• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Can I play the same game on Steam from a different pc?

Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10
I'm new to steam, installed it to play Dirt2.

Now on the steam site I found
Once you have a Steam account, you can sign in from any PC to access your games. Your games are associated with your account, not your computer.

Does that mean I can install steam also on the laptop, and play the same Dirt2 with the same cd key?
Looks kinda too good to be true?
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
yes. you can do it.

The catch is that both machines cant be running that account at the same time - so signing in on the laptop signs you out of the desktop, and vice versa.
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.65/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Dirt 2 doesn't require Steam to run even if it was obtained through Steam (I downloaded it on XP, copied the dirt2 directory to my server, formatted the XP machine, installed Windows 7 x64, copied the files back, and played it). Just copy the "dirt2" directory and run the dirt2.exe.

Note, you might need DirectX redistributable installer as well as Visual Studio C++ Runtime (either 2005 or 2008). Steam usually installs those but you can get them from Microsoft and its all the same.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Messages
5,106 (0.83/day)
Location
Kansas
Processor Core i5 3570K
Motherboard AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory 2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s) MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage 240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Antec P100
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Antec Edge 750W
Software Windows 8.1 Pro 64
I play at home and at work on my Steam account. Real helpful through really slow shifts. :p
 

Sailindawg

New Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
31 (0.01/day)
Processor Q6600
Motherboard Black Ops
Cooling D-Tek Fuzion v2, MCW30 + Swiftech MCR Drive 360
Memory 8 G Mushkin D9GTR/S
Video Card(s) 5870
Storage Intel X-25 + Raptors
Display(s) HP LP2475
Case CM Stacker TC101
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Xtreme Music
Power Supply PCP&C 910 Silencer
Software Win 7 64 bit Pro
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10
Thanks Ford and Mussels. I'll copy the directory on pendrive - it's much faster than redownloading!
 

Snake05

New Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
530 (0.08/day)
Location
Little Rock, AR
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz G0 @3.6GHz
Motherboard MSI P35 Neo2 FR
Cooling Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/Scythe S-FLEX 1600rpm
Memory 4 x G.SKILL 2GB DDR2 1066
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 3.5" 90GB SSD/Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB/750GB WD Caviar
Display(s) Samsung 24" LCD/Samsung 941BW
Case Thermaltake Soprano DX
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic w/ Logitech Z-5300e
Power Supply Mushkin NANOPOINT 550W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmark Scores 3DMark06 - 15647
You can also right click and use the backup game files to make a compressed install folder to put on a usb drive, and it then you just have to run it to have it install on the laptop. It compresses the files quite a bit, even large (10+ Gb) games can fit on a single dvd+-r.
 
Joined
Dec 26, 2007
Messages
3,346 (0.56/day)
Location
Idaho
System Name Crisco / Backup
Processor AMD Ryzen 3600 / FX 6300
Motherboard ASUS X570 / Gigabyte 970-DS3p-FX
Cooling Wraith Stealth / AMD Factory
Memory G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 16 GB (3200) / G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3 16 GB (1600)
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon RX 5700 8 GB GDDR6 / Asus RX 470 8 GB GDDR5
Storage Kingston 480gb SSD, Hitachi Ultrastar 2 TB, 1 TB Caviar Black /Hitachi 500 gb, 2 Seagate 320 GB
Display(s) Viotek 34-Inch Ultrawide Curved 100Hz 3440x1440p, / 52" Sharp 1080p
Case Coolermaster Elite 430 / ROSEWILL ATX Mid Tower
Audio Device(s) Realtek HD: 5.1 Technics DD / Plantronic Gamecom 7.1 headset/5.1 Digital Home Theatre
Power Supply Thermaltake 750 watt / Corsair 550 watt Modular
Mouse Logitech G502 SE HERO / Logitech G602
Keyboard Gamesir GK100 / Steel Series
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit / Windows 10 Home 64 bit
yes. you can do it.

The catch is that both machines cant be running that account at the same time - so signing in on the laptop signs you out of the desktop, and vice versa.

Another thing you can do to get a home networked LAN game though is run in offline mode and then you can run multiple computers for LAN. COD 4 is great. No lag and you get to kick the crap out of your buddies. MW2 will not allow this of course because they are Communists : ) I have 3 hook up this way and it is a blast, if you can get the people together any way. Every one wants to play console now :mad:
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Another thing you can do to get a home networked LAN game though is run in offline mode and then you can run multiple computers for LAN. COD 4 is great. No lag and you get to kick the crap out of your buddies. MW2 will not allow this of course because they are Communists : ) I have 3 hook up this way and it is a blast, if you can get the people together any way. Every one wants to play console now :mad:

i've done that many times, but i find the valve games in particular (HL2, L4D etc) like to ping the net, and then disconnect one of your accounts. If you do that, you have to have NO internet connection (disconnect WAN cable from router)
 

BigRob

New Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
54 (0.01/day)
Location
New Hampshire
You can also right click and use the backup game files to make a compressed install folder to put on a usb drive, and it then you just have to run it to have it install on the laptop. It compresses the files quite a bit, even large (10+ Gb) games can fit on a single dvd+-r.

i used to do this with mw2, 12gb game that would normally take me about 8-10 hours to install takes like 30 minutes when you do it this way. :pimp:
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
i used to do this with mw2, 12gb game that would normally take me about 8-10 hours to install takes like 30 minutes when you do it this way. :pimp:

i dont even bother with that, i have my steam install on a seperate drive, so i dont even need to reinstall... hell, you can literally copy-paste the entire steam folder between machines if you want.
 
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10
The above method worked, but I still can't get my save games when I try to play Dirt2 on the laptop.

I have copied the C:\Users\Windows\Documents\My Games\DiRT2 folder which seems to contain the saves inside - but probably there's something else I need to do and I'm missing that out.
Perhaps something of GFWL?
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
The above method worked, but I still can't get my save games when I try to play Dirt2 on the laptop.

I have copied the C:\Users\Windows\Documents\My Games\DiRT2 folder which seems to contain the saves inside - but probably there's something else I need to do and I'm missing that out.
Perhaps something of GFWL?

tried looking in the appdata folder?

(google where to find it, its a hidden folder)
 
Top