How to Transfer a Game Install to another Drive?

SiHawk

Member
Dec 3, 2012
86
1
71
I have a SSD and an HDD installed, I had the 500GB HDD 1st in my 'puter and I probably installed an Origin product on it........later I installed a 180GB SSD and had it transfer the OS etc. from the HDD to itself [now "C" Drive] and the HDD is the "F"Drive.
Not to long ago I purchased BF3 Premium for dnld from Origin....when they dnlded they NEVER gave me an option, like usual, as to where to install and they dumped this HUGE dnld on the C Drive\SSD. Well - the FREE space on the SSD is now, already, getting lower than I'd like.....so not long ago I tried transferring BF3 and some other game off of the SSD and onto the HDD......the other game, don't remember what, went fine....and the Shortcut worked and everything. BUT the darn HUGE BF3 [Origin Games] transferred over of course BUT it would not RUN....the shortcut couldn't find it???? I even looked at Properties and in there it said "Start IN.......address was for BF3 on the F Drive" but does not start.
Years ago I was told has to do with the Registry....because it was installed by them on the C Drive.....I can't get around that now when I put it on the F Drive.

PLEASE - I would sure appreciate it if someone could walk me thru some easy method to get that MONSTER transferred over to my F Drive....I'd LOVE to get everything "Origin" onto F and off of C.

THANKS, michael
 

thestrangebrew1

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2011
3,628
471
126
As far as transferring the game from the ssd to the hd I'm not sure, but I know there is an option to tell origin where to install the game. When I had a spare 64gb ssd in my system I told origin to install bf3 only in it. It's in the settings somewhere, been awhile.
 

Saffron

Member
Nov 16, 2012
130
1
41
Just about any game can be transferred from one hard drive to another, I use the "Cut & Paste" method occasionally. Since it is Origin it could be a different story, though. When it comes to the shortcuts, even if you target it to the new location, sometimes it still won't work. When you do transfer a game from one hard drive to another, you should always create a new shortcut and generally your success rate it pretty high. Keep in mind that some games are finicky about that and may not ever work without an uninstall/re-install.

When it comes to Origin, when you install a game it will ask what and where you want to install it to. In your case I guess it didn't, assuming you didn't miss the part that it does, I do it more often than not... There is a preference in Origin that allows you to designate what folder you want to install games by default. I haven't opened up the Origin client in so long I forget exactly where.

I haven't actually tried to move an Origin game from one hard drive to another, but you might have to move all of Origin and it's games for it to work.
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
14,553
248
106
I wonder if there is an imbedded reference in the executable to a file used in it's original location. A good test would be to navigate to the executable in its current location and see if it will run from there. That will tell you if the problem is the shortcut or not.

If it were me, I would see if I could re-install the game, making sure I haven't missed any options to put it in a different location. I have not seen a game that did not ask me where to install it when I select the advanced installation option, but I have never installed an Origin game.
 

Mushkins

Golden Member
Feb 11, 2013
1,631
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Do *not* just cut and paste the game folder. It's an absolute rare occurrence that this ever works with a AAA game. In fact, the only one I can think of that lets you do this is World of Warcraft. The vast majority of all installed software, games included, have registry entries associated with them to tell the application, the filesystem, and the OS where things are and how to properly manage them. Especially with DRM schemes like Steam/Origin, you *cant* just move stuff around and expect it to work. If you just move the game files, the registry keys are still pointing to where they *WERE*, and even if by some miracle it still runs theres a good chance you'll experience crashes,slowness, errors, etc. Unless the game has been 100% confirmed to be copy/paste movable, moving it is almost universally going to screw things up.

Best practices for relocating installed software are to back up any config/saved games/etc you want to keep, uninstall completely, restart your PC, reinstall in the location you want it. In the case of Origin, I don't believe you can individually assign an install location to each game, there is a single "origin installed stuff" folder that can be configured in your origin preferences. Steam used to be the same way, but these days they let you pick and choose on a per-game basis.
 

thestrangebrew1

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2011
3,628
471
126
In the case of Origin, I don't believe you can individually assign an install location to each game, there is a single "origin installed stuff" folder that can be configured in your origin preferences. Steam used to be the same way, but these days they let you pick and choose on a per-game basis.

