Steam games and disk mgmt. best approach?

[Timstertimster]

So i decided to download a large 6gb game from steam, but worry about control. I'm not fond of cloud-based installations because I fear that the DRM is forcing me to do things in ways I don't condone.

If I have a traditional DVD I can decide where to install my game and play it with a simple double click on the desktop icon.

How does this differ in steam? I gather it installs data willy-nilly in a steam folder and I won't have much say as to whether this game is going to sit on my Large HDD or my small SDD.

What about backing up a large game? I'm really not interested in being forced to re-download 6gb just because I decided to reinstall windows.

Should I just forget doing steam for large games and stick with disks?

 

[USAFRet]

I have my Steam install on a separate 2TB drive rather than the SSD. Whatever it installs goes to the 2TB.


How to move a Steam installation

 

[ur6beersaway]

You can tell STEAM exactly where to install anything. The cloud is part of the back-up & I have had steam reinstall my entire library with saves when after I reinstall windows. ex:3TB (E) drive

 

[awallmtb]

Steam has recently (in the last few months) added the ability to install your games to any drive, regardless of the drive that Steam is installed on. That doesn't help you with DRM, but at least you can manage your capacity between your SSD and HDD. Steam also lets you back up your game to a user-defined location, should you choose.

Personally, I don't like having to remember where my disk and key are located, or having to go through the effort of inserting a disk (as lazy as this sounds), so I love Steam for the convenience it offers. Automatic cloud backup of my save games is another big plus. But, to each his own...

I have my Steam install on a separate 2TB drive rather than the SSD. Whatever it installs goes to the 2TB.


How to move a Steam installation

 

[Timstertimster]

Steam has recently (in the last few months) added the ability to install your games to any drive, regardless of the drive that Steam is installed on. That doesn't help you with DRM, but at least you can manage your capacity between your SSD and HDD. Steam also lets you back up your game to a user-defined location, should you choose.

Thanks for the answer. What about running a game on multiple computers. A disk doesn't care if it's been installed before. Does Steam do the iRunes thing and complain that I should first uninstall the game from my living room computer before I can play it in the bedroom machine?

 

[shellls45]

http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover

works well for me

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for the answer. What about running a game on multiple computers. A disk doesn't care if it's been installed before. Does Steam do the iRunes thing and complain that I should first uninstall the game from my living room computer before I can play it in the bedroom machine?

Log in to your account, and the Steam client will pull down whatever you have bought, no matter what screen you happen to be in front of.