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Please help! Half of my Steam library is suddenly greyed out ;__;

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AtomicWoodchuck

I just logged into my Steam account this evening and found around 50% of my installed Steam games are now greyed out and are seemingly not installed. Many of these have hours of time on them, so I definitely installed them!

Some of the games are installed on a separate internal drive (N:), but many of the missing games were installed on my C: drive, and the files are still present on the HDD.

My internet is slow and mucho expensive, so it will take months and $$$s to re-download all of these ;__;

I've tried deleting the ClientRegistry.blob file, but it doesn't change anything.

Has anyone experienced this before? Any ideas for helping senile old Señor Steam relocate these missing games?

EDIT: Thank you all for your help. I'm ok with the games on my C: drive now, but the games on my 'N' drive seem to be MIA.

12 years ago*

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31 Comments
lazytev

Do the file recheck in steam itself. Should help.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

If you mean the "verify integrity of game cache" button, it's greyed out, as if the game had never been installed.

If not, is there some sort of bulk recheck function hidden away somewhere?

12 years ago
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CHTonRage

It's the Steam "Missing Game Syndrome". I guess backing up your steamapps folder and reinstalling steam will do it.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Ah - ok. Will Steam recognise the folder contents once I've pasted it in?

I'm just worried that instead of still having around 50% of my games, I'll be left with none at all...

12 years ago
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CHTonRage

Steam will, but you have to put it in before you start steam for the first time.

12 years ago
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TheDopefish

Yes and no. Steam will "forget" what games are installed, but if you click "install" it will (or let's say should) find the files that you already have and maybe only download a few kB of data.

Here's what I did when I move to a new pc:
Backup Steamapps folder on pc1.
Install Steam on pc2.
Startup Steam on pc2 and download a small game, so all folders are created.
Close Steam.
Copy "old" Steamapps folder from pc1 over to pc2.
Start Steam on pc2 and click "install" on the games that I had installed on pc1.

At least that's my experience - but then again I've got all my games in one directory, I can't say for sure if this will work in your case, since you said you've got your games spread over different folders.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks for the instructions. Looks like the games on the N: drive are going to be the big problem. Steam doesn't seem to want to look in that folder as part of the reinstallation process :(

12 years ago
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danielb

Did you added the N drive to the library after reinstall??

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Sorry for being a technical halfwit, but how do I do that?

I can't see anything in "Settings". Is it buried in one of the other menus?

12 years ago
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danielb

Steam->Settings->Download+Cloud->Steam Library Folders->Add library folder

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks for the info :)

12 years ago
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TheDeadSkin

Reinstall steam, but backup your whole steamapps folder and move it to a new steam installation. After, just run a download for all those games, they'll download 1-2% of actual game size, because most files will be already present.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Okay - thanks. Can I just drag the folder to a safe place, then drag it back once I've reinstalled?

Also, once I've reinstalled, is there any way of pointing Steam towards the secondary Steam folder on the N: drive? There is about 650GB of Steam data on that one, in addition to over a terabyte in the C: folder.

12 years ago
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TheDeadSkin

Just select a drive with game files in install window.

12 years ago
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zamoy72

I had the same issue after Big Pircture Steam update....try "install" the games greyed out...there will be no download and Steam should recognize them again.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Interesting - "Discovering existing files for... <gamename> and INSTALLED!

THANK YOU ZAMEK!

EDIT: This only works on games in my C: drive, not the N: drive, but it's a start :)

12 years ago
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Jonex

I think I had the same problem a while back, several grayed out games. Restarting Steam fixed it for me :P Steam just needed a little kick to wake up, as long as the game files are still in the correct folders.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Steam has been merrily giving me the finger all evening one way or another. It started with Steam deciding that the 8Gb of XCOM data I'd painstakingly downloaded through my embarrasingly skinny pipe wasn't up to snuff, and went back to the very beginning again.

Downloading any serious volume of data through my scabby old rural connection is something akin to trying to suck a succession of full-term coconuts through a garden hose.

Then it got worse, and half my library went missing.

I have tried restarting, rebooting, and some of my most creative profanities, but all to no avail.

12 years ago
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Jonex

Sorry to hear that :S

Well what about the grayed out games? Have you looked for a pattern? Or are they just randomly missing?

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

It's all totally random from what I can work out :(

12 years ago
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Infernotoni

Just curious: what happens if you try to start your game via the "good old" .exe file in your steamapps folder?

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Hmm. Seems to give me an "Application load error 5:0000065434.

I'm no technical wizard, but that doesn't strike me as a positive thing...

12 years ago
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cryonseris

To be honest, your best bet is probably to contact Steam directly and get an official solution, to avoid anything ending badly.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks.

In my experience Steam usually take an eternity to reply to support queries and, when they do, it's usually with some copy-and-paste answer which proves that the operator lost interest about three words into your email.

Perhas I'm exaggerating, but on the few occasionsI've had to deal with Steam Support, I've found them about 40% as effective as a balsa-wood crowbar.

12 years ago
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TheDeadSkin

When you install a game you are asked on which drive to install it, so just chose a proper drive with the game. Should work.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks. I'm not having any luck with this, alas.

Steam doesn't seem very keen on choosing my N: drive. When I select the N: folder with my games in, it grumbles about how the "New Steam library folder must be empty".

12 years ago
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Shad0WeN

Go into your Steam settings: Downloads + Cloud tab --> "Steam Library Folders" button at the bottom --> verify that the correct folder in the N drive is listed?

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thank you, kind sir. You are a star :)

EDIT: Same error - some objection about the new Steam folder being empty. GRRRR.

12 years ago
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Shad0WeN

Maybe try making a new empty folder like it wants? Then afterwards just copy the files from the old one to the new one? I don't know. Personally, I haven't yet used that new option to add additional library folder(s) so I can't speak from experience with it.

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks. I've tried this, and it seems to have done the trick!

Please accept some manly handshakes and a flurry of grateful backslaps!

12 years ago
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AtomicWoodchuck

Thanks to everyone who helped sort this!

I am a mere few hundred clicks away from retrieving all those lost games :)

Much gratitude :)

12 years ago
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Closed 12 years ago by AtomicWoodchuck.