Moving games between drives on Steam is a straightforward process thanks to Steam's built-in Storage Manager, allowing you to easily transfer your game installations to optimize storage or improve performance.
Why Move Your Steam Games?
There are several common reasons why you might want to relocate your Steam games:
- Performance Enhancement: Moving frequently played games from a slower Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to a faster Solid State Drive (SSD) can significantly reduce loading times and improve in-game performance.
- Storage Management: If your primary drive (often an SSD for your operating system) is running low on space, you can move larger, less frequently played games to a secondary, higher-capacity HDD.
- Organization: Consolidating certain types of games (e.g., all multiplayer games, or all games from a specific genre) onto dedicated drives for better organization.
- New Drive Installation: When you install a new drive, you'll likely want to move some or all of your games to it.
Step-by-Step Guide to Moving Steam Games
Steam provides a user-friendly interface within its client to manage game installations across different drives. Follow these steps to move your games:
- Launch the Steam Client: Open the Steam application on your computer.
- Access Steam Settings:
- In the Steam client, click on "Steam" in the top-left corner.
- Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.
- Navigate to Storage:
- In the Settings window, click on the "Storage" tab on the left-hand side. This will open the Storage Manager, showing all your Steam Library Folders across different drives.
- Select the Source Drive:
- At the top of the Storage Manager window, you will see a dropdown menu listing all the drives with Steam Library Folders. Select the drive where the games you wish to move are currently located.
- Choose Games to Move:
- Once you've selected the source drive, a list of all installed games on that drive will appear.
- You can select individual games by checking the box next to their names. To select multiple games, simply check all the desired titles.
- Initiate the Move:
- After selecting the games, click the "Move" button located at the bottom of the Storage Manager window.
- A dialog box will appear asking you to choose the destination drive for the selected games. Select the desired drive from the dropdown menu.
- Click "Move" again to confirm and start the transfer process.
Steam will then begin moving the selected games to the new drive. The time this takes will depend on the size of the games and the speed of your drives.
Tips for a Smooth Transfer
- Ensure Sufficient Space: Before starting the move, always double-check that your destination drive has enough free space to accommodate all the games you intend to transfer.
- Avoid Interruptions: While games are being moved, try to avoid performing other intensive tasks on your computer, and ensure your internet connection (if the game files need verification or minor downloads) is stable. Do not close the Steam client or shut down your PC.
- New Library Folder: If you are moving games to a drive that doesn't yet have a Steam Library Folder, Steam will automatically create one for you during the transfer process.
- Verify Game Files (Optional): After moving a game, if you encounter any issues, you can right-click the game in your Steam Library, go to "Properties," then "Installed Files," and click "Verify integrity of game files..." to ensure everything is in order.
Comparing Drive Types for Game Storage
Understanding the benefits of different drive types can help you decide where to store your games:
| Drive Type | Advantages | Disadvantages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSD (Solid State Drive) | Extremely fast read/write speeds, quick loading times, silent operation, more durable. | Higher cost per gigabyte, generally smaller capacities. | Operating system, frequently played games, competitive games where load times matter. |
| HDD (Hard Disk Drive) | Lower cost per gigabyte, very large storage capacities available. | Slower read/write speeds, longer loading times, mechanical parts, can be noisier. | Large game libraries, less frequently played games, media storage. |
By utilizing Steam's built-in game moving feature, you can effectively manage your game library across different drives, optimizing for both performance and storage space.
