Is it possible to move certain Steam games to an SSD

Jul 24, 2015  This process can be a pain for those who have bandwidth caps on their internet connection. But don’t worry, you can easily transfer your Steam games from one PC to another without downloading or installing them. How to Transfer Steam Games to another PC: Open Steam directory on PC #1. C:Program Files (x86)SteamSteamApps.

'I am running Windows 10 from a 1 TB Western Digital disk and have Steam installed on this HDD. Recently, I ran out of its space and bought a 128G Samsung 830 SSD. Now I'm thinking about adding the SSD to my PC and moving Steam games to SSD to get some improvement of the performance. For space limitation, I'd like to move a frequently played game, L4D2, the SSD, while keeping other games that are played less often on the HDD. However, I don't know how to move that single game to the SDD while keeping the rest on my old HDD. Is there any Steam game mover tool that can help to transfer Steam games without re-downloading?'

Like the case mentioned above, sometimes you may need to move Steam games to an SSD for certain reasons but have no idea about how to do it. When you are facing such a situation, don't worry! On this page, we would like to introduce you two ways to move Steam games to the SSD. Carry out the one best suited to your needs.

Move Steam games to the SSD by copying Steam games folder

Step 1. Go to 'Steam' > 'Settings' > 'Downloads' and click on 'Steam Library Folders'.

At the top and add the new location where you'd like to install the Steam games.

Step 2. Copy the game folder to your steam games folder on the SSD.

Step 3. In Steam, go to the game you just moved and right-click it and then delete local content.

Step 4. Go to that game again and install it, and when you're prompted to choose the install directory, select the SSD where you had copied the game.

Step 5. At this point, Steam will just do a check and verify the files are there and won't download anything.

Move Steam games to SSD with Steam game mover tool

If you feel the first way is too complex, you can try the second solution - move Steam games from HDD to SSD with a third-party Steam game mover tool. Here you can try EaseUS PC transfer software, a professional and user-friendly utility that can assist you to transfer Steam games to your SSD without reinstalling in a safe and easy way.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Todo PCTrans to start

Transfer Files From Mac To Pc

Run EaseUS Todo PCTrans on your Windows 10/8.1/8/7 computer. Navigate to the 'App Migration' transfer mode and click 'Start'.

Transfer Steam Games From Mac To Windows 10

Step 2. Choose the games you want to transfer

On the left bar, you need to choose the drive where the games are installed. Next, find the games you want to transfer and tick the box. Since you're going to move the selected games to the SSD, click 'Browse' to set the SSD as the target location. Finally, click 'Transfer'.

Step 3. Initiate the transfer process

EaseUS Todo PCTrans will start immediately to migrate the games from one hard drive to the SSD. Wait for the process to complete.

What to do if Steam error happens

If there is something wrong after the migration, you can follow the solutions below to fix it:

• Move the SteamApps folder from the Steam installation folder to your desktop.
• Uninstall Steam (this must be done to remove your old Steam installation settings from the Windows Registry).
• Reinstall Steam and copy your SteamApps folder back into the Steam installation directory
• Make sure that you have moved the SteamApps folder into the new Steam installation folder to copy all of your downloaded game content, settings, and saved games to the new location.

If a game has become corrupt, you can also have Steam automatically seek and swap damaged files by verifying the integrity of your local data:

Right-click on the broken game in your 'Steam library > Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game files'... Then, you can play your Steam games again.

Frequently asked questions

There are some freguently asked questions from the internet, You can get your answers here.

1. Should I put games on my SSD?

Yes, you should. SSDs (Solid-State Drives) perform much better than HDDs in many known aspects, like speed, reliability, and durability. SSDs use flash memory to deliver superior performance and durability. They deliver faster load times for games, applications, and movies. Because of the technology they use, SSDs are lighter and better able to withstand movement and drop page. Their advantages over HDDs are as follows:

• Faster reading and writing speed
• Better performance and reliability
• More energy-saving and less noise-making
• Stronger durability

As I have mentioned above, it is really a wise choice to put games on an SSD. For your operating system, application programs, and most-used files, you should upgrade to an SSD, as it offers dramatically improved speeds.

2. Can I move games from HDD to SSD?

Yes, you can. You can either <strong>move Steam games to SSD</strong> with the help of a software or manually changing the games folder. Most people are looking for ways to transfer Steam to another drive.

3. How do I move Windows 10 to SSD?

Users can install Windows 10 to an SSD without reinstalling Windows by cloning the system drive with the help of disk imaging software. Also read - how to migrate Windows 10 from HDD to SSD.

