using nfts for games on windows and linux
i wanna use my nsft drive for both windows and linux, and some games don't run or don't even download if i use an nsft drive. any clues?
40 Replies
Don't
It's unsupported and we won't help. Only Linux file systems will get support.
fine, so what's the best way for my 3tb drive with only games to be an ext4 drive? i mean, fuck it, i'll ditch windows
By the way sorry to sound blunt. It's just that using NTFS or fat or exfat for games is a nightmare of random issues so it's near impossible to figure out what's going on. Now one solution is to use btrfs and use the windows driver to use it to share that.
But it would be up to you how to transfer the data off and back on it as formatting will wipe the partition.
I don't know the name of the driver for Windows, unfortunately. But it's been mentioned a few times in the rest of the server. For tools Disks is the easiest on bazzite.
which problems would using btrfs give me?
also, tried using chatgpt to help me (i know, i'm not proud of that lol) and now that drive doesn't appear on dolphin
like, it's detected and it mounts, but doesn't show lol
None outside needing a driver for Windows because they still refuse official support.
Also yeah don't use gpt. It's awful for Linux. Usually very old and bad data. Also explicitly mention bazzite if you do use it. That makes it more likely to give something relevant.
i did mention bazzite yeah
will that make the drive usable both on windows and linux?
If you just say Linux it's probably gonna get you arch or Ubuntu instructions which can be weird and old.
Should. I haven't used it myself as I fully ditched windows. Give an ask in the #🎮bazzite or #🐧linux-general channel though and see if anyone has experience using the windows btrfs stuff and how to best do it.
Provided the conversations there haven't completely derailed to madness usually someone will perk up.
smh learning now ntfs was what was making steam not work all the other times i tried using linux really makes me kinda mad lol
By the way the long explanation for NTFS and the like not working is the file system lacks a lot of features steam needs in Linux, and NTFS support was basically reverse engineered. Good for copying and writing files. But bad for anything else.
yeah, games don't run at all (only buckshot roulette worked lol) and some of them don't even want to install, giving a writing error installing, for example, the outer wilds and celeste
Windows will do anything but make life easy for anyone else
I mean it even pretends it is the only os. Even if it sees another os in its efi bootloader it will just wipe it out on rare operations it might do
But yeah chances are...NTFS was giving you hell.
also, unrelated, but any easy way to move save files from non-steam games to linux when i run them on bazzite? i would also love to import my windows steam library and the non-steam games i have there but i guess that's near impossible lol
sounds like it xD fml
installed some of the games on the ssd bazzite is running in and worked instantly out of the box so yeah
Hmmmm... Not sure on moving non steam saves
But steam and it's saves? Easy
Kinda
yeah, steam and it's saves as long as they support steam cloud it's easy (unfortunately not for dark souls games) but i shouldn't have any problems for it
so for some steam games i would like to also move them manually
It might not work if you already set steam up but you can copy the steamapps and userdata folders into the the "$HOME/.steam/steam" folder. Now I can't guarantee it will work but it should.
The big problem is steam uses files like...vdf or something to tell what it downloaded so if you don't carry those over it might not see them at all
Alternatively steam has a backup game thing but it's kinda annoying to use
i use the steamapps/userdata from the one being used in the ntfs drive
maybe moving the userdata folder but using the steamapps folder from the drive should work?
the thing is, for some games that (for some annoying reason) make their saves on documents/appdata, should i have any problem w/ that?
That I have no idea. BUT
honestly, the only thing stopping me from fully moving is how annoying is to not lose any data
specially save files from games, kinda important for me
also, thx for the help not only with the drive thing but everything else im asking lol, you're better than chagpt (not surprised by that lol)
When steam makes a game it makes a proton prefix. A folder with a drive_c on it. It's usually named after the games appid. In compat I think it's the folder... Same parent folder as userdata.
The drive_c folder is what the game sees as a c drive.
So the documents folder in the user folder in there will likely work. But you'll have to run the game before steam makes a preset
that means running every game individually that is not linux native without cloud save (or that it has it but it's shitty) to generate that and moving it manually, right?
haha
tomorrow it will be a very busy day
Ha yeah it's some work for sure. Now I have not done it myself so id use a small game to test it. Probably make a save and see if it throws it in the prefix like said
Also sorry on spelling mistakes. Been on my phone the whole convo
Also in bed so I should sleep XD
i swear i hope that fully moving it's worth it and i don't need windows for almost nothing at all
i should be in bed too xD here in spain it's freaking 6 am
SLEEP
but moving to linux it's hard
It's a process that's for sure
Steam at least helps. Oh one thing to check
Protondb
Good website with Linux game compatibility info.
And importantly
If a game has kernel anti cheat it probably won't work.
if i remember correctly, i think there was an app that was able to sync saves from non-steam games from steam deck to windows, or it did a backup that was compatible with steam deck and did all the work but i don't remember correctly it's exact purpose, or if it even worked well at all
oh yeah i know that lol
the only thing i play that i know i won't be able to play on pc is fortnite but i mean, xcloud doesn't work thaaat bad and fortnite on switch 2 works fine enough so not that huge of a loss
Honestly my biggest irritation has been a few small things with monster Hunter
And apparently ff14 broke their launcher on Linux AGAIN by using Microsoft only embedded browser code but there's a setting to bypass it.
i don't play any of those games so i'm good xD
The number of times FFXIV broke their launcher on Linux because they use internet explorer or edge is three times at this point.
Seriously they used embedded Internet explorer for so long
internet explorer
XD
It's amazing because the launcher was coded in qt. A Linux GUI.
And they embedded Internet explorer in it.
i'm so fucking glad i don't play a lot of multiplayer focused games that don't have shit like that
But anyways I'm gonna pass out. Glad I could help even if it's mostly surface level.
(and that hoyoverse games work on linux because my girlfriend makes me play them with her)
yeah, thanks for all the help! finding out the ntfs stuff gave me some hope on why didn't shit used to work, reformatting the drive it's gonna be HARD but i think i'll be able to do it
Honestly just remember to ask for help
and here, not on chatgpt xD
i will ask it to help me w making the drive show again but ig the moment i change the drive's format it won't be necessary
#🎮bazzite is usually active and willing to answer
Provided the conversations haven't gone off the rails into a lake
xD yeah i got some help there the other day
Now to sleep. And you get some too sheesh!
It's only 12am here and I'm dying much less 6.
Closing and locking this, answer is no