So I got tired of removing modules because DCS is so big. Today I took the plunge and moved it to my new 1TB M.2 SSD. All i did was use Skatezillas tool to point it to the Saved Games directory and it works. I then removed the old install. Everything seems to be working… I put this off too long.
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To answer your question, yup its really that easy.
Did that move a month or two ago and I was so surprised!
Right!? It used to be a real PITA. But this time everything went so smooth…
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Same here. Worried for nothing. Easier than most every other program out there surprisingly.
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What they all said ^^^
Seems it sorta works like a website: all sub-folders & data (‘pages’) are referenced from the location (X:\Eagle Dyanamics.…) of the dcs.exe binary - doesn’t matter where it all is when you double-tap the dcs.exe file.
As for the “C:\Users\Saved Games\DCS Open Beta…” I’m not sure as I’ve never messed with that - at first glance it looks like it always looks there so shouldn’t be moved. I have deleted (AFTER RENAMING IT so I don’t lose mod data and such) the “…Saved Games\Open Beta…” folder to clean things up every now an then.
It will re-create this folder on the next start, with default options. You can copy your key binds files over from the renamed folder.
But how can I change the location of the DCS.openbeta folder? I want to move the folder to another disk and I had major issues because it keeps recreating a folder were it was once.
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I’m not sure that you can move it from your %saved games% folder. Maybe with a symbolic link?
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As @chipwich says, I don’t think you can have it point to anything other than ‘Saved Games’ for that stuff (but as he said, a symbolic link might work (I use that for terrains - faster drive - but the source is in the main folder, not saved games). Sorta makes sense; the main exe just looks for default stuff under that folder but for configs, mods, etc it’s helpful to have a consistent location?
Calling @SkateZilla ! Is that correct?
The main folder yes, you can put it anywhere, and have multiple version.
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DCS isn’t really Embedded.
You can Cut/Paste the Sim’s Folder from one folder to another, and update shortcuts,
The Registry Entry isn’t really that important, but the only thing that looks at the registry entry is the actual installers/uninstallers, the sim and updater don’t.
As for Saved Games profiles (ie root:\Users\YaName\Saved Games\DCS.Openbeta\ ).
You can’t move it to another drive individually, You can only tell windows to move the entire saved games folder
Right click on the Saved Games folder and select Properties.From there you select Location tab and there you can move the folder. It will ask you if you want to move all the files inside - click yes.
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If you don’t want to move your entire Saved Games folder but only some folder within it, maybe even just the “Liveries” subfolder in C:\Users\You\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta , then you’ll probably want to follow this specific part of the guide that @chipwich linked to. No need for command line magic, just right-click menus.
First follow the guide to install the tool.
To move for example the Liveries folder, first move the data as you normally would. Let’s say you put it all in D:\DCS_Liveries.
Then to make sure DCS or any program finds it in the old spot, follow the guide to install the link program, then:
-
Right-click the
D:\DCS_Liveriesfolder in Windows Explorer, choose “Pick Link Source”. On Windows 11, you need to first choose “Show more options” if you haven’t enabled the old context menu yet -
Then go to
C:\Users\You\Saved Games\DCS.openbetaand right-click an empty spot, then select “Drop As” → “Symbolic Link” and give it the nameLiveries
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Or Just create a liveries import module, put it in saved games, then link it to the liveries folder on another drive.
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