can I do a fresh install of windows 8.1 without having to reinstalling steam games

[ImRyan]

So I want to do a fresh install of 8.1 on my SSD but I don't want to have to reinstall my steam games which are on external HDD will I have to reinstall my games or do anything to be able to play them.

[thekeemo]

When you install games from steam it will detect the files

[imperialplanet]

It will only wipe the ssd but if you want to be safe just unplug the hdd and then reinstall windows

[jbslayer]

You don't have to reinstall. Just make sure everything you want to keep is on the HDD and reformat the SSD. Then when you've reinstalled steam, just install the games like normal and steam will first check if you have the files already.

[MaxBunny]

Backup your games to an external drive > install windows 8 > install Steam > move your games back to your steamapps common folder > when you try to install them from Steam again it will see the necessary files there and just run a validation check plus any updates.

 

That's it. It's faster to move your games over manually by copying/pasting the folders than it is to use Steam's backup and restore function.