[Bug] - Games installed on external drive are not detected

[Paluss1122-1]

Bug Description

When games are installed on an external drive via Steam, they are not detected or displayed in CreamInstaller. This prevents users from accessing or managing those installations through the tool.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install a game via Steam on an external disk
2. Open CreamInstaller
3. Observe that the installed game does not appear in the list

Expected Behavior

Games installed on external drives should be detected and listed the same way as games installed on internal drives.

Affected Version

• CreamInstaller Version: Latest version

---

Thanks,
Paluss1122

[FroggMaster]

I appear to be unable to replicate this issue. I've attached an external drive to my system, added the drive in steam as a library and installed Audiosurf 2 as an example.

In the below screenshots you'll see CreamInstaller detects the game just fine:

You should even be able to completely remove this library from Steam, the application continues to detect the game without problems.

Please provide additional details.

[Paluss1122-1]

Hi,
I noticed in your screenshot that your disk has the letter 'E'. My disk has the letter 'D'. I changed the letter to 'E', and now the program finds my games. Would it be possible to add compatibility for 'D'?
Paluss1122

[FroggMaster]

The letter shouldn't have any impact in the detection of the game, I've also got games on a D:\ drive without any issues.

1. Please provide a screenshot of the library added in steam.
2. Please share the contents of: <SteamInstallPath>\SteamApps\libraryfolder.vdf
3. Please verify that you have the appropriate: appmanifest_#.acf file in the SteamApps folder of the added Library.

[JonnyBro]

Having the same issue on Arch. I added the CreamInstaller as a non-Steam game (running with Proton Experimental) and it only sees one drive. How can I help?

Original CreamInstaller has the same issue.

[FroggMaster]

@JonnyBro Well, I can’t guarantee the application will work under Proton, since it isn’t a native Windows environment. However, it should still follow the same underlying logic.

Start by providing me the following information requested above:

• Please provide a screenshot of the library added in steam.
• Please share the contents of: <SteamInstallPath>\SteamApps\libraryfolder.vdf
• Please verify that you have the appropriate: appmanifest_<AppID>.acf file in the SteamApps folder of the added Library.

A little more information as to why I'm asking for these things; CreamInstaller is designed to detect your Steam Install Path first, then it reads the libraryfolder.vdf to determine further game libraries/drives for scanning.

This is done VIA the following:

How CreamInstaller finds Steam install paths

Reads one of the following registry keys:

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Steam → SteamPath

If the above is not found, falls back to:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Valve\Steam → InstallPath

After determining the install path, CreamInstaller proceeds to locate game libraries using the method below.

Find all library folders

Reads:

• <SteamPath>\steamapps\libraryfolders.vdf

This VDF file lists all additional Steam library locations configured. All of these entries should be collected.

[JonnyBro]

Here's the libraries (installer only sees the main one, star icon). Proton prefixes do have Steam's registry keys that point to my Steam installation.

libraryfolder.vdf

"libraryfolders"
{
	"0"
	{
		"path"		"/home/jonny/.local/share/Steam"
		"label"		""
		"contentid"		"1743016961395607481"
		"totalsize"		"0"
		"update_clean_bytes_tally"		"2149476109"
		"time_last_update_verified"		"1772613399"
		"apps"
		{
			"1233570"		"25074453773"
		}
	}
	"1"
	{
		"path"		"/mnt/hpssd/SteamLibrary"
		"label"		""
		"contentid"		"1849703907251152882"
		"totalsize"		"701977591808"
		"update_clean_bytes_tally"		"3467999960"
		"time_last_update_verified"		"1773839938"
		"apps"
		{
			"220"		"6589312457"
			"340"		"458553276"
			"380"		"1685112663"
			"420"		"3374619240"
			"228980"		"978936383"
			"243470"		"18621739526"
			"275850"		"28779020102"
			"284160"		"51418416474"
			"305620"		"14116195157"
			"447040"		"33844966890"
			"553850"		"22281125354"
			"686060"		"4914509936"
			"805550"		"20328954566"
			"1070560"		"222173483"
			"1091500"		"98281399302"
			"1167630"		"4728116593"
			"1391110"		"658394214"
			"1493710"		"1427223553"
			"1601570"		"59705517621"
			"1628350"		"784495627"
			"1762930"		"13787218476"
			"1808500"		"44082281420"
			"4164420"		"1157045140"
		}
	}
	"2"
	{
		"path"		"/mnt/hdd/SteamLibrary"
		"label"		""
		"contentid"		"6009426158630810794"
		"totalsize"		"6001173463040"
		"update_clean_bytes_tally"		"36707764724"
		"time_last_update_verified"		"1774184106"
		"apps"
		{
			"320"		"3301997136"
			"4000"		"7109383014"
			"108600"		"11250175051"
			"218620"		"90155018631"
			"221100"		"25132811637"
			"225540"		"64586087314"
			"227300"		"37543101833"
			"244210"		"44949470831"
			"246900"		"4359193969"
			"255520"		"1252566669"
			"265210"		"1062005501"
			"286160"		"3636132078"
			"287700"		"31227338145"
			"294100"		"576161411"
			"298110"		"35765399454"
			"361420"		"3198115920"
			"427520"		"4829994498"
			"450540"		"24715957852"
			"516750"		"922581588"
			"602960"		"1252906365"
			"629730"		"16106733570"
			"632360"		"3208983811"
			"668580"		"128815654209"
			"750920"		"40146506914"
			"870780"		"45003193272"
			"1151340"		"108324119699"
			"1161040"		"9984682"
			"1174180"		"128259824423"
			"1222670"		"28320544260"
			"1262350"		"1015427028"
			"1449560"		"85466642131"
			"1592190"		"11650465094"
			"1850570"		"79691063141"
			"3241660"		"1736981393"
			"3527290"		"7729379123"
		}
	}
}

And all appmanifests in all libraries do exist.

