How to Move a Steam Game to Another Drive

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If your primary hard drive is running out of space or you’ve installed a new and faster SSD, moving your Steam games to another drive can enhance performance and free up storage. Fortunately, Steam offers a built-in way to transfer games without needing to reinstall or risk corrupt files. In this guide, we’ll take you through a step-by-step process to move your Steam games to a new location efficiently and safely.

Why Move Steam Games to Another Drive?

There are several good reasons to move your games:

• Free up space on your primary drive.
• Improve loading times and performance by transferring to an SSD.
• Organize your library across multiple drives.

Whether you’re migrating to a larger HDD or a faster SSD, moving your game files can be done without redownloading anything. Follow these steps to ensure a smooth transition.

Step 1: Add a New Steam Library Folder

Before transferring any games, you need to let Steam know about the new install location:

1. Open the Steam client.
2. Click on Steam in the top-left corner and choose Settings.
3. In the Settings window, go to the Storage tab (older versions may label this as Downloads > Steam Library Folders).
4. Click the + icon and select or create a folder in your new desired drive.

The new folder is now available as a valid installation location for your games.

Step 2: Move an Installed Game

With the new library set up, you can transfer individual games easily. Here’s how:

1. In the Steam client, go to your Library.
2. Right-click on the game you want to move and select Properties.
3. In the Properties window, click on Installed Files (formerly “Local Files”).
4. Click on Move Install Folder.
5. Select the new drive and folder location, then click Move.

Steam will automatically transfer the necessary files. Depending on the game size and your drive speed, this may take a few minutes.

Step 3: Set Default Install Location (Optional)

If you plan to install future games on the new drive, it’s wise to make it your default installation path:

1. Go back to Settings > Storage.
2. Right-click on the new folder and select Make Default.

Steam will now install new games to this drive going forward unless you manually choose otherwise during installation.

Alternative Method: Manual Move (Advanced Users)

Though not officially recommended, you can manually move games using the following steps:

• Navigate to your steamapps folder and copy the game’s folder to the new location.
• Delete the original folder from the old drive.
• Launch Steam, click Install on the same game, and choose the new folder.
• Steam will detect existing files and verify them without redownloading.

Note: This method can lead to missing files or inconsistencies if done improperly. Always back up your data first.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues after moving a game, try the following:

• Run Steam as an administrator.
• Verify the integrity of the game files through the Properties menu.
• Ensure the new drive has adequate space and is not write-protected.
• Update Steam to the latest version.

Conclusion

Moving Steam games to another drive is a straightforward process that doesn’t require reinstalling. Using Steam’s built-in tools helps reduce errors and handles file placement correctly. Whether you’re optimizing for space or speed, this small change can make a significant difference in your gaming experience. Be sure to keep backups of your most valuable game data, especially save files, as an extra layer of protection before performing a transfer.