Reformat/Reinstall and Steam

[InfernalVortex]

If you buy a game through steam, then upgrade/reformat/reinstall your OS and/or hardware, can you re-download the game and play it as usual?

I'm having some issues lately and I think a clean swipe of my HD's, plus a newer, faster drive as the main boot drive would solve some problems for me, but I'm worried about how Steam handles that. I've become a bit of a fan of Steam as of late because they've found a way to deter piracy while still rewarding the consumer (in various ways) and it doesn't seem nearly as invasive and crippling as some of the measures some companies have taken lately (EA, I'm talking to you).

But I'm hoping my faith isn't misplaced and my hard drive upgrade (maybe a vid card while I'm at it, not sure) won't throw off some sort of alarm bells and prevent me from getting my games back. How does the process work? You just log in and download the games? Or do I need to go through some sort of process to prove that I uninstalled the games from the "first computer" or do the EULA's say I can install the game(s) on as many computers as I want, provided I'm logged into my account?

I'm just not sure how it works. I'm wanting to buy some games off Steam, but I think I'll be reformatting in the next couple of weeks also.

I've checked faqs and done some searching but I'm having a hard time finding anything relevant. I came across something where it seemed to imply you're free to play/download the games on as many computers as you want as long as you're only logged in on one computer - is that right? If so, I'm guessing I could upgrade and reinstall forever and never have a problem as long as steam stays up and running...?

 

[giant384]

think of your steam account as a virtual game library that you can access anywhere; just like your email which you can access anywhere.

 

[Moto]

Or, to put it more plainly, yes.

I've reformatted/reinstalled twice on my Windows computer and also installed steam on our iMac (running Windows under Bootcamp). No problem at all.

 

[diluted]

Backup all the *.GCF files in the Steam/steamapps/ folder, those huge files contain your games. Then after you install Steam on your clean installation of Windows, drop those files in the folder. Unless you want to re-download gigabytes and gigabytes of files.

 

[Sandspider]

think of your steam account as a virtual game library that you can access anywhere; just like your email which you can access anywhere.

Yup... that's why I love Steam! I got a new laptop that kicks the crap out of my PC.... i installed Steam and then left it downloading all day and voila!!! All my games on my new laptop.... hassle free... and I never had to worry about loosing the boxe's/manual/CD!

:thumbs: