Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate]

Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate] - Side view of casual woman sitting on bed and surfing laptop with blank screen while adorable kid playing with toys in cozy bedroom

My friend just bought payday 2 yesterday, and he doesn't want to download it because it will take a long time.

Let's pretend that there are two subject here, A and B. Both have payday, but only B has downloaded it.

A takes the game data from Steam/SteamApps/common on B's computer and copies it to the same location on his own. He doesn't know about the appmanifest so he doesn't copy it.

I asked him "Did you copy the appmanifest too?". He said no, so I uploaded my appmanifest (for Payday 2) so he can download it. I told him to place it in the steamapps file and he did.

When he restarted steam, the game was still not installed. How can he install it?



Best Answer

I use a similar process to this when I switch computers (since re-downloading 100GB of games isn't exactly optimal).

  1. Close steam on both computers
  2. Copy the gamedata folder from Steam\steamapps\common to the same folder on the other computer
  3. On the new computer, press download on the game. Make sure that the install location is set to where you copied the files.
  4. Soon, steam will recognize that the files are already there, and will only download the files which are missing.
  5. Right click the game and go to Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game cache.... This will make sure that the game has no missing or corrupted files.
  6. Enjoy playing your game!

For more info, see here.




Pictures about "Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate]"

Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate] - From above of mobile phone with information near modern computer mouse on wooden table
Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate] - Box with photo of game mouse near certificate
Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate] - Netbook with planner and jotter placed near pencils on desk



Quick Answer about "Copying steam game data from one computer to another [duplicate]"

  • Cancel the download on your machine and delete local files for the game.
  • Close Steam on your computer.
  • Copy the whole folder Borderlands 2 from your brother's PC into Steam\SteamApps\common.


  • Can you copy Steam game files from one computer to another?

    Open your Steam client and head over to the \u201cLibrary\u201d section. Here all of your games are listed. Right click on the game you want to back up and select the option \u201cBackup game files\u201d.

    Can you copy paste installed game another computer?

    Yes you can. If you're using Steam, you can copy the steamapps folder from your old computer to your new computer and it will just work. Once you open steam, it will automatically download any updates, missing files, and reverify the game file integrity.



    Fastest way to move Steam games from one PC to another




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Tatiana Syrikova, Marcelo Chagas, Jonathan Borba, Mikhail Nilov