steam backup? gonna be formatting
- Thread starter _Jimlad_
- Start date
if i'm not fussed about the games can i just download steam again and then download the games as and when i want them? as its only left4dead that i want access to and i have a real isssue with data size, trying to back it all up with a handful of drives
You can just backup L4D if you want, otherwise I believe there shouldn't be any probles however I'm not 100% certain on certain games needing to be de-authorised, hopefully someone might be able to help especially if you listed which one's, but as far as I'm aware STEAM products don't require de-authing.
Yeah any Valve stuff like L4D or TF2 you can install on as many computers as you like without any of that activating/authorisation nonsense. When I've just wanted to transfer my installed games to another computer, I've personally always used the Steam backup tool rather than copy all the folders manually as it's just easier that way. It may take a bit longer as Steam will compress the files when it makes the backup and will have to uncompress them when they are installed again, but that's the only annoyance really.
You can download anything when you want easily. If a game is not installed it will just appear in another list called something like available games. Simply double clicking on it and following the instructions will download all the necessary data again.
There maybe a few third party games which may have some DRM which has an install limit or whatever seperate to the Steam stuff but these are in the minority. Also bear in mind if you download games again at a later date, your save games may not be able to be downloaded. I've not tested it myself, but I believe a few of Valve's games (and possibly a few others as well) uses what is called the Steam Cloud I think where your saves are stored online. Another thing I can't remember if you use the Steam backup tool whether save games get transfered for all games. It may differ on a game by game basis, but to be sure, I would back up all your important saves manually just in case.
You can download anything when you want easily. If a game is not installed it will just appear in another list called something like available games. Simply double clicking on it and following the instructions will download all the necessary data again.
There maybe a few third party games which may have some DRM which has an install limit or whatever seperate to the Steam stuff but these are in the minority. Also bear in mind if you download games again at a later date, your save games may not be able to be downloaded. I've not tested it myself, but I believe a few of Valve's games (and possibly a few others as well) uses what is called the Steam Cloud I think where your saves are stored online. Another thing I can't remember if you use the Steam backup tool whether save games get transfered for all games. It may differ on a game by game basis, but to be sure, I would back up all your important saves manually just in case.
Don't forget save games are not always stored with games files and are sometimes stored elsewhere.
like all my games, steam has a permanent home on my d: drive. i never need to re-install/backup anything ever again. it just works straight off the bat even on a clean windows install. i don't even need to run the steam installer. just running steam.exe from the main folder sets it up again and it works perfectly. 
like all my games, steam has a permanent home on my d: drive. i never need to re-install/backup anything ever again. it just works straight off the bat even on a clean windows install. i don't even need to run the steam installer. just running steam.exe from the main folder sets it up again and it works perfectly.
wish i had room for another hard drive in my shuttle
Soldato
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wish i had room for another hard drive in my shuttle
How many drives do you have in your shuttle?
I have 3 in mine at present lol. Possible to fit a 4th if i removed the dvd rom drive.
wish i had room for another hard drive in my shuttle
it doesn't have to be another drive. it could be another partition on the same drive. saves so much hassle but then i re-install windows a bit too often. damn all these windows beta/release candidates and what not....
Man of Honour
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it doesn't have to be another drive. it could be another partition on the same drive. saves so much hassle but then i re-install windows a bit too often. damn all these windows beta/release candidates and what not....
so how come steam does not need to be reinstalled then?
don't ask me. it just works. that's all i know. when using vista/7, you have to right click the .exe and "run as administrator" the first time you run it. here's a related post i made recently....
inside your steam folder is steam.exe - just run it again on a clean install (folder location doesn't matter. it can be anywhere).
infact i'm on a brand spanking new install myself. this is what happens when you run it first time - make sure you right click and run as administrator (you only need to run as admin first time though)
then you just need to supply your login details and away you go. also you'll need to configure any preferences again too.