This is where the Community and Package folders are located
I want it to be :
D:\Microsoft Flight Simulator
From previous experience it appears that no matter WHERE you install the game Windows/MSFS loves to shove data on C:\
I dont want anything MSFS on C:\ , I dont want it touching the AppData folder on C:\
Is it possible to direct the game to D:\ only during the installation instead of having to play about with user.cfg files later? (Those have given me endless problems causing download loops)
And then after you do this (see post above) and then when the sim starts to run, it will ask you where to install, click on the dir it shows you *(buttons missing) and then select the place that you installed the steam part of it, and everything will be there in the same dir.
After you do this (if you have the room), copy the fresh install to a second dir in case you screw up, all you have to do is copy over the clean install to where the broken one is after you manually delete the broken install.
My Steam install is on my G: drive but I’ve had to create symbolic links/junctions to get the ‘…\Users\xxxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator’ (and maybe one other?) over to my G: drive too.
When you install from steam you should be able to decide where steam installs the exe files. So for that you either select or create a steam library folder on whatever drive you want.
Then when you first run the game to download the bulk of the game files it should ask you where that will be installed. It does default to the appdata folder but you should be able to change it drive/folder you want.
I have the exe steam stuff in my steam library folder on my G drive and the main game files in a root folder of the same drive. So it’s doable unless the installer has changed since the game released.
I have seen people say that the browse button is gone on recent patches (I haven’t noticed) but you should still be able to type in the box that shows the install directory.
Should be noted though that the game still puts config files in the appdata folder of your user profile, so if you really need there to be no game files on the C drive you’ll have to move your user profile folder off the default C drive which is a chore.
Thank you all very much for the helpful comments. I wanted to wait until I had the game downloaded, installed up and running with no issues before replying.
Happy to say that thanks to the advice given on here my Community has been generated on D:\ , just like I wanted it. This did not happen the first time and I tried this…
…and failed miserably, each time I started the game it wanted to download 100GB of data. I tried everything including changing the path in that text file but it didnt work and so I went for the nuclear option which has worked.
I wouldn’t worry about the appdata folder. You can install the main app in the steam folder on your D Drive. Even in the FSX days, there is always a folder that is in your appdata/roaming. As long as the MSFS app is on a separate drive you’re fine. Besides many other titles almost always have folders in appdata folder in either documents, local or roaming, regardless of where you chose to install the game.
I have NEVER had the issue even since launch day, where the sim has wanted to reinstall itself, like so many others have during an update. Just make sure during updates that the directory points to your install path when in the sim. It will prompt you before it downloads the update. Your install path is visible on the update screen on the bottom right hand corner. If it points to the install path you had originally chosen, then you should be fine.
Will keep that in mind, thanks! I wish the full installation path was visible in the game update screen. They need to make that window showing the path going across the whole width of the screen.
You are right about the appdata, I have never been a fan of that but it is the way of Windows, likes to throw stuff everywhere…appdata local/roaming, my games, my documents, program data, i just find it so messy. There must be a reason why this stuff is not neatly contained in the relevant programs folder.
:
This is where the Community and Package folders are located
: