Guys....
I've GTA 4 installation files and installed files with me... and I've GTA 4 in my steam lib.
what i want to ask is how can play the Gta 4 from steam without installing allover new files(15gb)... I know theres a way of copying the files and all... but dont know the process... please help me what all i've to do to skip the downloading part and straight away start with the game....
one of my friend told me to start downloading gta 4 and after it has downloaded some mbs of data pause the download and replace it with the files I have....
Do u guys know any way in which i can bypass downloading ~15gb of files..

11 years ago*

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11 years ago
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My friend said that he did the same steps with BI and had successfully bypassed the downloading part(except some updates and other files which steam req.) i've tried to do the same thing.
What i did was... copied my files in <Steamapps\downloading\12210(gta 4 game id)> but after then i resumed downloading files it start from where i'd paused it earlier... so cant get what i've to do

11 years ago
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I have a feeling that once upon a time you could copy the files into the Steam install directory and use "verify game content" to get Steam to recognise the data. The couple of times recently that I've bought a game on Steam that I already owned elsewhere it hasn't worked anymore.

Perhaps the system has changed?

/shrugs/

11 years ago
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Works with a few titles, i tried 3 months ago when installing over 800GB of games on my new desktop.

I tried doing copy paste process and verifying after, some games worked, some others didn't.

Borderlands 2 for example forced me to redownload the game entirelly while Dead Island worked fine.

Also worked with a few free to play games like planetside and blacklight.

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tried what u said to me but it didnt help... but instead its still downloading the files...

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yep i've tried that too... but that didnt work also... anyways i think i'll have to do it hard way by downloading 15gb.... Thank you :)

11 years ago
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Just copy/pasting the entire game folder doesn't help. I think there's something else that's needed since on Steam FAQ, it says to copy the entire SteamAPP folder.

How to move steam installation folders

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What they are saying is to move steam installed files to a different location... and what i'm saying is how to move files from different location and skip the downloading part when we have already downloaded that game once...

11 years ago
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What i've with me is a pirated version of GTA 4(which i specifically got from a guy just to skip the downloading part)... But now i just cant figure out a way to move those files in a steam apps folder and skip downloading part... I hope u have understood whole situation.... :)

11 years ago
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I doubt the files from a cracked / pirated copy will be recognised properly by Steam, so I think you need to download it.

11 years ago
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You can't. I've tried copying only the game folder and steam didn't recognize it. I think there's some identification file in the Steamapps folder that tells steam that you have a game installed or something. When I only copied individual game folders, Steam didn't recognize any of it but when I copied the entire Steamapp folder, Steam recognized my games...lolz

11 years ago
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Move the files into the common folder, and install the game again, the installer discovers the files by itself, just that. Sometimes it downloads some files that failed the verification but most of the times you don't need to download anything.

11 years ago
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I've tried that but it just wont recognise the files... and instead it'll start downloading all ~15gb of data....

11 years ago
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you need to do like luneaux said ,but at the end when you pasted these files you need to go to gtaiv properties in steam and there local files and verify integrity of game cache

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I havent verified the game cache as of now will try it and post what happens... :)

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How long did you leave it for when it said that it was downloading? Often for me it will say that and go through a few hundred MB's or a GB or so, but then as it discovers everything else it finishes within seconds

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It didnt start at all... it was stuck at Downloading and wasnt even downloading anything... Once it started downloading files and due to some reason when i paused it and after resuming it started downloading allover again...

11 years ago
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Hey you are right steam changed the system for copying files. earlier you could just create a folder and paste the files and steam would automatically recognize while downloading the game. But now theres a little change. I struggled myself and got a solution.
1 - Delete local content of the game from steam library
2 - Now copy the game folder in steamapps>common. (eg. GTA IV) Not the files inside it. You have to copy the entire folder
3 - Now Press the Install button in Steam Library for that particular game
4 - Follow the instructions and you will notice even before the downloads starts the steam dialog box will show up a message saying
that it is recognizing the data already present for the game
5 - No need for integrity check
Hope this solves your issue. If you have further problems add me on steam and ask. Thanks :)

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Closed 11 years ago by devil92.