Ok so I was having trouble with getting Steam to run so I naturally reinstalled it but both times I tried my PC froze and I had to restart (my computers been dodgy ever since it became infected with spyware or something so it was probably that). Anyway I took it a step further and decided to uninstall Steam then install it properly again instead of repairing it like before. BIG BIG MISTAKE!!!

Not only did Steam get uninstalled but all the game data files were deleted, my save games were wiped, my custom maps that I spent a lot of time on were gone, a mod for L4D sdk workaround vanished and everything else I had inside the Steam folder completely disappeared. Now I understand that I wanted to uninstall Steam but why the bloody hell didn't it tell me it was gonna wipe everything to do with Steam even files it didn't make or download. Steam has been nothing but a pain ever since it was introduced and this was the final nail in the coffin. I used to be a great fan of Valve but Steam is terrible and I've lost alot of faith in the company. They make great games but their business modal is just as bad as every other big company using DRM like software to punish honest consumers. You shouldn't have to run steam just to play a game

You should think about it before uninstalling stuff.
Did you have any backups at all?

Why are you storing your user created data in only one place and that only place is the Steam folder? You were asking for it.

I do have copies of my maps but they are a few weeks old which isn't too bad but my point is it shouldn't delete everything. Most if not all other games I've installed left files and saves and some of them even asked in a seperate window if I wanted the saves deleted.

I've never been a strong supporter of steam but this last incident made me wanna say something somewhere

Not to be rude but there is only one thing to say in this situation.

Really sucks to be you.

indeed

True it does suck but let this be a warning to anyone who thinks uninstalling Steam means uninstalling only the Steam program. On a side note my lastest map PMK 5 will obviously be delayed for a while now. Sorry guys

It's surely a bad practice of Valve's to just bin the whole folder. Almost all other installers create a list of everything they installed, and only those items recorded in that list get removed during de-installation. (Heck, the default save location for Hammer is even in the mapsrc folder inside the Steam directory!)

Conceptually, Steam has some nice features (for example, the ease of buying games and that you can download them to any of your PCs) but the application itself is the ultimate example of lazy and careless programming.

I can only hope that you didn't loose too much work
And thanks for the warning!

HMW wrote:
the application itself is the ultimate example of lazy and careless programming.

I totally agree. Its inefficient and got more bugs then an entomologist's lab.

HMW wrote:
I can only hope that you didn't loose too much work
And thanks for the warning!

Only a few weeks worth which isn't too bad cos I've not done loads over the last few weeks but it's still extremely poor that Steam would delete user created content. No other game I've ever used deleted my user created stuff when uninstalling it.

If Valve are as supporting to the mod community as they say there are then why did they overlook something as potentially devestating as this? Steam should be a purchasing and community service only. It shouldn't handle your games in a manner which suspects every legitimate buyer as a pirate

Thanks for the warning anyway. I have all my files backed up on two seporate drives. I take no chances.

Backups are created for a reason.

I always knew that if you uninstall Steam, you loose everything in that folder. . Its common scents!!

I would hate to be you right now, no joke.

reepblue wrote:
I always knew that if you uninstall Steam, you loose everything in that folder. . Its common scents!!

I would hate to be you right now, no joke.

I didnt know Steam had a smell.

I did the same thing, lost my CoD4 level 55 profile. It's stored client side, and in the game folder, so when Steam deletes all of its subdirectories during un-install, it takes that with it.

And I hadn't backed up my Steam folder because it seemed like it was expendable data. Why should I archive gigs and gigs of game data that I can always re-download?

Or so I thought.

Anyways, good warning. You guys are very quick to make fun of someone trying to help out. Here; in kizzycocoa's thread. What's up with that?

Well Hober, it is how the internet works. Everyone attacks everyone about everything.

PortalFan77 wrote:
Well Hober, it is how the internet works. Everyone attacks everyone about everything.

That's how 4chan works. It's not going to fly here.

You all can take that as an official warning: stop being jackasses.

Hober wrote:
That's how 4chan works. It's not going to fly here.

You all can take that as an official warning: stop being jackasses.

I can't decide whether to POTD that or warn you.

Okay, I'm being overbearing. But seriously. Remmiz, you especially like to jump down people's throats. Just cool your jets.

Hober wrote:
Remmiz, you especially like to jump down people's throats. Just cool your jets.

Only weeding out the weak.

And now to get this thread back on topic, a few years back I removed Steam and lost my saves, kinda pissed me off. I am sure this will all be fixed when Valve launches the full Steam cloud after EP3 release.