Preserving WOW data during reformat

[tcsenter]

I will be doing a clean install of Vista on someone's PC (currently running Vista). They have WOW installed with two different users/players, a gob of patches, and added game maps.

How can I preserve/backup/restore as much of their stuff as possible so that they won't have to start-over or lose anything? Are backups/archives of the game patches created somewhere so that I don't have to download all the patches again? They have a slow DSL connection, its going to be bad enough just downloading updates for Windows itself.

TIA for any help.

 

[NeoV]

you can just copy the entire directory onto a backup HD

if you want to keep all the UI changes and such, you'll need to keep the WTF and Interface folders intact

I believe you can download the entire game from Blizzard if you want, as well as large patches

 

[pontifex]

why not download the big update on a fats connetion before going and then download the small stuff on the dsl?

 

[tcsenter]

you can just copy the entire directory onto a backup HD

if you want to keep all the UI changes and such, you'll need to keep the WTF and Interface folders intact

That's it? They have the retail installation media. I think they may have purchased an expansion pack, game maps, or something from Blizzard by download.

Would I copy the entire game directory back to the computer before or after installing the game? IOW, will installing the game overwrite anything if I restore the game directory and data first?

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: pontifex
why not download the big update on a fats connetion before going and then download the small stuff on the dsl?

Because I have to leave in 30 minutes. Its a two hour drive.

 

[Reliant]

WoW doesn't really care where it is, or if you move it around. When I format I move it to my external drive and after I'm done I move it back to my C: and it works without a hitch. You don't have to reinstall anything. If you dont want to worry about that, copy the WTF + interface folders as mentioned above.

 

[styrafoam]

I have done it before too, just back up the whole World of Warcraft folder(all 14+ gigs). No need to reinstall from the DVD as it doesn't need any reg keys to run. Also put it somewhere besided c:\program files if its going to be on a vista rig unless you want to sit and redo permissions.

 

[vhx]

Keep in mind if you want it to show up in Vista's Game folder then you will need to install it from scratch. I moved my folder over from an existing format and I can't for the life of me get the games folder information to load like the WC3 files did. (Even though I copied them over too)

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: vhx
Keep in mind if you want it to show up in Vista's Game folder then you will need to install it from scratch. I moved my folder over from an existing format and I can't for the life of me get the games folder information to load like the WC3 files did. (Even though I copied them over too)

The WOW program folder with all the data is located in C:\Users\Public\Games\. There are several other folders for WOW located elsewhere, including one that contains archives/backups of all the game patches.

 

[coloumb]

WoW doesn't care where it's installed as long as you start the game with their launcher. However, when you need to patch the game, you'll have to download the patch manually and run it from the WoW directory. It will fail if you let WoW auto-update [at least it does for me]

You could literally run WoW from a USB stick if you desire

 

[tcsenter]

Thanks for the replies. They also had a few Steam-powered games installed and didn't want to take the chance of losing any of their game data. I ended-up just doing some intensive clean-up and uninstalled unused applications, BIOS and driver updates, defragmented the hard drive, extensive disk check with file system repair, and installed SP2 for Windows Vista.

 

[Lotheron]

Originally posted by: coloumb
WoW doesn't care where it's installed as long as you start the game with their launcher. However, when you need to patch the game, you'll have to download the patch manually and run it from the WoW directory. It will fail if you let WoW auto-update [at least it does for me]

You could literally run WoW from a USB stick if you desire

Ive done this with a super fast USB2 flash read disk.

It was pretty fast 30-40MB/sec read.

Made it easy to play WoW on my work laptop with no trail

 

[lupi]

Hmmmm, if wow doesn't need any registry entries to run why does every other game "need" them?

 

[melchoir]

Originally posted by: lupi
Hmmmm, if wow doesn't need any registry entries to run why does every other game "need" them?

Most MMOs don't care where they "live". The fact that WoW is roughly a 20gb install (patched) allows them to stick every setting in the world they want in there.

No game NEEDS to use the registry, they just do.

 

[lupi]

Given how easy they screw it up after an install/remove cycle they should all do without then.

 

[Mide]

Originally posted by: lupi
Given how easy they screw it up after an install/remove cycle they should all do without then.

Agreed...I still remember the good ol' DOS days when games were all encapsulated under one directory.

 

[QuantumPion]

1) Backup your user data in WTF, Interface, and Screenshots folders in your WoW directory (either under users/public/games)

2) Backup all patch files (downloaders, patch executables, and the subfolders) under users/public/public documents/blizzard, IIRC

3) Reinstall WoW using the WOTLK DVD. Before running for the first time, copy all the patch files back. That way the first time you run the launcher, everything will update automatically without having to touch it.

4) Copy user data back, and you're set!

 

[tcsenter]

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.