Moving game files to new computer?

[SIR Rossy]

ok so my new rig is a whole new computer im not using any of my old computer so new comp has a new OS and hardrives also.. now what i wish to know is how do i get my games eg, bfbc2 , mw2 , black ops, borderlands and L4D2 and all that to my new computer since Cd keys for most cannot be used again to install it on another computer... i was thinking i could go into:

C:\Program Files (x86) and back up on a external HD the entire files of eg: EA folder , borderlands folder, Steam folder and starcraft Etc.. copy them onto the HD then place them in my program files on the new computer.. and im hoping they would Run as if they had be installed or are there hidden folders elsewhere on the computer that make them run?

anyone that could help me out with this issue it would be greatly appreciated ask as many questions as you need

[Donziboy2]

I know you can move steam from one system to another. At the very least you should be able to get your save games for the rest of your games.

[K PhaNTOM]

Just FYI, Rossy, you can't just "copy/paste" files from /Program Files and expect them to work on another computer. If that was the case there would be no need for CDkeys or any DRM. Not to mention the fact that installation installs the game on your system, it isn't just a really long bar.

[SIR Rossy]

I know you can move steam from one system to another. At the very least you should be able to get your save games for the rest of your games.

most are with steam so that solves that i did look that up a sec ago it says you can im just wondering about the other games..

[BadHabitz]

Since when can you not reuse CD keys?

It should work just fine for offline games. Online games aren't much different, in that your key for online games is used more for creating your online account/profile rather than validating your game install. In other words, you should be able to use your CDs to install a game onto 20 different computers, but you either have to use your singular disc in one computer to run, or the game server will only recognize one instance of your profile being active at once.

Which games can you not reuse your CDs?

[SIR Rossy]

I know you can move steam from one system to another. At the very least you should be able to get your save games for the rest of your games.

most are with steam so that solves that i did look that up a sec ago it says you can im just wondering about the other games.. like crysis , starcraft etc as i dont have disc's for these

[Apache Warrior]

You will still have to download the games, through Steam, to the new computer. Or have Steam make a back up to a flash drive and install them on the new computer.
Apache

[SIR Rossy]

You will still have to download the games, through Steam, to the new computer. Or have Steam make a back up to a flash drive and install them on the new computer.
Apache

i looked up in the steam forums apparently you can just transfer the whole steam folder reinstall it log in and everything will work.. maybe thats wrong

[TheSilentAssassin]

What I did was uninstall all my games with CD keys from my old computer and then reinstalled them on my new computer and they work fine

[Dead...Again]

Also, most games now store the save game and setting in a folder in your Documents, so if you copy your docs over that should take care of most of them.

[{CLR} Cobalt]

Phantom is on the right track. You cant just copy folders and files and take off. When you load any game or program there are registry files that will be placed that you never see too much unless you go looking for them. That is a big problem. And you cant just replace the new registry with the old one either. Then some stuff on the new computer wont work.

Old steam files wont work either, because they are looking for the right files to execute. If they are not there or in the registry, it wont work. Gotta have all of them. If you're missing any of the critical files for execution it wont work.

You should be able to load all your games and have Steam recognize all of them like you did on the other system.Load em up and see what it wants.

You might at this point be able to apply some of your old steam config files. But you still need to reload all the programs for it to work. Just copying doesnt give you everything you need. But if you reload the games and reload Steam then copy your steam files over it might work. All the registry files may be in place for it to work because you reloaded the games and Steam.

Hope this helps. It's what I would do if I had to start over. And yes you can use your cd keys over. May not have to do anything but load em up.

[WalkinTarget]

i looked up in the steam forums apparently you can just transfer the whole steam folder reinstall it log in and everything will work. maybe thats wrong

Correct !! I have a 71gb Steam folder that I am going to do this with shortly as soon as my drive arrives. Steam itself will see the folders associated with each game and as long as your drive mappings are the same, you should be good to go after Steam finishes any updates to itself and each game.

It WILL only allow one connection per account, so if you move from one PC to another, it will close Steam on the first PC and open it on the second. Make sure to not load Steam at startup on any spare PCs you have around the house.

[SIR Rossy]

Correct !! I have a 71gb Steam folder that I am going to do this with shortly as soon as my drive arrives. Steam itself will see the folders associated with each game and as long as your drive mappings are the same, you should be good to go after Steam finishes any updates to itself and each game.

It WILL only allow one connection per account, so if you move from one PC to another, it will close Steam on the first PC and open it on the second. Make sure to not load Steam at startup on any spare PCs you have around the house.

let me know how you go the steam FAQ actually says you can transfer the steam apps folder out of steam in program files and install steam on your new pc and add the steam apps folder where in used to be on your old pc and everything will work fine..

most cd key are tied to accounts so really if you move all the files over it should still work... i know if you copy/paste starcraft 2 from the program file onto another pc it still works as a mate did it the other day..