Games are getting bigger and bigger nowadays with more advanced features. So, many people are facing storage shortage issues and slow game reading issues because they have installed games on their HDD drive.
Technology is evolved, and people are switching from HDD to SSD drives because they are faster and provide a better gaming experience.
So, if you have installed your games on an HDD drive but now want to transfer them to an SSD drive without reinstalling them, here is a complete guide.
Why Move Games from HDD to SSD
If you have installed games on your HDD drive, you may have noticed that it can take several seconds for the system to access data in your games. This happens because HDDs are slow to read data, and they can take a few seconds to load the game.
But on the other hand, SSDs are new, and they are much faster than HDDs in reading data. That is why installing games in an SSD drive is recommended because it will load quickly and provide a better gaming experience.
If you were using HDD and installed all the games in it, you will need to transfer them to SSD because redownloading them would be very inconvenient for you.
For this, I will write down some easiest methods that will help you quickly move games from HDD to SSD.
How to Transfer Games from HDD to SSD
Transferring games from HDD to SSD is not a difficult task. You just have to follow the below-given methods, and you will be able to transfer games without reinstalling them quickly.
Method #1: Transfer Steam Games to SSD
This method is suitable for those gamers who use the Steam gaming client to download and install their games. Following are the steps that you can follow.
If you have already installed a game in your SSD using Steam, you can skip step #1 and follow only Step #2. But if you have installed a new SSD drive on your computer, you will need to follow this step.
Step #1: Create Steam Library Folder on SSD
First, you will have to create a Steam library folder on your SSD to transfer games. For this, here are the simple steps that you can follow.
- Go to Steam “Settings” and click on “Downloads” and go to Steam “Library”. A folders window will appear with all the library folders.
- You will have to click on the + sign that you can find in the upper left corner beside the current library folder.
- It will take you to “Add A New Steam Library Folder”.
- Here you will have to select the SSD drive in the drop-down list and click on “Add” button.
- The new folder will be created on your SSD.
This will help you move games from HDD to SSD, and they will move to that steam folder.
Step #2: Transfer Games on Steam from HDD to SSD
You will have to move the games from HDD to your SSD. Following are the steps.
- Go to the Steam “Library Folder” and click on the current folder where games are installed.
- You will see all the installed games below, and there will be a check box on their right side.
- Check the box of each game that you want to move to SSD.
- Now click on the “Move” button that you will see in the bottom right corner.
- A window will appear, and you will have to select the SSD folder where you want to move the games.
- After that, click on the “Move” button and wait for some time to complete the process.
It can take some time according to the size of the game, so be patient and don’t close the Steam application until the procedure is completed.
Method #2: Transfer Epic Games to SSD
Transferring games from HDD to SSD while using Epic is quite tricky. Here are some steps that you can follow to move games successfully.
- First, you will need to backup the game file to transfer to SSD.
- For this, you will need to go to C Drive > “Program Files” > “Epic Games”.
- Here you have to copy the game folder and paste it to another folder on the HDD drive.
- Now open “Epic”, click on “Library” and locate the game you need to move.
- Click on the three dots next to the game and click on “Uninstall”.
- Now click on the game icon in Library and click on “Install”. It will also ask you about the installation location. Here you will have to select the SSD drive.
- When the game is 3-4% installed, “Cancel” the installation process and go to the new installation directory of the game in SSD.
- Replace the game with the backup game file and go back to Epic and install the game again.
This will skip the downloading process, and the game will be installed on your SSD.
Conclusion
Here is how you can easily move your games from HDD drive to SSD drive without reinstalling them. I hope these methods will be helpful for you. If you are facing any problems while following any step, you can ask me in the comment section. I will try to reply to you within a few hours.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can play games on an SSD, and in fact, you will find the best gaming experience because SSDs are faster than HDDs and provide better loading speed and gaming experience.
This is because SSDs have a higher read & write speed when compared to HDDs. That means that they can boot up your computer in less time and load applications as well as games more quickly.
No, this is not possible. You can only play games on a drive only if it is stored in it.
Yes, you can move installed games to another drive by using above mentioned methods.
Saving games on an SSD is a great idea for several reasons. The most important reason is that it will allow you to load the game much faster than if you were to save it onto an HDD.
In terms of read/write speeds, SSDs are much faster than HDDs when it comes to reading files and running applications or games. So, it is always better to save games on an SSD.
