Reformatting -- Steam and Singleplayer Game Progress

[Malfunction]

hai gaiz

I'm about to reformat Vista, and I'm backing up all of my files, but I'm confused about how Steam will handle a reformat. I'm currently in the middle of playing FEAR 2, and am concerned that my progress in the game will be lost via the format. Am I correct in thinking this, or is Steam awesome and somehow will retain my game progress? halp plz

 

[Stigmata]

Just be safe and copy your save files to a flash drive.

 

[PimpinPenguin]

Using Steam's backup feature will not backup your save files that you must do manually.
For FEAR 2 your save files should be in the "WBgames" folder in your "documents" folder.
Just backup that folder somewhere to your progress.

 

[Krynn72]

Just to make sure you understand what you're doing... you dont reformat Vista, you reformat your hard drive. You're going to loose any files and programs that you have on it. You need to make copies of everything you want to keep on another hard drive or on some cds/dvds or flash drives. Just wanted to make sure you know that before doing it and realizing you lost everything.

 

[-Psy-]

Just copy the entire Steam folder to an external hard-drive and copy it back on once you've reformatted your PC. Then you would simply run the Steam executable, install the service when it asks, and voila.

 

[Malfunction]

Just to make sure you understand what you're doing... you dont reformat Vista, you reformat your hard drive. You're going to loose any files and programs that you have on it. You need to make copies of everything you want to keep on another hard drive or on some cds/dvds or flash drives. Just wanted to make sure you know that before doing it and realizing you lost everything.

lol of course, i'm not retarded, but thanks.

also, thanks to PimpinPenguin -- i found that folder before you mentioned it, but thanks anyway.



one last reformatting question: my pc should function to an extent right after the reformat, right? i ask this because i'm unsure whether or not i should download drivers for the components in my system now, or if i can afford to do it after i reformat.

 

[Krynn72]

If you're using a integrated network card, I'd at least get your motherboard's drivers first, or your network card's driver if its not integrated. Vista should have default drivers for them so you can get online, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Warped]

when i upgraded to Vista all my Source material was still there in the folder under 'oldWindows' and all i did was copy over the data and maybe a quick update later and everything was fine...but for all your other non program files i suggest either a Flash device or External HDD. you can get a 1 Terabit External HDD for $100 which is the best bang for your buck. another 6 months and the 2TB HDDs will be $100

 

[PimpinPenguin]

I always recommend having your driver ready before reinstalling. My friend reinstalled Vista but it failed to find his network driver making him unable to go online and get his drivers. Like Krynn said better safe than sorry.

 

[Vegeta897]

Just be safe and copy your save files to a flash drive.

And then put the flash drive into a combination lock safe.

 

[Malfunction]

I always recommend having your driver ready before reinstalling. My friend reinstalled Vista but it failed to find his network driver making him unable to go online and get his drivers. Like Krynn said better safe than sorry.

word up homies. brb dling drivers to flash drive.

 

[Malfunction]

oh, one more question. i have two physical disk drives, one that i had generally associated with Vista and all of my games, and my D drive, for all of my general data and media. when i go to reformat, should i wipe both of these completely clean? i'm pretty sure that my D drive also contains some programs that i had installed when i ran out of space on my C drive, so shouldn't this also be cleansed? actually, i'm sure that it must be wiped clean, as any programs installed on it will have registry keys on my C drive, which will render all apps on D useless. so during my reformat, must i also delete my D partition, or can i handle this after i reinstall Vista?

btw, i'm reformatting to run away from a nasty virus, so i really want a clean start.

 

[Stigmata]

And then put the flash drive into a combination lock safe.

And then lock your safe safely in a locksmith's safe room.

 

[Malfunction]

bump b/c i feel like doing this nao

 

[Kadayi]

oh, one more question. i have two physical disk drives, one that i had generally associated with Vista and all of my games, and my D drive, for all of my general data and media. when i go to reformat, should i wipe both of these completely clean? i'm pretty sure that my D drive also contains some programs that i had installed when i ran out of space on my C drive, so shouldn't this also be cleansed? actually, i'm sure that it must be wiped clean, as any programs installed on it will have registry keys on my C drive, which will render all apps on D useless. so during my reformat, must i also delete my D partition, or can i handle this after i reinstall Vista?

btw, i'm reformatting to run away from a nasty virus, so i really want a clean start.

1) as the others have said, back up all of your data and media onto a flash drive/portable hard drive.

2) ensure you have your windows serial code and network drivers as well as the latest drivers for your machines graphics card (saves hassle later on)

3) In order to reformat your machine from the off you'll need to change the boot priority in the system BIOS so that your machine reads the DVD drive before the HD. You should get the option to enter the BIOS when your PC starts up by pressing DEL, or F5, or F8 (it normally says in the bottom right corner briefly). If you have any documentation about your systems motherboard that should provide you with details about the BIOS and where to go. If you don't, now is probably the time to find out and download a PDF off it from the manufacturers website. You can never have too much info at your fingertips esp when doing a reinstall.

4) Once you've successfully changed the boot priority, and you've ensured you've successfully completed steps 1 & 2, then insert the Vista DVD and restart your machine, you should get a message flash up about 'booting from a CD' say yes and this should start the Vista installer.

5) Once the install process has started Vista will detect the current arrangement of your machine and offer up various options. My advice given your situation would be to note down the size of the existing partition on a piece of paper, then delete the existing partition, format the entire drive, then set up the partition again and then proceed with the install. It should all be plain sailing after that.

6) needless to say once you've installed Vista, go back into the BIOS and set the boot priority back to how it was before. Install your PCs network drivers if you cannot automatically connect to the internet, install your anti-virus software, update your graphic drivers and then carry out a windows update so Vista updates to SP1 and beyond so your system is fully up to date before you start reinstalling any other software.