moving Steam only

[bitdman]

Can I load skyrim on another drive or partition and play it on one or the other? I would like to install a STEP only Skyrim for mod testing. Yet still continue my original if possible. Steam Mover seems to be for moving games but I'm not sure about the Steam download itself being moved.

[LeetMiniWheat]

you can just copy/paste the entire install to any location especially if you're using SKSE, but I wouldn't recommend using the launcher from that location. we were just discussing it a bit in this thread.

[frihyland]

use steam mover to move all the installed games out of the main steam directory (good practice anyway) then uninstall it and reinstall where you want it. Should work fine, let us know if you encounter any problems with the moved games.

[bitdman]

Will steam allow me to play on two different locations? Do I need to move my steam install back and forth in order to play two different Skyrim games? I have a clean Skyrim backed up on disk using Steam Backup.

 

Also what is "SIS"

[Kelmych]

SIS - Skyrim Installation Swapper allows creating and swapping among up to 10 game "profiles". Each profile includes game and Wrye Bash configurations.

[bitdman]

Thanks kelmych!

 

Well I found I can't load steam at another location on the same computer disregard my post.

[LeetMiniWheat]

@bitdman: you don't have to "run steam" per se, when you launch SKSE or TESV.exe from that other location, steam automatically kicks in from that location and it will run fine. but if you want to MOVE it so you can launch it from the steam library, then use steam mover as frihyland suggested

 

Edit: and if you don't want to use any 3rd party utilities to have more than one skyrim, then just copy+paste the steam\steamapps\common\skyrim folder to a backup location and mod the main one right where it is. if you screw something up you can delete the entire folder and copy+paste the backup one back where it was

[bitdman]

@leetMiniWheat. I've been using Wrye Bash to launch for so long I've forgotten other ways of launching.

You're right of course, but I thought I remember something being said about launching with the Skyrim Launcher changes some z-fighting settings back to their default settings and unless you want to go into your ini settings and make changes every time you play, you should avoid using the game launcher. Has this changed?

[LeetMiniWheat]

@leetMiniWheat. I've been using Wrye Bash to launch for so long I've forgotten other ways of launching.

You're right of course, but I thought I remember something being said about launching with the Skyrim Launcher changes some z-fighting settings back to their default settings and unless you want to go into your ini settings and make changes every time you play, you should avoid using the game launcher. Has this changed?

no, you shouldn't use the launcher period. if you're using wrye bash, make sure to point it to the right location for your skyrim install. (if you copy/paste the install somewhere else and want to run it from the new location, just change wrye bash's paths)

 

Edit: and by paths, i mean the path to SKSE (assuming you're using SKSE, if not then TESV.exe)

[bitdman]

Okay! I think I understand I'll try it out. Thank you

[Kelmych]

The STEP guides on the Wiki mention both Steam Mover and Game Save Manager. If I'm using SIS to select among different configurations of Skyrim, which one of these is better to allow me to change the Skyrim directory back and forth between my Game directory on a hard drive and a much smaller Game directory on C: (which for me is on an SSD)?

[frihyland]

They both use the same technique moving files and then leaving behind symbolic pointers to them to fool programs. Use whichever one has an interface that is more intuitive to you. You will have to be careful with using multiple programs though, make sure they are all pointing to the appropriate places or you could make a mess.

[bitdman]

Tried installing backup made with steam backup and SNAFU! Backup doesn't work. Oh well! I had to give it a try. It actually worked once before. I'm downloading from steam now and when finished I'll follow the wiki to make a "vanilla" backup and store it. then will begin a brand new 'shiny' S.T.E.P. install. With so many great new mods out though its going to be tough to just stick to the program. It'll be worth it in the long run. Soon we'll have to change the name form S.T.E.P to LEAP. or JUMP

[LeetMiniWheat]

yeah steam backup only backs up the actual game files steam has a record for (not mods or any additional files). personally I don't trust that, I use winrar to archive the entire folder in steam\steamapps\common\

[bitdman]

I've got my old game safely tucked away and I'm ready to start anew. With S.T.E.P. wiki at my side