My Documents Location Causing Problem w/BioShock2

[Starbuck1975]

Over a year ago, I build a new gaming rig. I purchased an SSD for my boot drive, and a larger HDD to run my games, programs, store files, etc. I physically moved the MyDocuments folder from the SSD (C), where it installed by default, to the HDD (E).

A while back I purchased Bioshock2 via Steam, but never played it because I found the whole Game for Windows Live login requirement a bit cumbersome.

I decided to revisit Bioshock2 after reading on a forum how to enable an offline Live account.

The problem I am now having is that Live apparently doesn't like the fact that MyDocuments lives on the HDD and not the boot SSD. Bioshock2 saves games just fine to the folder I created on the HDD, but will not load them.

I don't want to move my entire MyDocuments folder to the SSD.

How do I configure my folders so Live will allow me to load my Saved Game files?

 

[ViRGE]

Assuming you're on Win7 here, why don't you move the folder back and then take advantage of libraries? Then the folder is where Windows wants it, while your documents are where you want them.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Hi Virge,

Yes I am on WIN7, sorry for not specifying. I've honestly never fully understood the whole point of libraries. I dont expect you to explain them to me, but do you know of a good resource that walks through tips and tricks on library management?

 

[corkyg]

Why not have two documents folders - one on the OS drive and one on the HDD.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Assuming you're on Win7 here, why don't you move the folder back and then take advantage of libraries? Then the folder is where Windows wants it, while your documents are where you want them.

Good question, so let me ask this. At an OS level, does Win7 care or designate an official "My Documents" folder, or is "My Documents" simply a folder name as any other without any other implications at an OS level?

I ask this question, because when I installed Bioshock2 via Steam, it automatically created the save game files under the HDD "My Documents" folder without my directing it to do so. I guess the simple fix is to simply create a "My Documents" folder on the SSD, but how will the installation know which "My Documents" folder to point to?

I guess as an alternative, I can go through the installation, see where Steam dumps the save game folder, and then move it to the SDD if it lands on the HDD so that Live plays nice with the save game files.

 

[uallas5]

Two Choices:

1) Go into the Library for My Documents, click on the "Locations" link at top. Choose "Add", browse to and add your folder on E. Back in the list, make the folder on E your default save location

2) go into C : \Users \ YourUsername (spaces added to avoid the annoying smiley). Right click on the My Documents Folder and choose Properties. Under the Location Tab, browse to the folder on E. Confirm your change.

I personally did the 2nd choice on my gaming rig when I added an SSD for the OS but kept the spinning disk for all the big stuff. Just seemed to be the quick and easy way to do it. Steam and everything else so far works fine.

 

[ViRGE]

Good question, so let me ask this. At an OS level, does Win7 care or designate an official "My Documents" folder, or is "My Documents" simply a folder name as any other without any other implications at an OS level?

I ask this question, because when I installed Bioshock2 via Steam, it automatically created the save game files under the HDD "My Documents" folder without my directing it to do so. I guess the simple fix is to simply create a "My Documents" folder on the SSD, but how will the installation know which "My Documents" folder to point to?

I guess as an alternative, I can go through the installation, see where Steam dumps the save game folder, and then move it to the SDD if it lands on the HDD so that Live plays nice with the save game files.

Win7 does indeed designate an official My Documents folder, which of course is by default in your user folder. For various reasons - including software like Bioshock 2 that is blindly assuming where the folder is, apparently - you're best off leaving that folder on the C drive and using libraries to expand your collection.

uallas5 has already run you through the basic instructions on how to use libraries. What you're essentially doing is making both your C drive and your E drive My Documents folders valid document folders. Pig-headed software like Bioshock can write to C and it will still work, while well-behaved software and anything else of your creation can go on E, and both will show up combined when browsing the Documents library. Furthermore libraries allow you to control which of the folders is the default save location, so by setting your E drive as your default save location all of your new documents with well behaved software will write to E as it should.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/libraries

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-libraries-–-and-why-you-want-them/

 

[Starbuck1975]

Looks like I have a different problem altogether.

If I go into C: Users : Username, I see a list of empty folders: Contacts, Documents, My Pictures, My Videos, etc. Looks like back when I first created libraries, I just created folders to mirror those on the SDD boot drive, and pointed my libraries to the ones on my HDD.

I decided to delete all trace of Bioshock2 from my system, reinstalled it, launched the game and saved a game. Experienced the same problem of the game not loading.

I did a search for the file, and it appears that when Bioshock2 saved the game, it automatically created a folder on my HDD. So when I go into my HDD, I see E: Bioshock2: SavedGames.

From what I have read in other forums, this is the problem. I need to get BioShock2 to save these games on my SDD, or C: drive.

I cannot seem to find a setting in either Live or Steam that would point Bioshock2 to save on my C: drive.