download and staging folder

[Noci93]

Just being curious: I have 100 GB Mods installed. I have my staging folder on a partition F:\ and the download folder in the default directory on C:\Users\%username%\Appdata\Roaming\Vortex. I wonder if i could make one directory download and staging folder to reduce storage space? Note: This is my first forum entry ever - hope i did everything right...best regards

[HadToRegister]

No DO NOT combine the Download Folder with the Mod Staging Folder. Besides the obvious disaster that would be, it also wouldn't save you any space.

The Download Folder is where the Mod ARCHIVES are stored, 7z, zip, rar etc

The Mod Staging Folder is where the mod archives are extracted, and then hardlinked to the game directory.

You CAN move (using Vortex) the download folder to a different drive in order to save space on your C:\ drive if you want

[zed140]

Hello, I'm currently searching a response to move the download folder to another drive, but I already have a lot of archives in my download folder. Do I have to move manually the existing archives to the new drive or Vortex do that itself?

 

-> Ok Finally I taken the risk and Vortex move the folder itself

[Noci93]

No DO NOT combine the Download Folder with the Mod Staging Folder. Besides the obvious disaster that would be, it also wouldn't save you any space.

 

The Download Folder is where the Mod ARCHIVES are stored, 7z, zip, rar etc

 

The Mod Staging Folder is where the mod archives are extracted, and then hardlinked to the game directory.

 

You CAN move (using Vortex) the download folder to a different drive in order to save space on your C:\ drive if you want

 

 

 

Heyho thanks, for reply. Got it, though i think its still a waste of storage space. Yeah, i know each folder has different task, but in fact ya have the same content in two different dictonaries (packed and unpacked).

[HadToRegister]

 

No DO NOT combine the Download Folder with the Mod Staging Folder. Besides the obvious disaster that would be, it also wouldn't save you any space.

 

The Download Folder is where the Mod ARCHIVES are stored, 7z, zip, rar etc

 

The Mod Staging Folder is where the mod archives are extracted, and then hardlinked to the game directory.

 

You CAN move (using Vortex) the download folder to a different drive in order to save space on your C:\ drive if you want

 

 

 

Heyho thanks, for reply. Got it, though i think its still a waste of storage space. Yeah, i know each folder has different task, but in fact ya have the same content in two different dictonaries (packed and unpacked).

 

 

 

Every Mod manager out there does the same thing, even if you manually install them you'll still have the archive, and the extracted files

[rmm200]

If you want to "run bare", you can always delete the archives in Downloads.

Just remember, those are needed if you ever want to reinstall the mod.

And with authors pulling their mods, like Arthmoor, they might not be replaceable.

[HadToRegister]

If you want to "run bare", you can always delete the archives in Downloads.

Just remember, those are needed if you ever want to reinstall the mod.

And with authors pulling their mods, like Arthmoor, they might not be replaceable.

 

 

Arthmoor has his own site AFKMods so they're gone from NEXUS, but they still exist on AFKMods

[Guest deleted34304850]

 

No DO NOT combine the Download Folder with the Mod Staging Folder. Besides the obvious disaster that would be, it also wouldn't save you any space.

 

The Download Folder is where the Mod ARCHIVES are stored, 7z, zip, rar etc

 

The Mod Staging Folder is where the mod archives are extracted, and then hardlinked to the game directory.

 

You CAN move (using Vortex) the download folder to a different drive in order to save space on your C:\ drive if you want

 

 

 

Heyho thanks, for reply. Got it, though i think its still a waste of storage space. Yeah, i know each folder has different task, but in fact ya have the same content in two different dictonaries (packed and unpacked).

 

its not a waste of storage space - it is what it is. if you download an archive that contains a mod, that archive has to exist somewhere for you to install the mod (copy from the archive to your game's mod folder). its not "wasted" space as much as it's required space for the archive to be accessed.

 

once you've installed the mod from the archive, you have choices.

 

1. do nothing. everything stays where it is.

2. remove the archive - either delete it, thus freeing up disk space, or move it to another storage device such as a pen drive, or externally mounted ssd or whatever (again freeing up disk space on its original disk, but consuming disk space on the target disk you move it to).

 

if you delete the archive and you want to reinstall the mod - you have to redownload it all over again so there's a bandwidth cost to consider. also the mod may no longer be available for some reason. so its always best (IMHO) to copy your mod archives away to another disk that contains only mod archives. if/when you need to reinstall them, simply access the disk that contains your archives, and install it via your mod manager. job done.

 

Really, if storage is a concern then either buy an external drive to store stuff on (cheapest/simplest solution), or buy and install a larger disk for your PC - more complex option that invariably ends up with people destroying their systems because they don't know what they're doing.

 

I've got a 500gb SSD that I use exclusively for mod archives. It cost me about $30 on an Amazon flash sale. As it's used only to store archives, I don't need the fastest firmware - it does one thing and it does it well.

I'd recommend you looking at that as a solution if disk space on your local system drives is running short.

 

Also - you may want to look at Bleachbit which is an open source disk cleaner. Use it wisely and you will recover gigs of previously used disk space from your system. Also, look at all the programs installed on your system and if you have stuff on there that you simply don't use, remove it - you'd be suprised how much space you can reclaim from regular cleaning of your system.

[AugustaCalidia]

@1ae0bfb8

 

Thumbs up for your excellent comments about archive storage. Inexpensive external drives are such an easy solution to the storage worries that frequently appear in these forums.