Steam games can be installed on any drive or partition on the system. The default installation path is always the main drive, but users may select a different drive.
Reasons for doing so include running out of space on the main drive, putting games that require less speed on slower drives, or to improve manageability.
This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install Steam games on any drive.
Installing Steam Games
Valve Software, maker of Steam, improved the Steam client significantly in the past years. One of the improvements added support for installing Steam games on different drives.
The process is straightforward and identical for all games, apps and other content:
- Select the game that you want to install.
- Activate the install button on the page.
- Tip: you may also right-click on any game to select install from its context menu.
- The install dialog lists all available installation locations. Each location lists the available free storage.
- Select one with the mouse or by tapping on it to make it the target for the installation.
- Activate the install button to start the download and installation of the game.
If a drive is not listed, select the cogwheel icon to jump to the Storage settings. Display the list of available drives there with a click on the arrow icon and select “add drive” to add a new drive for game installations.
Tip: please note that you may also use the “add drive” option to add a new folder of a drive that is already used by Steam. Valve confirms this on the Steam Help website. Note that the instructions ask the user to click on a plus button at the top, but do not point out that it becomes available only after expanding the menu.
Making another location the default on Steam
Steam resets the installation location to the main one each time a game is installed. There is an option to make another location the default, but it is well hidden.
- Select the Steam menu at the top and then Settings.
- Switch to the Storage section when the Steam Settings window opens.
- Select the location that you want to make the new default from the menu at the top.
- Click on the three-dots icon on the page and select the “make default” option.
This makes the selected location the new default installation path on Steam. In other words, it is selected by default whenever the install action is selected on Steam.
Manage installed games on Steam
Select Steam and then Settings from the menu that opens to open the Settings in a new window.
Switch to Storage with a click. Steam lists all games installed on the main drive. You may click on the arrow icon at the top to list games installed on a different drive. Note that you may also add a new drive, e.g., an external drive.
Each game is listed with its name, size on disk and the last playtime. The install path is also listed on the page.
Check the box next to a game and then the “uninstall” button to remove it from the PC.
There is also an option to move a game to another drive; this is useful in some cases, including:
- To make room for another game, system updates or anything else that requires a certain amount of storage.
- To move a game to a faster or slower drive.
- To move a game to a drive with more free storage. Useful if you plan to install an update or DLC.