Guild Wars 2

This isn’t a tech support issue, but more of a question. So I’m sorry if this post is in the wrong place.

Is it possible to copy GW2 to another computer – like on a DVD, thumb drive or external hard drive? (Or download it in advance and then move it.)

I’m going to be building a new PC this week (assuming all the parts arrive as expected) and would like to move the game from my current computer instead of having to wait overnight for it to download once the new computer is up and running.

It is possible, it’s not windows OEM or is it?

Mixon.7248:

It is possible, it’s not windows OEM or is it?

So, since it’s possible, do I simply copy over the GW2 files that I already have? or do I need to run the client install first and then copy the files.

As for Windows, it’ll be Windows 7 Pro x64.

-instal the game on the second PC (only the launcher), once it starts downloading the client. cancel the download and close the laucher.
-Copy the game folder from original PC, and just paste it replacing the game folder on the new PC.
-Start the launcher again, enjoy

Rampage.7145:

-instal the game on the second PC (only the launcher), once it starts downloading the client. cancel the download and close the laucher.
-Copy the game folder from original PC, and just paste it replacing the game folder on the new PC.
-Start the launcher again, enjoy

Thanks Rampage, was hoping it was going to be that simple.

Kevin Collins.2098:

Rampage.7145:

-instal the game on the second PC (only the launcher), once it starts downloading the client. cancel the download and close the laucher.
-Copy the game folder from original PC, and just paste it replacing the game folder on the new PC.
-Start the launcher again, enjoy

Thanks Rampage, was hoping it was going to be that simple.

You’ll need to do the annoying authentication thing for anet again

Rampage.7145:

-instal the game on the second PC (only the launcher), once it starts downloading the client. cancel the download and close the laucher.
-Copy the game folder from original PC, and just paste it replacing the game folder on the new PC.
-Start the launcher again, enjoy

I would advice copying only the *.dat file (the big data one, not the local.dat). So no problems with preferences and PC specific options.

preferences are on a different folder located in “my documents” no need to worry about that at all

Dunno… maybe it’s magic, but i don’t have any different folder in my documents…
But it’s not on topic…

I would transfer only the main *.dat file.

OFC u can i just did it yesterday to update the game on my laptop :P

Hey guys I was planning on moving GW2 from one computer to another like the OP wanted. Do I have to copy the whole game folder over or ONLY the ‘.dat’ ? I would rather not have to download the whole client again on a new pc

You can move the game folder over onto an external drive and move it onto the new system yes, or you can do as the OP did and copy only the gw2.dat file over ( this is basically the entire game ) then on the new system, go to gw2.com download the client, allow it to start, then cancel the downloader, go to the guild wars 2 folder and copy the gw2.dat file into it, when it askes you to replace say yes,

I would recommend only doing the gw2.dat file, as if its on a new system, when you start the game your unlikely to corrupt anything with settings changes etc.

All you need to copy over is the gw2.dat file to the folder the game was installed on your new PC. Make sure your old PC GuildWars install is up to date then download the installer app on your new PC. Let it start the large download then close the game. Copy over the gw2.dat file from your old PC to your new PC in the folder the game was installed in, most likely C:\programfiles\Guildwars2 unless you change it when you installed the game. Also make very sure that the copied over gw2.dat does not become read only if it does the game will start the large download all over again.

Kevin Collins.2098:

This isn’t a tech support issue, but more of a question. So I’m sorry if this post is in the wrong place.

Is it possible to copy GW2 to another computer – like on a DVD, thumb drive or external hard drive? (Or download it in advance and then move it.)

I’m going to be building a new PC this week (assuming all the parts arrive as expected) and would like to move the game from my current computer instead of having to wait overnight for it to download once the new computer is up and running.

Just copy the whole folder over, make a shortcut and run it. The shear size is the only problem, you’ll need a 32GB USB drive formatted to NTFS (standard FAT32 that USB drives are formatted in can only hold files up to 4GB in size).

Behellagh.1468:

Kevin Collins.2098:

This isn’t a tech support issue, but more of a question. So I’m sorry if this post is in the wrong place.

Is it possible to copy GW2 to another computer – like on a DVD, thumb drive or external hard drive? (Or download it in advance and then move it.)

I’m going to be building a new PC this week (assuming all the parts arrive as expected) and would like to move the game from my current computer instead of having to wait overnight for it to download once the new computer is up and running.

Just copy the whole folder over, make a shortcut and run it. The shear size is the only problem, you’ll need a 32GB USB drive formatted to NTFS (standard FAT32 that USB drives are formatted in can only hold files up to 4GB in size).

^ This. It’s as simple as just copying the folder over, since it hasn’t been on that computer before. YES, I have tested this.