System Drive Migration Strategy

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Morthos68

Commendable
Jun 30, 2016
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1,510
I am building a new gaming system and relegating my current one to my daughter. Current system is running a 1tb SSHD. New system will be running a 240gb SSD system drive, maybe a 480 depending on answers here.

I am looking for a way to migrate as many of my games as possible without having to re-download. (Most from Steam, some Blizzard and a few disc installs) In all, just my favorites total about 390 gigs. Which leads to a further question....

Is it beneficial to have Steam and the games on the same drive beyond the initial startup of the game or would I be fine just putting them back onto a physical disc as before? I would love to put a 1TB ssd in but price to value, it's not there for me.

Thoughts?
 
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SuperSoph_WD
Hey there again, @Morthos68!

Indeed, you are right and I wasn't that specific in my previous post. I wasn't talking so much about Steam and Blizzard, but more about the disk installations. They would most probably face issues if you don't reinstall them from the new system.
AFAIK, moving the Steam installation might also require you to reinstall the Steam client, however, moving the SteamApps folder to the new directory shouldn't give you any issues. Some people even say that it's possible to move it easily through an external drive. Moreover, it also gives you the option to Backup and Restore all the saved files and progress, once its synced with to the Steam Cloud.

With Battle.net, all you have to do is move the install directory...
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Welcome, Morthos68!

Well, running these games on a new rig would require you to have a genuine Windows OS install on it. You won't be able to use the same activation code/product key as the OS on your current PC. This, alone, would require you to perform clean install of all your games and software. There's no way to migrate these programs without re-installing them from scratch. Even if you put your current gaming drive in the new system, you won't be able to launch any of the games due to the fact that their tied to the Windows OS where they were originally installed. Moreover, the operating system itself is tied to the motherboard. The storage drives are just a carrier for your system files.
Here's a very informative guide which would allow you to configure your new rig for optimal performance: Windows Install & Optimization for SSDs & HDDs.

Hope it helps. Let me know if you have more questions! ;)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Morthos68

Commendable
Jun 30, 2016
2
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1,510
While I appreciate the response, I am very well aware of the licensing requirements of my OS and how my key is tied to my hardware, etc. Not my first rodeo.. I was interested primarily in 2 questions, migrating games from Steam and Blizzard... and what my benefit is regarding an SSD.

To replay to your statement of the requirement to reinstall all games, you are incorrect. Apparently Steam has a backup and restore feature, but it can also be done manually. With Blizzard, they too can also be backed up and restored manually.

My remaining question for anyone willing to offer advice based on their experience, should I install Steam, and my most favored games on the SSD or would I be better off installing them to a secondary drive since I have such a large amount involved?
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
6,758
3
45,960
Hey there again, @Morthos68!

Indeed, you are right and I wasn't that specific in my previous post. I wasn't talking so much about Steam and Blizzard, but more about the disk installations. They would most probably face issues if you don't reinstall them from the new system.
AFAIK, moving the Steam installation might also require you to reinstall the Steam client, however, moving the SteamApps folder to the new directory shouldn't give you any issues. Some people even say that it's possible to move it easily through an external drive. Moreover, it also gives you the option to Backup and Restore all the saved files and progress, once its synced with to the Steam Cloud.

With Battle.net, all you have to do is move the install directory from the source to destination, so it's fairly easier, indeed.
Developing errors in some games is not uncommon, though, so you might also want to make sure you put all the Steam and Blizzard settings back to default. Another way to do this would be if the two systems are networked together - you can just copy the Blizzard directory from one system to the other. However, you'd need to create new shortcuts to the launcher on the new system, though.

Either way, my initial point was re-installing and re-downloading would definitely give you less headaches, IMHO. The last thing I'd want on a new rig is to face such small annoying errors.

Performance-wise you will definitely get much better gaming experience from the SSD, rather than the HDD. I'd put the most high-end games on it (if the storage capacity allows it), and all the less demanding ones onto the HDD. This will also prevent you from filling up the SSD too quickly.

Cheers,
SuperSoph_WD
 
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