Restore Fallout 4

[mroboto2016]

I had originally installed Fallout 4 on my SSD. When it became crowded, I used Steam Mover to move it to my secondary drive. Everything was fine until I let windows upgrade. Somehow it broke the link, and now the game won't run. Steam wants to update the files, and can't because it's still looking for the files on my SSD. My only thought is to move everything back to the SSD, but I lack the space. Any Ideas?

[Crosstieger]

Personally I would avoid tools like steam mover and such. You never now how exactly they move the files and if they leave symbolic links or similar things behind. They can get broken by regular system updates, like in you case.

 

I would move games the good old fashion way:

 

• Backup all you game files (basically the entire Fallout 4 folder)
• Backup you NMM files (folder "mods" and "install info" should be enough as long as you don't alter you NMM installation)
• Backup the Fallout 4 folder located at "Documents\MyGames"
• Backup the following folder C:\Users\<your account>\AppData\Local\Fallout4

 

• Let steam uninstall the game
• Remove anything thats left behind inside the Fallout 4 folder located inside /steamapps/...

 

• If you have a fast internet connection (or have the time to wait) let steam download and install vanilla Fallout to the new location
• If you don't wanna wait, move the original Fallout files from you backup to the new location and then let steam start the download
• Stam should analyze the existing files and only download the missing ones (shouldn't take long)
• Once finished, start the game without any mods! Steam will now set up the game

 

• As soon as you are in the menu, close the game and move all you backups the the new location
• Make sure to alter the NMM config to match your new location

 

Done.

 

I have moved my installation across multiple systems quite some time now using this method...

[AugustaCalidia]

There is an easy solution to your problem.

 

But first, some background.

 

If the update you referred to is Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, then it has deleted the symbolic link (symlink) to your transferred game folder. I'm guessing the symlink was originally created when you used Steam Mover. That symlink fools Steam into thinking the game is on your SSD when actually it's on your secondary drive. With that symlink removed, Steam doesn't see the game anymore and thinks it must be reinstalled.

 

The solution.

 

All you need to do is re-create the symlink. If Steam Mover worked for you the first time, it should work the second time. But if that doesn't work, then use the Windows "mklink" command. You don't need to move anything around, and you don't need to try to update through Steam. The mklink command has existed in Windows since the days of Vista. If you Google "mklink," you will find numerous articles from Microsoft and elsewhere explaining how to use this remarkably useful command.

 

Like you, I move a lot of Steam games from my SSD to my big data drive and connect them with symlinks. For reasons unknown, the Creators Updates delete those links. Each time this happens, I have used the "mklink" command to restore those links.

 

Once you have rebuilt the symlink, whether through Steam Mover or the "mklink" command, I would suggest that you use Steam to verify the integrity of your game files before trying to start the game. (I'm assuming that your game has the latest updates. If it doesn't, then Steam will download them when asked to verify the integrity of the game files. You may not want that to happen.)

 

This has always worked for me. I hope it works for you.

[JimmyRJump]

 

 

There is an easy solution to your problem.

 

But first, some background.

 

If the update you referred to is Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, then it has deleted the symbolic link (symlink) to your transferred game folder. I'm guessing the symlink was originally created when you used Steam Mover. That symlink fools Steam into thinking the game is on your SSD when actually it's on your secondary drive. With that symlink removed, Steam doesn't see the game anymore and thinks it must be reinstalled.

 

The solution.

 

All you need to do is re-create the symlink. If Steam Mover worked for you the first time, it should work the second time. But if that doesn't work, then use the Windows "mklink" command. You don't need to move anything around, and you don't need to try to update through Steam. The mklink command has existed in Windows since the days of Vista. If you Google "mklink," you will find numerous articles from Microsoft and elsewhere explaining how to use this remarkably useful command.

 

Like you, I move a lot of Steam games from my SSD to my big data drive and connect them with symlinks. For reasons unknown, the Creators Updates delete those links. Each time this happens, I have used the "mklink" command to restore those links.

 

Once you have rebuilt the symlink, whether through Steam Mover or the "mklink" command, I would suggest that you use Steam to verify the integrity of your game files before trying to start the game.

 

This has always worked for me. I hope it works for you.

 

 

 

 

Interesting and very useful, thank you.

 

The non-adaptable Windows Update is one of the reasons I've reverted back to Win7 and won't use Win10 again until Sicromoft have changed it to what it is in Win7.

[mroboto2016]

Yup. Windows creators update. I hadn't played the game for a while after the update, and I figured it was a link error. Thanks for the advice about the mklink command. I will now have to check it out.