How to copy a game to a dvd or flash drive

I have a lot of games on GOG and was wondering, if they went out of business and I couldn't get my games again, how do I copy them so I can always have them? Games are downloads so often these days, rather than a dvd.

As far as I know, you would need to download and copy the downloaded installation file to DVD. You couldn't just copy the game itself...

I know Jenny has posted links to direction about how to do this before. I'm not sure if this is the correct one, but there is a forum discussion about it here.

https://www.gog.com/forum/the_witcher_2/creating_a_backup_dvd

You'd copy the installation files (and any other files GOG offers with the game that you want to save, like a pdf manual, a soundtrack, a "making of") over to a folder on your hard drive. Then copy the files to the DVD or the Flash drive.

Modern games may take up more than one DVD. Regular size DVD's are 4.7 GB in size. Tesla Effect was 14.6GB, and would take 4 DVD's (or even more if you include "extra" files like a "making of"). Dreamfall Chapters is currently 8.8GB (though I'd wait until they stopped tinkering with it before backing it up). Memoria was 8GB. Other games are small enough that you can fit more than one of them on a DVD. For example, Kathy Rain is only 336.5 MB and the original Gabriel Knight 1 is 368 MB. You could fit several games that size on a DVD. Games can vary widely in size.

You just have to plan for the size to fit on a DVD. GOG breaks up their really huge game installer downloads into an .exe file and multiple .bin files, so you can put the individual .bin files that are part of the installer on separate DVD's.

When installing games that required multiple DVD's, you won't be able to install directly from the DVD's. You'll have to copy the contents of the DVD's to a folder on your hard drive, then install from there. The files at GOG aren't set up to ask you to insert the next disc. So you might want to put the really large games on a large flash drive -- or other external drive you use for backups.

Drac, I read the thread you posted and am still seriously confused. Everyone had their own conflicting ideas about what to do, and since I'm not a tech by any means, it was all Greek to me. We do have Nero for making dvd or cd copies of stuff. No one mentioned that program. Would it work? And when I download the file from GOG, it downloads into a file on my computer. Is that what I copy to the dvd? So lost here. Sorry. And what's the "stick" that some mentioned?

Edit: OK. Here's what I have in The Journey Down folder: 2 DLL files, a GOB file, the application, the license, a video CD movie, and an uninstall application. Do I copy all of that to a dvd directly from the file folder using the Nero program that I have?

Yes. And Nero is fine. It doesn't matter which disc burning program you use.


USB stick = thumb drive = USB flash drive = etc


That sounds like the game's installation folder.
That is NOT what you want.

Here are some examples of installation files...

Book of Unwritten Tales 2
setup_book_of_unwritten_tales2_2.1.0.2-1.bin 3.9 GB
setup_book_of_unwritten_tales2_2.1.0.2-2.bin 302.7 MB
setup_book_of_unwritten_tales2_2.1.0.2.exe 30.2 MB


Grim Fandango
setup_grim_fandango_remastered_2.1.0.5-1.bin 3.8 GB
setup_grim_fandango_remastered_2.1.0.5.exe 30.1 MB



Memoria
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-1.bin 1.5 GB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-2.bin 1.5 GB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-3.bin 1.5 GB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-4.bin 1.5 GB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-5.bin 1.5 GB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3-6.bin 683.7 MB
setup_memoria_2.0.0.3.exe 781.6 KB


Technobabylon
setup_technobabylon_2.0.0.1.exe 975 MB


The above examples are only what you'd need to install the game.
I included file sizes to give an example of what you're looking for. Smaller games may have a single exe file as the installer. Large games will probably have an exe and several bin files.

Any pdf manual or "making of" extras would be in addition to these. You are looking for exe and bin files, not dlls or gobs or whatever. Most "extras" files from GOG will be .zip files.

Exactly what Jenny says... the files you mentioned, Melia, were the already installed game files. You need to have the downloaded installation files, not the already installed game. Look in your GOG.com folder, not in the GOG Games folder.

I remember being unsure when I first started to burn my GOG games to disk (or copy them to an external drive) but once I realised that all I had to do was copy across whatever files I had downloaded (not doing anything with the files at all except copy them) it all became a piece of cake

I have Win7 and any files I download automatically go into a folder called "Downloads".

From that folder I just copy what downloaded to wherever I want to put it. And leave it there till I want to use it.
[Either burned to a disk or just copied to an external drive.]

If the download is installation files for a game, when I want to play that game I just copy the files back to my machine from the disk or external drive and then open them to install it.

OK. I looked in my downloads and found Remedy, Runaway_setup, setup_Broken_Sword3_2.1.0.3. Is this all I have to copy?

Drac, there's nothing in my GOG folder since I deleted the games after I played them. I've looked in the folder before, and it has the executable for the games and the uninstall. Do I copy the executable?

If you have the games in your Downloads folder, you must be using your browser to download the games and not the GOG client. If you have the actual downloads, then I "think" that's all you will need to copy to another disk or drive. Make sure that all the files are there though... some games have multiple .bin files. You could always try to install the games from the files in the Downloads folder to be sure they work first. If they do, then transfer them to a disk and then uninstall the games.

The executable file you are talking about may be the files that will simply launch the games, not install them.

Sorry .... I should have mentioned that I always download games from GOG using my browser.
[Hope that didn't cause any confusion ]

Not at all, Mad! I should have asked first...

How do you get them in our browser? I usually use the GOG downloader. Sooo, don't use any downloader, right?

That is correct, Melia - that is what Mad does.

I use the GOG downloader because of my awful internet service. It's easier to pause the download if I want to use my computer. I've not had very good luck with pausing downloads using my browser.

Here is what I would suggest. Redownload the games you are wanting to burn to disk either using the GOG download client or your browser... make sure you know where they are and do not install them. Copy those files to an exterior disk.

Thanks for the help.

I've decided to download the games from GOG using their downloader and, in the settings I have for the downloader, I'm putting the download directly into the "source" folder in the "C"drive. That's where my husband puts everything he wants to save for future installs if needed. We backup the drive daily, so hopefully will not lose anything. Any thoughts?

Sounds like a plan to me!