said. This is not likely to change because it's a fair assumption: i you don't have admin rights or permission from the admin to install steam ona machine.. you likely shouldn't be doing it.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Originally posted by Quint the Island Fox:

Just get DRM-free copies of all the games instead.

Wouldn't really make a difference. Depending on how the game's installer works it's likely to have the same problems. meaning system redistributeables . and registry entries. Some games actually do require some notes in the registry and sadly this is not something DRM-Free can fix since for the most part all that has been done is to put a wrapper around the installer to make it think the install disks are present.

The other point is. If you don't have admin rights to the system you're installing steam on.. you probably shouldn't be installing steam on it. Since clearly you are not the owner and the opwner does not like things installed without their permission and had you their permission you would have admin access.

Fair enough.

Though for what it's worth I am thinking of those situations where you can basically run a game program from a flash drive (or from copying the game files and executable over from a flash drive).

[Darren]

There are definitely games that have been setup so they will run in user-mode entirely without needing any administration rights. It's just not common on games made before 2010 (before that everyone just thought of Windows as a single-user operating system, not a multi-user operating system).