Quick Steam question

[originalz]

Yeah, so my laptop's hard drive is pretty small and thus not that great for holding lots of games.  My Steam directory is on this drive, but I have an external hard drive that I usually install my games to now.  Steam seems to automatically install games to the default drive, which is no longer a viable option for me.

Is there an easy way to change the Steam directory to my external or at least have it so future games will go on it?  I'd assume that just copying it over would cause problems, I checked the Steam forums but got nothing.

[JustinP]

first backup the data files (.gcf), then reinstall steam to external.  manually copy over data files. 

haven't necessarily tried that myself, but i don't see why it wouldn't work.  you don't necessarily have to backup anything, either.  also note that .gcf files are basically just the bulky content files--they don't have your savedata, but i suggested backing them up just because they're the large downloads. 

[pilonv1]

OMG I WAS GOING TO POST THIS QUESTION LAST NIGHT!

I want Steam on my external hard drive so I can switch between laptops (Space Empires IV on my EEE PC )

I will try this tonight. What do the .gcf files have in them? Do I need to re-download my games?

[JustinP]

OMG I WAS GOING TO POST THIS QUESTION LAST NIGHT!

I want Steam on my external hard drive so I can switch between laptops (Space Empires IV on my EEE PC )

I will try this tonight. What do the .gcf files have in them? Do I need to re-download my games?

.gcf files have most the game content.  textures, models, etc.  it's the bulk of the download when you d/l a game.  backing them up simply lets you avoid redownloading major files. 

that's mainly for valve games though.  non-valve steam games are usually more like a normal install. 

[originalz]

I will try this tonight. What do the .gcf files have in them? Do I need to re-download my games?

So, did you try it?  I'd like to know if it works before taking the time to move everything over.

[pilonv1]

no i didnt. may try tonight otherwise ill wait till sunday