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Sometimes you need to move your games to a different drive, but it is not always the easiest to figure out.
So, to help you out, I have written this article detailing how you can move League of Legends to a new location. Let’s dive in!
Why You Might Want to Move League of Legends to Another Drive
You may want to move League of Legends to another drive or a new computer for several reasons.
Perhaps your primary drive is filled up, and you want to switch to a new empty drive or an external hard drive. A full drive can decrease gaming performance and cause a negative gaming experience.
Another reason for moving LoL is that you need extra hard drive space for updates. League of Legends is constantly updating as new patches and features are released, taking up varying amounts of space. If you do not have enough free space, you can not download the update and no longer play League of Legends.
The final reason is to move League of Legends onto a new SSD drive, whether installed on your computer or an external drive. SSD drives decrease the loading time, so the game loads faster, which improves your gaming experience.
Now let’s look at the various methods to move LoL to your desired location.
Methods of Moving League of Legends
When moving League of Legends to another drive, you can use three primary methods to easily and quickly complete the move.
These methods are Copying and Pasting the game folder, Reinstalling League of Legends, and using Third-party software.
You might also find How to log out of League of Legends useful.
The copy-paste method
The easiest way to move LoL is simply copying and pasting the game folder to a new location. I recommend trying this method first, as it is quick and does not require reinstalling any game files or downloading additional software.
- Navigate to the Drive the Riot Games folder is installed on.
- Usually, the Riot Games Folder will be found on your C drive here: C:\Riot Games\League of Legends.
- Right-click on the LoL folder.
- Select “Copy” from the menu that pops up.
- Go to the drive you wish to move League of Legends to.
- Right-click in the drive’s blank space and select “Paste” from the menu.
- Now double-click on the League of Legends game launcher.
- Voila! League of Legends is now moved to a different location.
If you have bought a new computer, you must first move the LoL folder to a USB flash drive or a portable hard drive. Or you can follow the whole process below:
Reinstalling League of Legends
The second method available for moving League of Legends to a new drive is uninstalling and reinstalling the game entirely.
I find this is the easiest method if you’ve bought a new PC because this way, you won’t have to move the entire folder to a USB drive first.
Uninstalling League of Legends:
- Open your computer’s Control Panel.
- Navigate to the “Uninstall a Program” under the “Programs” category.
- Scroll down till you find League of Legends and select it.
- Press “Uninstall/Modify” to remove the installed game and wait until the uninstallation wizard finishes.
- League of Legends is now uninstalled.
Reinstalling League of Legends:
- Navigate to the League of Legends’ official website.
- Download the game installer onto your computer.
- Run the file which will open the League of Legends installation wizard.
- At the bottom of the wizard, you will see “Advanced Options.”
- Click that, which will open up an option to change the download folder.
- Select the installation drive you which to download the game onto.
- Complete the installation process.
- Now log in to your League of Legends account again, and you’re ready to go!
Using Third-Party Software
The final method for moving League of Legends to another drive is to use third-party software. I do not recommend this method as it requires downloading additional software. Still, plenty of third-party software options are available if you feel more comfortable doing it this way.
AOEMI Partition Assistant is one of the best options available for moving apps, games, files, and more between different drives on your computer. It is easy to set up, and you can move League of Legends to your new drive in a matter of moments.
This content was first published on GamersNotAllowed.com
Using AOEMI to move League of Legends:
- After installing AOEMI on your computer, navigate to “Tools” in the top-right corner.
- Choose “App Menu” from the options that pop up.
- Select “Clone Disk Quickly” and then press “Next.”
- The next step is to locate the drive where League of Legends is located and select it.
- Choose the drive you want to move League of Legends to.
- Note: If the drive is an SSD, select “Optimize for SSD.”
- A menu will pop up. Choose “Copy without resizing partitions.”
- Click “Apply” and then “Proceed.”
- League of Legends will be copied to your new drive.
Conclusion
Moving League of Legends to another drive can be difficult, but by following the steps above, you will enjoy League of Legends on a new drive in no time.
I find the best way is to use the copy-paste method, but sometimes you can’t use this. If you’ve bought a new computer, you need a big USB flash drive or external hard drive to move LoL from its original location. And if you don’t have that available, then it’s better to use the second method of uninstalling and installing the game again.
If for some reason, none of these methods are available, you can use a third-party app mover to transfer League of Legends to a new storage location for you. The nice thing about fx AOEMI is that it easily supports moving files over LAN and NAS. So you don’t need a big thumb drive. Also, it offers to optimize your SSD drive for you and a bunch of other things.
If you enjoyed this article, check out my other League of Legends guides like this one on how to reduce ping! Until next time, happy gaming!
FAQ
Q: What are the risks of moving my League of Legends folder?
A: The risks differ based on your method when moving to another drive. If you use the copy-and-paste method, you risk data loss. That is why you should not delete the original folder until you have verified it works. The other methods come with minimal risks and mostly take extra time.
Q: Do I need to copy my Riot Client folder as well?
A: While you may not have to copy your Riot Client folder to the new drive, if you find you are having issues, you should copy it over.
Q: League of Legends is no longer working. What should I do?
A: Regardless of the method you use for moving League to a new drive, if you find that League of Legends is no longer working, you should check that all files are in the correct folder. You may need to uninstall and reinstall the game if they are. This will usually fix it, and you can play League of Legends without issue.
Q: The third-party software is having issues, and I need help.
A: If you run into issues using third-party software to move League of Legends to another drive, you should visit that software’s technical documentation. For the AOEMI software I recommended above, you can find its technical documentation here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jan has played video games since the early 1980s. He loves getting immersed in video games as a way to take his mind off stuff when the outside world gets too scary. A lifelong gamer, the big interest led to a job as a lecturer on game sound at the University of Copenhagen and several written articles on video games for magazines.