Here we’ve gathered two reliable and free methods for you to try:

If you are a Steam lover and looking for a practical method to transfer your Steam and games to another new computer without reinstalling Steam, you are at the right place.

For Your Information:

1. Please log in your Steam account before starting or during the Steam transferring.
2. And if you want to keep your games at the same pace on the new PC, please sync all your Steam games record to the Cloud before you start.
3. You’ll need a powerful and free PC transfer software to help you move the Steam platform to the new PC without reinstallation in both two methods. EaseUS Todo PCTrans Free can easily do this job for you without any payment, and it’s available for you to download and install on both of your PCs:

Method 1. Transfer Steam to new PC and re-download games

# 1. Transfer Steam to new PC without reinstallation

Note: If you want to transfer more than two files or programs to another computer, please activate it first for further more transferring capacity:

Step 1. Run EaseUS Todo PCTrans on both PCs

On the source PC, select 'PC to PC' on the main screen of EaseUS Todo PCTrans and click 'Continue' to move on.

Step 2. Connect two computers

1. Select your target PC to connect via its IP address or device name and click 'Connect'.

2. Enter the login password of your target PC and click 'OK' to confirm.

If you didn't see the target PC in the listed devices, you can also click 'Add PC' to manually connect the target PC by inputting its IP address or device name.

3. Set the transfer direction - 'Transfer from this PC to other PC' and click 'OK' to continue.

Step 3. Select apps, programs, and software and transfer to the target computer

1. Click 'Edit' on the application section, then you can open up the application list.

Then you can select and choose what you want to transfer from the current computer to the target PC.

2. After selecting desired applications and programs, click 'Finish' to confirm.

At last, click 'Transfer' to start the transferring process.

# 2. Run Steam on new PC and re-download games

After transferring Steam to the new computer, you may now run Steam and re-download your purchased games on your new PC:

1. 1. Run Steam on the new computer and log in with your Account.
2. 2. Click on [name]’s Account > Account Details located on the top right corner of Steam
3. 3. Check your Licenses + Subscriptions or your Store Transactions

There you should be able to see a list of all the games you’ve purchased and you can re-download them again on your new PC.
And of course, it will take you some time to re-download all the games again, which is mostly based on the game size and the network condition.

If you prefer a more efficient method, read on and try Method 2 for help.

Method 2. Backup Steam games, transfer Steam and restore games to new PC

It’s more efficient and time-saving to back up and restore your Steam games from old PC to a new computer with below-provided tips:

Step 1. Backup Steam games to an external hard drive

1. First of all, you should log in with your Steam account on Steam on your old PC
2. Click on Steam and select 'Backup and Restore Games...'

3. Check 'Backup currently installed programs' and click 'NEXT>'

4. Select a game or multiple games you want to bring over to the new PC and click 'NEXT>' again.
If you select several games, they will be backed up and transferred at one time.

5. Click 'BROWSE...' to choose the exact location where you want to back up the selected games.

If you haven't connected your external hard drive to the computer, connect now and select it again.

And also, you should make sure that your external hard drive has enough space for saving the games.

6. Create a folder named as 'Steam Games' on the external hard drive, select the folder and click 'NEXT>'.

7. Choose 'Files size - CD or DVD' and click 'NEXT>'. Usually, DVD is recommended (since DVD will be quicker to compress).

Wait for the process to complete, and once done, click 'Finish'.
8. Unplug the external hard drive from your old PC.

Step 2. Transfer Steam from PC to PC

Instead of wasting time re-downloading Steam from its official site, EaseUS Todo PCTrans Free will be a more efficient choice.

The way to transfer Steam from PC to PC is the same as listed in Method 1. You can directly scroll back to Method 1 and follow the transferring guide there.

Transfer Mac Files To Windows

Step 3. Restore backups of Steam games to new PC

1. Connect the external hard drive with Steam games back up to the new PC and log in Steam with your account.
2. Open up the Steam platform on the new PC and select Steam > Backup and Restore Games... > Select 'Restore a previous backup' and click on 'NEXT>'.

Transfer Files From Mac To Windows 10

3. Click 'BROWSE..' and select the folder on your external hard drive to find the Steam game backup, then click 'SELECT' > 'NEXT'.

4. Locate and choose a location where you want to restore the games on the new PC and click 'NEXT'.

Can You Transfer Steam Games From Mac To Pc

5. Click 'I AGREE' to accept restoring games to the new PC and wait for the process complete.
6. Last, click 'Finish' when the process completes.
After that, you can be able to find and play transferred Steam games under Library.

Mac Steam Games Location

Sometimes, if the games don't launch smoothly, restart the PC, and things will go all right.