How to Move Games from SSD to HDD on Windows PC?

Scenario: Moving games/Apps from SSD to HDD

"Is it possible to transfer games and other installed apps from my SSD to my hard drive? I didn't realize that I had been storing extra files on the SSD. Some are content production software and recording software, and my C drive no longer has enough capacity for my system. It occasionally freezes, and my computer boots slower. Any assistance would be highly appreciated.

                                                   ——From Microsoft Community"

Why move games from SSD to HDD?

With the constant updating of video games, they consume more and more storage resources, occupying a substantial portion of disk space. Some of them even need 100-200GB. So, even if SSDs have grown in size, disk space is still insufficient.

Many gamers prefer to use SSD to save their games because it has better performance than HDD. However, if your PC only has one SSD as a system disk, since your games will use more space, it’s inevitable your system will confront problems like freezing frequently, slower boot up, or even crashing.

An SSD that has the same storage space as an HDD is usually more expensive. So, if you can stand to give up some of those super-fast loading times and you have many games on your PC, you can relocate some of your games to an HDD with greater capacity without reinstalling them.

How to move games from SSD to HDD

Some game clients, such as Steam, provide capabilities that allow you to transfer your games from one location to another. But others like the Epic Games Store, need some skills to relocate a game's data.

1. How to move Steam games

Step 1. In the main interface of Steam, follow “Steam” > “Settings” > “Steam Library Folders”.

Step 2. Here, you can click “ADD LIBRARY FOLDER” and select the external hard drive you plan to move to, hit “NEW FOLDER” and write a directory name.

Step 3. Back to the main interface, right-click the game name you want to move, and select “Properties”.

Step 4. In this window, click on “Local Files” and select “MOVE INSTALL FOLDER”.

Step 5. Hit “MOVE FOLDER” to start the transfer.

Wait a moment, the process can be completed.

2. How to move Blizzard games

For games that use Blizzard's Battle.net launcher, you must manually relocate the files and then point Battle.net to the new place.

Step 1. Go to your Battle.net games directory in C: Program Files (x86), and copy and paste the game folder to your selected position on the new disk.

Step 2. Open Battle.net and click Settings > Game Settings, then choose the game you wish to move and click Use a Different Folder. Navigate to where you moved the files on your new drive

Then Battle.net will verify the integrity of the files, and you’ll be able to play the game from its new location without re-downloading.

3. How to move Ubisoft Connect

Like Battle.net which will verify the integrity of the files, Ubisoft asks users to move the actual files using File Explorer.

Step 1. Find the game directory under C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Ubisoft Game Launcher\games.

Step 2. Copy it to your new drive. Delete the folder from its old location.

Step 3. Open the launcher, then right-click the game in question and choose Uninstall.

Step 4. Once the game has been marked as uninstalled, please right-click the game and choose View Game Details.

Step 5. Under the Download button for the game, click Locate Installed Game and direct the launcher to your game’s new location.

The launcher should detect all the game's files and allow you to play without re-downloading.

4. How to move Epic games

To move Epic games, you need to do more work. If you wish to modify the installation directory, the only official option to do so is to remove the launcher and reinstall it at the new location. Epic will also not install a game to an existing folder, thus moving games already installed on your PC will be a difficult procedure.

Step 1. Find the folder where your game of choice is currently installed (like C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite) and copy the files manually. Place them in a different location for safekeeping, then return to the Epic Games launcher and find the game in your library.

Step 2. Click the three dots next to the game, and choose Uninstall to remove the original game file. Return to the game in your library and re-install it, choosing the preferred destination. Allow the download to start, then cancel the installation.

Step 3. Head over to your preferred location and move the copied files into this folder. Go back to the Epic launcher and click on the game to resume the download.

5. How to move EA games

To move pre-installed games, you will need to move the game files and reinstall them.

Step 1. Navigate to EA's install location (C:\Program Files\EA Games\ by default) and cut and paste the necessary files to a new location.

Step 2. Open Settings > Download in the EA app and change the install directory in the settings.

Step 3. Click Edit next to Install location and choose your new destination. When you download a game, you will be prompted to locate the game files and tell the client the new folder destination.

6. How to move Origin games

The Origin client allows you to create a new game library folder on the new drive, and then move the old games to the new location without reinstalling or re-downloading.

Step 1. Start the Origin client first, and click the Origin button on the top toolbar. After clicking, select Application Settings from the list of options.

Step 2. Click the Installs & Saves button on the new page. On the right of "Game Library Location", click the "Change Folder" button to select the drive you want to move to.

Step 3. Right-click on a blank area on the drive, select "New", and then select "Folder". Name the new folder Origin Games and press Enter.

Step 4. Close the Origin client.

Step 5. In the old Origin game installation folder, click the game folder to be moved, and select "Cut".

Step 6. Then, in the new Origin game library folder, click the blank area in the folder and select Paste.

Step 7. After copying is complete, restart the Origin client and click the game that you just moved into my game library. Then click the download button.

Move all games at once via App mover

You see, different games on different platforms have their way to move games, and some of them are not 100% safe. Once you operate incorrectly, your games will not boot after the moving. Thus, we suggest you turn to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to safely and conveniently move your games without reinstalling. It’s a disk and partition management tool for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP system.

In this tool, the graphical user interface is very clear, it’s convenient to manage the disk in time and flexibly. With only a few clicks, you can free up the drive space and avoid losing hundreds of GB of game data.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, select “App Mover” under "Free up".

Step 2. In the new window, click "App Mover".

Step 3. In the new window, you will see all details about the disks, the number and size of installed programs on every partition will also be displayed. Select one partition that you want to move games from, and click "Next".

Step 3. Choose games or programs you want to move and select the target location, then click "Move”.

Tip: Make sure the target location has sufficient space for your games.

Step 4. Decide if you want to move, and then click "OK".

Step 5. After the "Move" is completed, click "Finish" to return to the main interface.

Ending lines

Now you know how to move games from SSD to HDD. The different game platform has specific methods. If you have many games from different platforms, then AOMEI Partition Assistant is better. And not only games but other installed apps can also be moved with this practical tool.

What’s more, it has other handy functions like cloning disk, migrating OS, MBR/GPT data-safe conversion, etc. And it has the Server Edition for Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012(R2)/2008(R2)/2003 users to securely and efficiently manage their devices.