SSD owners should be able to change default library

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GET OFF ME BUS Jan 4, 2013 @ 5:17am

SSD owners should be able to change default library

Hi, I have a suggestion for the Steam devs. I've also submitted a ticket (5707-PHNM-2551).

I got an SSD drive which is amazingly fast but also has a lower capacity than my secondary 1TB traditional HDD. Because of the lower capacity, I wanted to install the Steam client (a small program in itself) onto my SSD, so it loaded quicker and I wanted to install my games on my HDD as they wouldn't fit onto my SSD. Now I'm trying to install a Steam game which came on a retail disc, not from the Steam marketplace and it automatically installs it to the drive which the client is on (as I said, my SSD), because that's where it assumes the default library should be. Despite the ability to create a custom library, the default one which is selected automatically by certain games, cannot be changed meaning that the client has to go on my slower, secondary drive.

So my suggestion is, please give us SSD owners a special mode for our drives, or at least the option to change our default library - so we get the luxury of the client loading quickly from our SSD and the space of our secondary HDDs for our games.

Thank you.

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Showing 1-11 of 11 comments

piscikeeper Jan 4, 2013 @ 5:24am

Steam>Settings>Steam Library Folders

GET OFF ME BUS Jan 4, 2013 @ 5:39am

Originally posted by piscikeeper:
Steam>Settings>Steam Library Folders

That's where the problem lies. I said in my original post, if you read it all, that I can't see a way to change the default library. It may work fine when installing a game that asks you which library you want it in, but you see where it puts one that doesn't ask you (it puts it on the tiny SSD drive).

Glory to Ukraine! Jan 4, 2013 @ 5:53am

That's the game with old content system. You can do nothing about it.

I did have problem like you are, but then I bought second SSD, so I can remove old-crap-HDD forever.

Last edited by Glory to Ukraine!; Jan 4, 2013 @ 5:53am

piscikeeper Jan 4, 2013 @ 6:02am

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

My steam install is currently on it's own dedicated drive. If the disk copy keeps wanting to install to C, then you could just add the game key to the library and download it through the client.

Spawn of Totoro Jan 4, 2013 @ 7:34am

Not all games will allow for a diffrent directory. As 分裂 said, the old content doesn't allow it. They are converting the content still.

I use a 128GB SSD as my primary drive with a 3TB as me secondary. Steam and all my games are installed on the secondary drive. I still get fast load times after the initial loading of a game.

Delete everything in the Steam directory except Steam.exe and everything in the Steamapps folder. Run the Steam.exe and set the install directory to the second drive, move the Steamapps folder over. Re-verify the games and good to go!

If you want, you can have 2 instances of Steam installed. One on the Primary and the other on the secondary. Just need to close one then open the other.

Satoru Jan 4, 2013 @ 8:21am

You should really install steam on a secondary hard disk anyway. Many games still aren't on the new system so they're going to install on the 'default' location anyway. Also steam doesn't really benefit from being on an SSD because it's not I/O limited. Most games don't benefit either other than games that stream textures/assets while you're playing like Assassins' Creed so that you don't get the stuttering during such loading. Other than that the benefits are generally quite minimal for probably 80-90% of games.

TimeChills Jan 4, 2013 @ 8:31am

you should have all your games on the secondary mechanical drive anyways. as amazing as an SSD is the technology still is not up to par and writing and removing items all the time from your SSD is not good for the drive itself. you will barely notice the load time difference with a mech drive and it will do just what you want. keep your SSD as your boot drive and leave it at that until the tech is brought up to standards so that you don't burn out your SSD.

Suikoden Jan 4, 2013 @ 9:13am

Do what I did; get 3 SSDs. One for OS, one for Steam, one for whatever else.

ManiacMal Jan 4, 2013 @ 9:24am

Use SSD only for your boot drive that is your only benefit. Never and repeat never use the SSD for installs of any games, there is little to no benefit. SSDs can't do the amount of installing/uninstalling work HDs can, you stress out a SSD it will fail shortly after. Unless you like to have dead drives laying around.