...and you're running Windows 2000 or later and using NTFS, you can mount the Steam folder to another folder on your hard disk. So, instead of browsing to C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\[email protected]\half-life whenever you want to change your custom spray, you could instead browse to C:\Games\half-life. You could even mount the hl2 movies folder to something like C:\Movies\HL2.
It works like mounting a network drive, in that the new folder doesn't merely contain the contents of the original folder, but it IS the original folder. Essentially, it's an alias. If Steam updates, then the changes will appear instantaneously in C:\Games\half-life. If you add a custom map, the normal Steam folder will receive it too.
Anyway, here's how to do it:
1. Download the Windows 2003 Resource Kit Tools at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en. If the link goes bad in two days, don't ask me about it. Google it.
2. Install rktools.exe. The program you're going to need is linkd.exe. Fortunately, the installer updates the PATH environment variable to include the folder where linkd.exe is located, so you can run it from any directory at the command line. To be sure the changes take effect, use a new instance of cmd if you already have one open.
3. From the command prompt, type something analogous to the following (all on one line):
linkd "D:\Games\HLSteam" "D:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\[email protected]"
Note: Do NOT include a trailing backslash (\) after the path names. This will cause the call to fail.
The quotes actually aren't necessary for paths that don't have spaces in them. But I figured that by including them anyway, I'd get fewer "WTF LINKD DOES NOT WURK!!!11" responses.
4. You should get the message "Link created at: <mount point>". If the call fails, make sure the second parameter (the Steam folder) is typed correctly, and make sure the mount point is either an empty folder, or a non-existent folder.
5. When I do a directory list of D:\Games, HLSteam shows up as <JUNCTION> instead of <DIR>. This is what you should get.
6. Browse to D:\Games\HLSteam in Explorer to see your Steam folder, and be in awe of the power of NTFS.
7. To unmount the folder, type linkd "D:\Games\HLSteam" /d
I'm not sure if this is persistent across system restarts, but it would be a small matter to create a shortcut or add a registry key that would do this on startup.
It's more of a convenience item than anything else, but if you're a Steam beta tester, then odds are you like playing with computers anyway.
It works like mounting a network drive, in that the new folder doesn't merely contain the contents of the original folder, but it IS the original folder. Essentially, it's an alias. If Steam updates, then the changes will appear instantaneously in C:\Games\half-life. If you add a custom map, the normal Steam folder will receive it too.
Anyway, here's how to do it:
1. Download the Windows 2003 Resource Kit Tools at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en. If the link goes bad in two days, don't ask me about it. Google it.
2. Install rktools.exe. The program you're going to need is linkd.exe. Fortunately, the installer updates the PATH environment variable to include the folder where linkd.exe is located, so you can run it from any directory at the command line. To be sure the changes take effect, use a new instance of cmd if you already have one open.
3. From the command prompt, type something analogous to the following (all on one line):
linkd "D:\Games\HLSteam" "D:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\[email protected]"
Note: Do NOT include a trailing backslash (\) after the path names. This will cause the call to fail.
The quotes actually aren't necessary for paths that don't have spaces in them. But I figured that by including them anyway, I'd get fewer "WTF LINKD DOES NOT WURK!!!11" responses.
4. You should get the message "Link created at: <mount point>". If the call fails, make sure the second parameter (the Steam folder) is typed correctly, and make sure the mount point is either an empty folder, or a non-existent folder.
5. When I do a directory list of D:\Games, HLSteam shows up as <JUNCTION> instead of <DIR>. This is what you should get.
6. Browse to D:\Games\HLSteam in Explorer to see your Steam folder, and be in awe of the power of NTFS.
7. To unmount the folder, type linkd "D:\Games\HLSteam" /d
I'm not sure if this is persistent across system restarts, but it would be a small matter to create a shortcut or add a registry key that would do this on startup.
It's more of a convenience item than anything else, but if you're a Steam beta tester, then odds are you like playing with computers anyway.
