Copying 'steamapps' folder to new laptop..

I once had to totally uninstall steam on my M1730 due to some corrupt files and was able to move my steamapps folder and copy it back in after the install so I didn't have to download all my games again.

Would there be any issues copying this folder across an ethernet cable to my M18X from the M1730? Bearing in mind that I'm going from a 32bit W7 install to a 64bit W7 install.

Would be quite helpful not to have to download everything again.

 

Just go to settings and choose "backup" and then create a backup on a usb drive.
Then, you can go to your new computer and choose import (or something like that) select your backup file you just made and it will reinstall everything for you.

You can also do it this way
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

D.

 

+1 Rep, this will save me some time once the new beast comes in.

 

Rep +1 Thanks

 

also your original method in OP should work fine. Steam has it's own file system, and will verify the contents of your games before downloading them again (although if any files are modified it may re-download them).

 

You can do that, or copy your whole Steam folder onto the other computer/drive partition.

However, you will have to reinstall DirectXs and Runtimes.

 

Yeah, I just copy everything over from the steamapps folder as well - went from XP x86 to Vista x86 to Win 7 RC1 x64 to Win7 x64 and never had any problems. Since I only use a 160GB SSD in my system, I keep most of my Steam stuff on an external HDD and swap stuff on and off whenever I finish one game and want to start another.

I've never had any problems other than waiting for updates that have come out since my last manual backup. It's a great solution. Of course, Steam's backup feature might be fine as well, but I've always assumed there's some processing going on there, which would make it probably slower than just copying everything to a backup drive.

Anyone with experience using Steam backup, I know I could look it up somewhere else, but what all does it entail? Does it compress stuff into a smaller size? Does it take longer than just copying the folder over? Does it include any updates you've installed, or any saved games (Only those in the game folder? Any saved games regardless of where they're saved?)? Does it take longer to set the game back up?

 

Copy the whole steam folded on your new laptop but delete the file called ClientRegistry.blob and youll be fine.
Also steam backup creates DVD-size files for the ease of burning them, so most of the games will be split in more than 2 files.
IMHO the folder copy method still the fastest one.

 

Just copy it, afterwards click 'install' on the game and Steam will download the final files for running it. No need to worry.

 

Like mentioned, it will create DVDs and given nowadays games there are at least two. The files are compressed and occupy less space, but the method is still very slow in comparison with the copy/paste folders method. Basically you are compressing the game folder, thus all updates are included but not the saved games (those are always stored in other places).

 

You can also store the backup image on a hardrive (internal/external whatever).... it does not have to be on a dvd.

I usually make a backup "image" onto my usb hardrive so I can move games between computers without downloading them again (darn internet caps).

You can also select every game, just one game, or any combination there.

Then when you reinstall/move them to a new computer you can select which games to reinstall (any or all).

It is very handy and did not take too long to back them up.

D.

 

I also moved from the Steamapps folder to backuping each game separate on my HDD with the built in backup feature.
Im at around 130gb on my backup folder, and im only backuping all my "good" games. xD

 

Okay, so Steam Backup doesn't sound like it's worth the trouble compared to just copying the folders to a backup drive, then. If I cared about having them compressed, I could do that myself with 7zip. It's a shame that it doesn't integrate saved game backups. Sure, a lot of that is moving to the cloud, but for those games that aren't saved to the cloud, it would be pretty useful - otherwise it's a pain in the butt to track down, back up, and then eventually restore the saved games to the proper folder...

 

Simply moving the folder is way faster than doing a backup of each game. Especially if you have a very large library.

 

You can just copy steamapps folder to your new laptop as Steam still uses 32 bit even if the lappy is 64 bit. When you install steam, it'll be under Program files (x86), which is 32 bit if I am not mistaken.

 

'struth. As I mentioned above, I've gone from x86 XP to x86 Vista to x64 Win7 RC to x64 Win7 without a hitch. And yeah, x86 is 32 bit.

This is an excellent way to manage a large Steam library when your internal storage is limited and your net's spotty or slow. I take it one step further as well - I keep my games marked as backed up or not backed up in the Steam library, and anything currently installed goes into the favorites folder, so instead of an embarrassingly long list of grayed-out games, I have a short list of installed games and a couple tabs I can open up if I want/need to deal with anything else.