How to run your Steam library from an external drive
Modern games are massive. And not everyone has fancy internet connections capable of downloading them in minutes. And if you’re a PC gamer, perhaps you have both a desktop and laptop you want to play on.
In this case, or for outliers like us laptop reviewers, moving your Steam library — or even just a copy of it — to an external drive could save you a heap of time and trouble, and it’s not actually that hard to do. Likewise, if you’re setting up from scratch, it’s a super simple process, and you’re able to manage games just as you would on any internal drive. Here’s what you need to know.
How to set up a new Steam library on an external drive
- Open Steam.
- Open the Steam menu in the top left corner.
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Select settings.
Source: Windows Central
- Click on downloads in the left-hand pane.
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Select Steam library folders.
Source: Windows Central
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Click on add library folder.
Source: Windows Central
- Find your ** external drive** in the drop-down box.
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Click on add library folder.
Source: Windows Central
- Name your folder.
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Click OK.
Source: Windows Central
It’s handy to make sure you’ve done this first if you’re copying an existing library as it will create the necessary destination on the drive for you to dump all the files in. If you copy your library first, though, simply follow these steps to add that folder as the library.
How to copy an existing Steam library to an external drive
To copy it, just literally drag the whole thing to your external drive, then go grab a beverage while it completes. How long it will take depends on many factors.
Once it’s on there, though, you’re all set. If Steam is pointed to that drive, it will treat it as any other you might install games on. So, if there are updates to be downloaded, those will be handled, and you can move between machines as you see fit.
Best external drive for your Steam Library
If your budget can stretch to it, an SSD is the way to go, just as it would be for an internal drive on your PC. Prices are relatively reasonable these days, but the size of your library will undoubtedly be a factor. If you’re looking at carrying 1TB or less on it, then an SSD is the way to go.
For more extensive libraries, you’ll probably want to trade data transfer speeds for sheer capacity. Whichever you’d prefer, we’ve got a couple of great recommendations for you.
Pocket-sized
WD My Passport 512GB SSD
A tiny SSD for the ultimate portable games library
This tiny SSD has enough space for a reasonable amount of games at a good price, and with USB 3.1 will offer solid transfer speeds.
For big libraries
WD My Passport 4TB HDD
Huge portable drive for the larger game libraries
An HDD sacrifices performance but makes up for it by offering vastly more storage for similar money to an SSD, like this excellent 4TB from WD.