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I've got an SSD and HDD in my computer. I don't want to install programs where loading time isn't a big issue onto my SSD so I have a Steam library on the HDD but Steam installed on my SSD.

When I come to install CoD MW3 onto my computer, there is no option to specify which Steam library to install it to.

This is what I should get:

http://i.imgur.com/ZKqN2.png

This is what I do get:

enter image description here

I can only assume there is something different about MW3 but I can't imagine what.

Not sure if it makes any difference but I have Black Ops 2 installed on the HDD.

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  • Hmm, didn't know you could do that to begin with
    – MBraedley
    Dec 23, 2012 at 22:32
  • It seems that some games just don't have that option. I have several games in my Steam library that do not allow me to specify an install directory.
    – murgatroid99
    Dec 24, 2012 at 15:43

4 Answers 4

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One solution is to make a symbolic link (Windows only, similar to a shortcut) from your Steam folder on your SSD to your HDD.

In this case, you would want to make a symbolic link from C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ to S:\SteamLibrary\.

  1. Make sure that the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3\ does not already exist. If it does already exist, move it (and it's contents) to S:\SteamLibrary\Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3\. (cut+paste)

  2. Open the console. In Windows 7, open the Start menu and type cmd into the search bar at the bottom and press Enter.

    • If restrictions are in place, you may need to open CMD as an administrator. Hold CTRL + SHIFT when opening CMD to run as administrator.

  3. Type (or copy+paste) in the following: (right-click with your mouse to paste in console)

    mklink /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3\" "S:\SteamLibrary\Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3\"

    and press Enter. This will create a symbolic link from your C: drive to your S: drive. The difference between this and a regular shortcut is that Windows will read this as an actual directory and follow it to the other hard drive.

  4. Install normally. So long as it installs to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3\ (the location that we just made the link point from, and Steam's default install location for that game), the files will be stored on your S: drive.

  5. Enjoy your free SSD space! :)

Feel free to do this with as many games or folders as you want! (or your whole steamapps folder)

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  • 1
    If Steam insists on installing to your main Steam install folder, this is pretty much your only solution currently for making sure it isn't actually on your SSD.
    – kalina
    Dec 24, 2012 at 9:35
  • Thanks a lot, can't believe I didn't think of this :)
    – Sean Kenny
    Dec 24, 2012 at 11:47
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    Just something I did notice about this, on windows 7 you will need to run CMD as the administrator (CTRL + SHIFT when opening) to run the required command.
    – Sean Kenny
    Dec 24, 2012 at 11:51
  • @SeanKenny Possibly. Definitely for Vista. I have all of the restrictions turned off on my installation of Windows 7.
    – Lemmings19
    Dec 24, 2012 at 12:44
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You have installed it previously and when you uninstalled it, you didn't fully delete it or you left the dedicated server installed. Go to Steam and check every application or server/tool associated with MW3 and delete it from Steam. You should now be able to install MW3 on any Steam library that you wish.

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0

Games need to use Steam's new content delivery system to install them to another drive. I'm guessing MW3 is one of the games that hasn't been converted over to the new system.

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  • Will this be happening? If so, any word on when I could expect this to happen?
    – Sean Kenny
    Dec 23, 2012 at 23:39
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You need to opt-in the beta client:

  1. Open your Steam-Client
  2. Go to Steam > Settings
  3. You should have this option available to you

After that the client will update to the latest beta version and then you'll have this option, each time you try to install a game:

selecting library path for installation

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  • No good I'm afraid, still no option to change the install drive. It is ONLY MW3, all other games have this option.
    – Sean Kenny
    Dec 23, 2012 at 22:37

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