How to Move Steam Games to Another Drive?

how to move steam game to another drive

Games from Steam are frequently installed on the default C drive. They are aware, though, that games typically take up a lot of room. The drive might already be full when they realize the problem. In addition, they want to transfer Steam games to a different drive. You must follow these steps if you want to move Steam games to a different drive.

When downloading games from Steam, you can select which library folder you want to install them in. Additionally, a recent update allows you to move a game you’ve already downloaded without having to download it again in its entirety.

Because you have a new SSD and want to move a few games, this process can prevent you from having to download tens or even hundreds of gigabytes of game data again. Instead of moving the entire Steam library folder, which moves every game inside of it, you can move just a few games by using the next method.

How to Move Steam Games to Another Drive?

It’s easy to move a Steam game to another internal or external drive, but the speed of the drive and the size of the game will affect how long it takes to transfer the game files. In the partition or storage drive that you choose, this procedure creates a new folder.

How to transfer Steam games to another driver is shown below.

Method 1: Move Games With the Built-in Move Install Folder Feature

You can move specific games to a different library or drive using Steam’s embedded feature. Do you wish to learn the specific steps? Don’t stop reading, please.

You can move individual games to a new library or drive using the Move Install Folder feature, but if you want to move several games at once, you will need the help of tools like Steam Library Manager and Steam Mover.

Steam also allows you to have multiple download folders via Add Library Folder, which means you can store the games on another drive by adding a steam library on the drive you want.

You can easily transfer Steam games to another drive after creating a new library folder on that drive using the Move Install Folder feature. To make the instructions below work, make sure your Steam is up to date.

Let’s examine the specific steps for the query of how to transfer Steam games to a different drive without re-downloading.

  • Step 1. Open Steam, and locate Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders > Add Library Folder.
  • The second step is to select a different drive and make a new folder. Name it and then click OK and SELECT to continue.
  • Step 3: The folder will then be visible in the list of Steam Library folders. Right now, you can close this window. All subsequent installations may be installed there once the new path has been established.
  • Step 4. Click LIBRARY to pen your Games library, and right-click on the game you want to move, and then choose Properties.
  • Step 5. Switch to the Local Files tab and click the button Move Install Folder.
  • Step 6: Select Move Folder to begin transferring your Steam games to another drive. Depending on the game’s size, it will take longer to finish.

Try moving Steam games one at a time to a different drive using this method. However, you can try the following techniques if you want to transfer multiple games to a different drive.

Method 2: Move Steam Games to Another Drive With Steam Library Manager

A tool called Steam Library Manager can be used to manage Steam libraries. All of your PC’s libraries and the games that are available in each of them are listed on the main interface of Steam Library Manager. You can back up, copy, and move your games with the aid of the Steam Library Manager.

You can easily drag and drop games from one library to another using Steam Library Manager. You can move in batches by using the Task Manager section. Following are detailed instructions for using Steam Library Manager to transfer games from one drive to another.

  • Download Steam Library Manager from the official website in Step 1.
  • Step 2: You can view the created Steam library and the games it contains on the main interface of Steam Library Manager. You can move the game by dragging it to the desired library.
  • Step 3. Locate to Task Manager tab. Here is a list of the games you’ll be moving to. You can move multiple games and then click the Start button to move steam games to another drive.
  • Step 4: A log will be generated as the progress of the game. It will let you know if there is a problem if there is one.
how to move steam game to another drive

Moving Steam games is simple with Steam Library Manager. If you don’t know how to transfer a Steam game to another drive, you can try downloading the Steam Library Manager from its official website.

Now, try moving your Steam games to a different drive or backing them up using the Steam Library Manager tool.

Method 3: Move Your Entire Steam Install

All of your Steam games can be moved to a different drive if you move your entire Steam library there. You can follow the steps below if you don’t know how to transfer steam to another drive.

  • Step 1: Close Steam and use Windows File Explorer to locate your Steam folder. The path could be C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam.
  • The Steam folder should be copied and pasted onto the new drive in Step 2.
  • Step 3: Rename the old folder. You can choose to delete it later or leave it in the original directory as a backup.
  • Step 4: Create a new shortcut and run Steam.exe from the new location.

It is very easy to transfer steam to another drive. You can check to see if your games can be launched normally once it’s finished.

What to Do If There is An Error When Moving My Steam Folder?

It’s possible that moving Steam folders on your computer won’t always work. You might encounter a challenge and be unsure of how to solve it. We still believe in you and will do everything in our power to help. If you are stuck with an error while moving game files to another drive, follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Close or exit Steam.
  • Step 2: On your computer folder, select drive D: > Games > Steam.
  • Step 3: Drag the SteamApps folder from the Installation folder to your desktop.
  • Step 4: To uninstall and then reinstall Steam games on your computer, follow the instructions.
  • Step 5: Now, move the SteamApps file to the new folder. Your pre-installed Steam games can all be easily moved to a different location using this method.
  • Step 6: For confirmation, sign into your Steam account.
  • Step 7: You must demonstrate that the cache file is present on your computer and that you are prepared to play any pre-installed games before you can start playing them.
how to move steam game to another drive

Things You Need to Know Beforehand

  • Log in to your Steam account before you move pre-installed games to your computer
  • Link your existing email address to your Steam account in case you have to change the password
  • Avoid moving Steam games to another external drive because external hard drives are typically slower and thus will cause performance issues
  • Create a backup folder for your Steam games
  • Move your My Games folder to the same destination on your hard drive where you are installing new games to save games.

Why Move Steam Games to Another Drive?

There are negative consequences when you install multiple games in one place on your computer. When you attempt to load the games, they might suddenly stop functioning or display an error message.

To overcome this problem, some people move games to another drive on their computer like taking game files from C: drive to D: drive.

The best way to guarantee that the games you install continue to function and keep you entertained is to do this. The hassle of installing large game files again will also be avoided.

Clearing space is yet another reason why some people transfer Steam games to different folders. Your drive’s capacity may improve the speed and efficiency of your gameplay. However, moving files manually on your computer is necessary.

Your C: drive will gradually fill up with files over time as a result of Steam’s automatic game installation, many (possibly all) of which will be games. You should transfer game files to a different drive for this and other reasons.

FAQs

What Should I Do If I Can’t Move Steam Files to Another Library?

When there is no more room for new game updates, this occurs. You might try uninstalling a few unnecessary game files to free up some space for your preferred game. After erasing a few games, remove the game file (the one you want to play) and reinstall it.

I Am Unable to Move the Pre-installed Folder for a Game to Another Drive. What Do I Do?

To move games seamlessly, you must set up your computer’s Steam destination folder as a Steam folder. You then need to try moving the game file to a different drive and close/exit Steam.

How Do I Change the Location of Fortnite?

On the drive where Fortnite should be moved, create a new Steam library folder. Right-click the Fortnite game in the Games Library and select Properties to access its properties. To move Fortnite to another drive, select Move Install Folder from the Local Files section, then click Move Folder.

Conclusion: Boost Your Gaming Experience

There are a few quick and easy steps you can take to transfer your Steam games to another drive. Creating a second library and transferring your games to it are the most common solutions. So now that you know how to do both, whether you need to make some space available or you want to run games at a faster speed.

You can leave a message in the following comment section and we will respond as soon as we can if you have any questions about how to move Steam games to another drive or if you have any other, better solutions.

Don’t forget to share this post if it helps you.

Leave a Reply