Can you move game data folders and still have the game operate?

[corrado33]

Many of us have a faster drive (SSD) and a slower drive (HDD). So if I install my current game on my SSD, but then I get bored with it, can I move the entire folder to the storage drive and still have it work (assuming I update the shortcut definition?) I'd be a shame to have to reinstall it on the HDD just to move the files...

[Guest]

Yes you can. Which game

[Beeeyeee]

sometimes in the In-game menu you can choose where saves are located.

[ARikozuM]

Make a copy of the entire folder first and then move it. Some ini's hold the location in their contents.

[zMeul]

some games refuse to work if you move them, Paragon for example

in those cases, symbolic links - ftw!

[mariushm]

You can use the command line application MKLINK  to create a directory symbolic link.

For example,, let's say you have a game called GAME and it's installed in the C:\Games folder  but you want to move it to D:\AllGames\FromDriveC

You just move it manually there, so now you have D:\Allgames\FromDriveC\GAME  and now you can make a directory symbolic link to trick the game into thinking it's still running from C:

 

press start, type cmd in the search box, right click on cmd.exe and select run as administrator  (or press Ctrl+Shift when clicking on it, which means request administrator priviledges for it)

 

mklink /D C:\Games\GAME D:\Allgames\FromDriveC\GAME

 

and a folder will show up in C:\games\ called GAME and if you enter it, you're automatically redirected to the folder in D:  and if steam or any app requests any file from game in C: it's automatically served the file from the folder in D:

 

if you don't want to see the redirection, use /J instead of /D and that will create a junction instead of a directory symbolic link ( if you don't know the difference, it doesn't really matter)

 

 

[corrado33]

15 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

Yes you can. Which game

All of them. I wasn't thinking a single game, just a general practice.

1 minute ago, mariushm said:

You can use the command line application MKLINK  to create a directory symbolic link.

For example,, let's say you have a game called GAME and it's installed in the C:\Games folder  but you want to move it to D:\AllGames\FromDriveC

You just move it manually there, so now you have D:\Allgames\FromDriveC\GAME  and now you can make a directory symbolic link to trick the game into thinking it's still running from C:

 

press start, type cmd in the search box, right click on cmd.exe and select run as administrator  (or press Ctrl+Shift when clicking on it, which means request administrator priviledges for it)

 

mklink /D C:\Games\GAME D:\Allgames\FromDriveC\GAME

 

and a folder will show up in C:\games\ called GAME and if you enter it, you're automatically redirected to the folder in D:  and if steam or any app requests any file from game in C: it's automatically served the file from the folder in D:

 

if you don't want to see the redirection, use /J instead of /D and that will create a junction instead of a directory symbolic link ( if you don't know the difference, it doesn't really matter)

 

 

Great! Thanks for the great info.