Transfer preloaded files to friend?

Forsen · 04-20-2009, 11:22 AM

A friend of mine has prepurchased Zeno Clash on steam, but he can't preload in just one day because of his slow internet connection. I have also prepurchased the game on steam, and i have a faster internet then him.

When i am done preloading the game on my account, can I transfer the files on a USB memory stick and transfer them to his steam installation on his computer? it whould really save some time if it is possible. But is it possible?

neuromancer · 04-20-2009, 11:24 AM

I would venture a guess and say not likely but there is one way to find out

Nugma · 04-20-2009, 11:29 AM

An intelligent guess is yes. But I would recommend running "Verify Integrity of game cache" under Properties just after you have transferred the files to his computer.

fakiyo · 04-20-2009, 11:32 AM

Of course you can, why not?

AciD · 04-20-2009, 11:48 AM

It's fine as long as you both own ZC.

some_guy · 04-20-2009, 11:49 AM

They could be account locked. (I'm not saying they are, just a possible reason why not)

tonka · 04-20-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by some_guy

They could be account locked. (I'm not saying they are, just a possible reason why not)

No, you are wrong, if both own the game, not problem to do that.

some_guy · 04-20-2009, 12:05 PM

Good to know

acare84 · 04-20-2009, 12:12 PM

You can backup preloaded games too from Steam I think (I didn't try it). If so you can make a backup and run on your friend's computer.

Hyplex · 04-20-2009, 12:57 PM

Since you cannot backup pre-loaded games, you probably can burn the folder itself on a CD and just paste it in the same directory on his own PC, or simply wait until the game is officially and backup the game files the old fasion way and then just install it on his own PC.

spyrochaete · 04-20-2009, 02:10 PM

My wife and I have our own accounts. Sometimes my wife will log on with my account on her computer to download and play a game. When she logs back on as herself she sees the game on her list but it says "not available" or something like that.

So my guess is that as long as your friend owns the game it should work just fine to copy the files over to his steamapps folder.

Forsen · 04-20-2009, 04:01 PM

It seems that my friends internet connection was a bit speedier then we thought, so we don't have to use this method. But thanks a lot for all the responses.

Tomji · 10-23-2009, 04:22 PM

It didn't work for me. (with borderlands).
I copied all the files over, but steam insistence to download all the files anyway.

goliathvv · 10-23-2009, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomji

It didn't work for me. (with borderlands).
I copied all the files over, but steam insistence to download all the files anyway.

It didn't work for me either, but then I copied all the files in the Steam main folder(only the files, not the other folders) over the ones on the machine that could't recognize the pre-loaded files and it worked. I guess you really don't need to copy all the files, probably only AppUpdateStats.blob or ClientRegistry.blob is enough.

Try that.

Syncourt · 11-09-2009, 01:33 AM

It does work. I've use the steam backup tool to backup both pre-loaded games and released games to my brothers computer on our LAN to save bandwidth and download time when we both have to get the same updates/pre-loads.

I gifted my friend killing floor the other week and gave him the backup to install. He hadn't realized that he didn't accept the gift yet (steam was having some issue, not showing the gift pop-up) and it would not let him install the game without having a key linked to his account. Once he found the gift it worked fine.

The only thing is that sometimes there might be a tiny piece of the game that the user still has to download (account setup maybe?). But this usually takes less than 15 seconds on 1500/256 (might be a couple of mins for 56k).

04-20-2009, 11:22 AM	#1
Forsen Join Date: Jul 2005 Reputation: 7 Posts: 172	Transfer preloaded files to friend? A friend of mine has prepurchased Zeno Clash on steam, but he can't preload in just one day because of his slow internet connection. I have also prepurchased the game on steam, and i have a faster internet then him. When i am done preloading the game on my account, can I transfer the files on a USB memory stick and transfer them to his steam installation on his computer? it whould really save some time if it is possible. But is it possible?

11-09-2009, 01:33 AM	#15
Syncourt Join Date: Feb 2008 Reputation: 30 Posts: 668	It does work. I've use the steam backup tool to backup both pre-loaded games and released games to my brothers computer on our LAN to save bandwidth and download time when we both have to get the same updates/pre-loads. I gifted my friend killing floor the other week and gave him the backup to install. He hadn't realized that he didn't accept the gift yet (steam was having some issue, not showing the gift pop-up) and it would not let him install the game without having a key linked to his account. Once he found the gift it worked fine. The only thing is that sometimes there might be a tiny piece of the game that the user still has to download (account setup maybe?). But this usually takes less than 15 seconds on 1500/256 (might be a couple of mins for 56k). Last edited by Syncourt : 11-09-2009 at 01:35 AM.

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04-20-2009, 11:24 AM	#2
neuromancer Join Date: Nov 2008 Reputation: 58 Posts: 940	I would venture a guess and say not likely but there is one way to find out

04-20-2009, 11:29 AM	#3
Nugma Join Date: Mar 2009 Reputation: 0 Posts: 14	An intelligent guess is yes. But I would recommend running "Verify Integrity of game cache" under Properties just after you have transferred the files to his computer.

04-20-2009, 11:32 AM	#4
fakiyo Join Date: Jan 2008 Reputation: 319 Posts: 4,828	Of course you can, why not?

04-20-2009, 11:48 AM	#5
AciD Volunteer Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 701 Posts: 12,828	It's fine as long as you both own ZC.

04-20-2009, 11:49 AM	#6
some_guy Join Date: Aug 2007 Reputation: 143 Posts: 948	They could be account locked. (I'm not saying they are, just a possible reason why not)

04-20-2009, 12:05 PM	#8
some_guy Join Date: Aug 2007 Reputation: 143 Posts: 948	Good to know

04-20-2009, 12:12 PM	#9
acare84 Join Date: Sep 2006 Reputation: 72 Posts: 802	You can backup preloaded games too from Steam I think (I didn't try it). If so you can make a backup and run on your friend's computer.

04-20-2009, 12:57 PM	#10
Hyplex Join Date: Dec 2007 Reputation: 10 Posts: 791	Since you cannot backup pre-loaded games, you probably can burn the folder itself on a CD and just paste it in the same directory on his own PC, or simply wait until the game is officially and backup the game files the old fasion way and then just install it on his own PC.

04-20-2009, 02:10 PM	#11
spyrochaete Join Date: Feb 2007 Reputation: 28 Posts: 1,015	My wife and I have our own accounts. Sometimes my wife will log on with my account on her computer to download and play a game. When she logs back on as herself she sees the game on her list but it says "not available" or something like that. So my guess is that as long as your friend owns the game it should work just fine to copy the files over to his steamapps folder.

04-20-2009, 04:01 PM	#12
Forsen Join Date: Jul 2005 Reputation: 7 Posts: 172	It seems that my friends internet connection was a bit speedier then we thought, so we don't have to use this method. But thanks a lot for all the responses.

10-23-2009, 04:22 PM	#13
Tomji Join Date: Dec 2008 Reputation: 0 Posts: 14	It didn't work for me. (with borderlands). I copied all the files over, but steam insistence to download all the files anyway.