Help, my game just uninstalled itself!

[PoorOldSpike]

Hi, I was playing my Steam-purchased game normally like i've been doing for months, but today the screen froze and I couldn't escape with Ctrl-Alt-Del, so I had to switch off my PC (Win 10).

When I rebooted and clicked the 'Play DCS' desktop icon, it said "Install game, 164GB disk space required, but you only have 143GB free.

Free up some disk space to install"

 

i don't understand because the game has been playing fine for months and I haven't installed any new programs to eat up disk space.

So why does the game suddenly tell me I haven't got enough disk space? What happened?

 

I don't want to uninstall any of my other games, so do I have to take my PC down the shop to get a bigger hard drive fitted or what?

Thanks

 

 

[John C Flett]

 It seems unlikely the game is uninstalled, more likely Steams database has been screwed up.

 Have you checked the drive directory to see if the files are present or if the folder (...steam/steamapps/common/) is actually gone?

 If it is there you probably need to repair Steam.

 Try the steps here from Steam support;

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8379-RYIP-2998

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by John C Flett

[PoorOldSpike]

14 hours ago, John C Flett said:

 It seems unlikely the game is uninstalled, more likely Steams database has been screwed up.

 Have you checked the drive directory to see if the files are present or if the folder (...steam/steamapps/common/) is actually gone?

 If it is there you probably need to repair Steam.

 Try the steps here from Steam support;

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8379-RYIP-2998

 

 

 

Thanks, I've just began a clean re-install which according to the in-progress graph below will take over a day!

Is there any way I can speed up the download process?

And what's the graph for, what does the wavy green line mean?

Can I play other games and surf the net while the download is in progress without messing it up?

And does the download continue in the background somehow even if I switch off my PC overnight?

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by PoorOldSpike

[Flappie]

Is there any way I can speed up the download process?

Steam is using the closest server to you. Sometimes, foreign servers are faster, but this is not an exact science. You can change the download server from the Steam options, but I wouldn't recommand it.

 

And what's the graph for, what does the wavy green line mean?

This is Steam disk usage. It shows your drive is busy saving the files which are downloaded.

 

Can I play other games and surf the net while the download is in progress without messing it up?

When you launch a game while a download is occuring, Steam automaticall pauses the download. You can resume the download by Alt+Tabbing if you want, but it's better not to do it if you're to have a multiplayer session. Only do it when playing solo.

 

And does the download continue in the background somehow even if I switch off my PC overnight?

Nope, a download is no magic: it is handled by your operating system. As soon as you switch off your PC, the dowload is interrupted. However, Steam resumes the download when you switch your PC back on.

[PoorOldSpike]

1 hour ago, Flappie said:

Is there any way I can speed up the download process?

Steam is using the closest server to you. Sometimes, foreign servers are faster, but this is not an exact science. You can change the download server from the Steam options, but I wouldn't recommand it.

 

And what's the graph for, what does the wavy green line mean?

This is Steam disk usage. It shows your drive is busy saving the files which are downloaded.

 

Can I play other games and surf the net while the download is in progress without messing it up?

When you launch a game while a download is occuring, Steam automaticall pauses the download. You can resume the download by Alt+Tabbing if you want, but it's better not to do it if you're to have a multiplayer session. Only do it when playing solo.

 

And does the download continue in the background somehow even if I switch off my PC overnight?

Nope, a download is no magic: it is handled by your operating system. As soon as you switch off your PC, the dowload is interrupted. However, Steam resumes the download when you switch your PC back on.

 

Thanks, and another question-

Steam game/sim downloads for me have always been horrendously slow (even on broadband with my high-endish PC), so as a matter of interest is it better to buy games direct from their own websites in the hope of getting  a faster download time?

For example would DCS World have downloaded quicker if I'd bought it direct from ED instead of from Steam?

Edited February 27, 2021 by PoorOldSpike

[Art-J]

^ Well, with DCS and Il-2 series it's usually the other way around - Steam users enjoy the fastest rates, while direct publisher downloads are a mixed bag and depend on time and location. Why not testing it yourself? Get the basic DCSW installer from ED website and run it, just to see how fast it goes.

[PoorOldSpike]

4 hours ago, Art-J said:

^ Well, with DCS and Il-2 series it's usually the other way around - Steam users enjoy the fastest rates, while direct publisher downloads are a mixed bag and depend on time and location. Why not testing it yourself? Get the basic DCSW installer from ED website and run it, just to see how fast it goes.

 

 

Thanks, and speaking of IL-2, I've got a few photogallery threads going at the Mission4Today forum which might interest you and anybody interested in WW1, Interwar and WW2 planes..:)-

https://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewforum&f=105

 

Jan Zumbach (left), Polish fighter pilot in RAF, 1942

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by PoorOldSpike