Yea I don't think you can do that. I just mentioned bf3 in my 64gb because that's the only game I have through Origin right now. I'll probably have to change this if I ever purchase another game.
 

Bubbaleone

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2011
1,803
4
76
.....I would sure appreciate it if someone could walk me thru some easy method to get that MONSTER transferred over to my F Drive....I'd LOVE to get everything "Origin" onto F and off of C.

THANKS, michael

If you're comfortable using the commandline; you could also move (not copy) the contents of the Origin folder to a folder you create on the F:\ drive with a different name i.e., XOrigin, instead of Origin, then use the commandline 'mklink' tool to create a symbolic link to the (now empty) Origin folder on the C:\ drive. In this case you'd want to create a directory junction. I prefer to use Mark Russinovich's very versatile commandline tool: Junction v1.06, rather than Microsofts 'mklink' commandline tool.


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Bubbaleone

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2011
1,803
4
76
I should add that successfully moving a very large number of files in an active Windows environment requires that other programs or processes don't have open handles to those files. You can achieve this by configuring msconfig to "clean boot" Windows, and then perform the files move, which I find to be PITA and doesn't always guarantee the move will succeed. Since this is a commandline operation; it's much better to work from the command prompt in the Windows recovery environment, which ensures there are no open handles to the files you're moving.
 

Niclasmai

Junior Member
Mar 3, 2013
19
0
0
Just about any game can be transferred from one hard drive to another, I use the "Cut & Paste" method occasionally. Since it is Origin it could be a different story, though. When it comes to the shortcuts, even if you target it to the new location, sometimes it still won't work. When you do transfer a game from one hard drive to another, you should always create a new shortcut and generally your success rate it pretty high. Keep in mind that some games are finicky about that and may not ever work without an uninstall/re-install.

When it comes to Origin, when you install a game it will ask what and where you want to install it to. In your case I guess it didn't, assuming you didn't miss the part that it does, I do it more often than not... There is a preference in Origin that allows you to designate what folder you want to install games by default. I haven't opened up the Origin client in so long I forget exactly where.

I haven't actually tried to move an Origin game from one hard drive to another, but you might have to move all of Origin and it's games for it to work.

Great! Works.
 

Matt1970

Lifer
Mar 19, 2007
12,320
3
0
Do *not* just cut and paste the game folder. It's an absolute rare occurrence that this ever works with a AAA game. In fact, the only one I can think of that lets you do this is World of Warcraft. The vast majority of all installed software, games included, have registry entries associated with them to tell the application, the filesystem, and the OS where things are and how to properly manage them. Especially with DRM schemes like Steam/Origin, you *cant* just move stuff around and expect it to work. If you just move the game files, the registry keys are still pointing to where they *WERE*, and even if by some miracle it still runs theres a good chance you'll experience crashes,slowness, errors, etc. Unless the game has been 100% confirmed to be copy/paste movable, moving it is almost universally going to screw things up.

Best practices for relocating installed software are to back up any config/saved games/etc you want to keep, uninstall completely, restart your PC, reinstall in the location you want it. In the case of Origin, I don't believe you can individually assign an install location to each game, there is a single "origin installed stuff" folder that can be configured in your origin preferences. Steam used to be the same way, but these days they let you pick and choose on a per-game basis.

This. Otherwise most program and game installs would just be a folder move from the CD/DVD and an icon created.
 

compcons

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 2004
2,203
1,230
136
Sound like you have it fixed, but I have had great success by shutting down the program and copying the folder to a new location. Then I uninstall the application. Once that is complete, re-install the application and specify the location where you copied the files to. This works wonders with Steam and Origin games to avoid the massive file download or transfer from DVD.

Alternatively, you can use a little program called Steam Mover (http://lifehacker.com/5626931/steam...ations-to-free-up-space-on-your-primary-drive). Basically it mvoes the files and leaves links in the orginal location. Windows sees the files where they were and functions perfectly, but the size is reduced significantly.

I use Steam Mover to go the other way. All Steam and Origin content is installed on a Raptor. For select games that i want to be fast, I move the content to an SSD, but leave links on the raptor. Those games are now SSD fast without having an SSD filled with a bunch of other games I rarely play.

EH