# How to restore steam games **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774 "2011-06-17T01:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/1 "2011-06-17T01:46:35Z")
I got hit with a virus a while ago and after wiping the computer’s main disk, I also used that as an excuse to stick a bigger second disk in it, which arrived today. The new drive is up and running. I have a LOT of steam games. I could just install steam and download them all again, but that would probably take me a couple of weeks to do. All of the files are backed up onto an external drive though. What do I have to do (after installing steam, I assume) to copy all of these files onto the new drive and have steam recognize them as being installed? If I just copy the entire folder over, will that overwrite and destroy anything important from the newly installed version of steam? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/2 "2011-06-17T02:07:42Z")
I’ve never done it (restore Steam games) but assuming you backed them up properly here is the way to restore them per Steam’s instructions: > [@](#): > > Restoring from Backup Files > > 1. Install Steam and log in to the correct Steam account (see Installing Steam for further instructions) > 2. If the backup files were copied to a CD or DVD, the process should run automatically when the disc is inserted. If not, run steambackup.exe from the disc > 3. If steambackup.exe is missing, please download this copy of [steambackup.exe](https://support.steampowered.com/downloads/8794-YPHV-2033/steambackup.exe) and place it in the correct backup folder. > 4. Continue through the Steam windows to install the necessary games. > > Important: > > If the path to your Steam installation contains special characters, such as C:\Instalação\Steam, the restore process may not complete successfully. If this issue occurs, you may need to re-install Steam to a location without special characters, such as C:\Steam. > > SOURCE: [Steam Support :: Using the Steam Backup Feature](https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-YPHV-2033) ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/3 "2011-06-17T02:13:07Z")
I used [this](https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?p_faqid=231) procedure to move all my steam stuff to another drive. As far as I can tell, it should work with your situation too. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/4 "2011-06-17T02:42:13Z")
FWIW not too long ago I had to wipe my drive and re-install and I had not done a Steam backup. I also have a fair number of games and had to resort to downloading them one-by-one. It is a daunting task but as it turned out it was not so bad. I am only usually playing 1-3 of them in any given week so I simply installed the ones I most cared about playing right then which, while a bit of a drag, was not too awful. Then, at night before I would go to bed, I’d tell it to install another game. Before I’d go to work I’d tell it to install another (and so on). In this manner I got them all back and while it took a week or so I was never put-out by it. I was playing what I wanted to with only a few hour wait for those first few downloads. The rest came when I wasn’t using the PC anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/5 "2011-06-17T03:08:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ve never done it (restore Steam games) but assuming you backed them up properly here is the way to restore them per Steam’s instructions: I’ve tried “Steam Backup” three times now, and every time the backup hasn’t worked. It generates a big file, sure, but when I go to reinstall from that file, Steam won’t recognize it and I end up downloading the entire game again. I have no idea why. This is my main and only complaint with Steam. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/6 "2011-06-17T03:33:48Z")
You should be able to copy your steam apps folder and restore that way. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/7 "2011-06-17T03:36:44Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I got hit with a virus a while ago and after wiping the computer’s main disk, I also used that as an excuse to stick a bigger second disk in it, which arrived today. The new drive is up and running. > > I have a LOT of steam games. I could just install steam and download them all again, but that would probably take me a couple of weeks to do. All of the files are backed up onto an external drive though. What do I have to do (after installing steam, I assume) to copy all of these files onto the new drive and have steam recognize them as being installed? > > If I just copy the entire folder over, will that overwrite and destroy anything important from the newly installed version of steam? I had an identical problem recently. Just like you, I had a back-up of my Steam data. I copied the data from my steam apps folder into a new installation of Steam, and then right-clicked on the game I wanted to play once I had opened Steam. I’m unsure of the exact steps I took from there, but from the drop-down menu, I think I navigated to ‘properties,’ and then to the tab that allows you to ‘verify the integrity’ of the game data. This re-installed the system files that were located outside of the main Steam folder and allowed me to play the game. I doubt this was the correct way to go about recovering my games, and I’d definitely recommend using the official instructions linked by **Whack-a-mole** , if they work for you. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-steam-games/585774/8 "2011-06-18T01:13:23Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I used [this](https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?p_faqid=231) procedure to move all my steam stuff to another drive. As far as I can tell, it should work with your situation too. I followed those instructions, and it seems to have worked fine. Thanks to everyone who responded!