EDIT:
While writing this I found out that steam prefixes do no have the libraryfolders.vdf file, I guess I can symlink mine to it and see what it gives.

EDIT 2:
CreamInstaller just overwrote my libraryfolders.vds symlink... Good thing I copied it here beforehand.

[FroggMaster]

@JonnyBro In your instance, I believe it has to do with the forward slashes, which are unexpected by the application during library scans. CreamInstaller is expecting a Windows format syntax for the folder paths.

Please try the following CI Build and let me know if it improves:
https://github.com/FroggMaster/CreamInstaller/actions/runs/23477876480/artifacts/6074994294

Additionally there is now a new log that will get created in:
%ProgramData%\CreamInstaller\scan.log

Please provide the contents of this log file if the libraries remain undetected.

[JonnyBro]

@FroggMaster
He's still overwriting my libraryfolders.vdf. Copied (not a symlink this time) the file and CreamInstaller overwrote it with his own data and parsed the new one instead.

[2026-03-24 08:01:20.148] [Scan] CreamInstaller 5.0.2.0 — scan started at 2026-03-24 08:01:20 UTC
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.157] [Steam] Default library folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.167] [Steam] Additional library folder found: Z:\home\jonny\.local\share\Steam\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.168] [Steam] Additional library folder found: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.168] [Steam] Found 3 library folder(s).
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.168] [Steam] Scanning library: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.173] [Steam] Scanning library: Z:\home\jonny\.local\share\Steam\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.177] [Steam] Detected game: Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst (1233570) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\home\jonny\.local\share\Steam\steamapps\common\Mirrors Edge Catalyst
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.178] [Steam] Scanning library: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.181] [Steam] Detected game: Steam Linux Runtime 1.0 (scout) (1070560) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\SteamLinuxRuntime
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.183] [Steam] Detected game: Cyberpunk 2077 (1091500) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.185] [Steam] Detected game: Teardown (1167630) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Teardown
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.187] [Steam] Detected game: Steam Linux Runtime 2.0 (soldier) (1391110) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\SteamLinuxRuntime_soldier
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.189] [Steam] Detected game: Proton Experimental (1493710) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Proton - Experimental
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.191] [Steam] Detected game: The Alters (1601570) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\The Alters
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.194] [Steam] Detected game: Steam Linux Runtime 3.0 (sniper) (1628350) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\SteamLinuxRuntime_sniper
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.196] [Steam] Detected game: Goat Simulator: Remastered (1762930) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Goat Simulator Remastered
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.198] [Steam] Detected game: ARC Raiders (1808500) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Arc Raiders
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.200] [Steam] Detected game: Half-Life 2 (220) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.202] [Steam] Detected game: Steamworks Common Redistributables (228980) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Steamworks Shared
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.204] [Steam] Detected game: Watch_Dogs (243470) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Watch_Dogs
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.205] [Steam] Detected game: No Man's Sky (275850) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\No Man's Sky
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.207] [Steam] Detected game: BeamNG.drive (284160) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\BeamNG.drive
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.209] [Steam] Detected game: The Long Dark (305620) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\TheLongDark
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.212] [Steam] Detected game: Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (340) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.214] [Steam] Detected game: Half-Life 2: Episode One (380) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.216] [Steam] Detected game: My Winter Car (4164420) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\My Winter Car
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.218] [Steam] Detected game: Half-Life 2: Episode Two (420) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.220] [Steam] Detected game: Watch_Dogs 2 (447040) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Watch_Dogs2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.221] [Steam] Detected game: HELLDIVERS™ 2 (553850) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Helldivers 2
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.223] [Steam] Detected game: Mewgenics (686060) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Mewgenics
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.225] [Steam] Detected game: Assetto Corsa Competizione (805550) | Branch: public | Dir: Z:\mnt\hpssd\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Assetto Corsa Competizione
[2026-03-24 08:01:20.225] [Steam] Total games detected: 24

[FroggMaster]

There's no line of code that would overwrite the libraryfolder.vdf, the application only has logic to read from that file. So the file itself should not be getting overwritten by CreamInstaller. Can you try deleting the cached content in %ProgramData%\CreamInstaller\

Be aware, CreamInstaller will have to re-download SteamCMD when you do this.

[JonnyBro]

Same. Maybe Steam tries to put the file there because Cream tries to access it but for some reason it's not full? Let me try running it with Lutris and replicate the registry keys.

EDIT: Same issue in Lutris. I even tried fixing the paths myself, still gets overwritten. Idk what overwrites it.

[FroggMaster]

@Paluss1122-1
Does the CI Build shared earlier improve the detection of your external drives?
https://github.com/FroggMaster/CreamInstaller/actions/runs/23477876480/artifacts/6074994294

@JonnyBro
There are some utilities you can use to monitor the file to see what process may be changing the library. CreamInstaller itself shouldn't be modifying the file but the fact it's changing may be part of why the library is failing to be detected.

Can you try using something like:
fuser or auditctl to monitor changes on the libraryfolder.vdf