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    Steam Backup - Half-Life 2 / Ep1 / Ep2 / Lost Coast / CS:S

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by HTWingNut, Jan 26, 2008.

  1. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    When going to backup all the Source Half-Life 2 based games, does it make a difference if I backup each one individually or back them all up at the same time, as far as space required?

    I'm curious becuase I did them independently, and Lost Coast requires about 2GB on its own, which seems kinda steep for that one level. Could there be overlapping files between all those games that are copied to each game backup and would it be less if all backed up together?
     
  2. Beatsiz

    Beatsiz Life Enthusiast

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    I just copy the whole steam folder and then I just replace the folder with my steam ID on it which then contain all the games etc...

    You can just right click on the icon of the game in the steam window and chose "backup" I think individually would be better... but how would you do them all at once?

    If you have time and fast internet just reinstall steam and log on and let the games download again.
     
  3. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    You can backup more than one by going into your games list in steam, select "backup" and then you can choose between all that are installed, but it backs them up as one big file.

    Well, I did remove them before and when I wanted to play again, had to wait hours to reinstall. This way it should only take max 30 minutes to reinstall off external HDD or DVD.
     
  4. Burning Balls

    Burning Balls Notebook Evangelist

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    This is a good idea. :D

    It will cut down on all the unnecessary zipping/unzipping.


    I moved my Steam folder to the D: partition, so if/when Vista decides to crash, I won't have to download my games again.

    Edit: The "Steamapps" folder is the only part you need to backup. The rest will be recreated by the new install.
     
  5. Dragonpet

    Dragonpet Notebook Evangelist

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    Yup, you don't even have to move the folder back to the original location and the games would work perfectly without issues. However, if you want your steam configurations to be save you must copy the whole "Steam" folder to a different drive instead of just the "SteamApps" folder.
     
  6. Beatsiz

    Beatsiz Life Enthusiast

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    I just go and copy the entire folder and replace the one with my steam ID and/or the steam apps one...

    voila! I guess for once I do something right ^^