Reviewer: mesterak - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - October 17, 2020 (edited)
Subject: Using this archive and other pieces to make it work in October 2020
Guide on Installing and Using Steam on WinXP by DeadSkullz - UPDATED 2020-12-26
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Just thought I would share my Steam setup and game copy/transfer steps here since there appears to be pieces of most of the steps scattered in the comments below but none appear to lead to success as-is or by themselves. I found a combination of things are needed to get Steam working on WinXP here in December 2020. Hopefully, these instructions will help many of you get XP happily running Steam.
DISCLAIMER
The Steam setup and copy/transfer methods outlined below only works for your account and games you have purchased that are listed in your Steam Library tab. Steam will not recognize or run games you don't own. Ultimately, this guide only allows you run games on WinXP under Steam that you legitimately own, so this this guide is **NOT** in any shape or form condoning or contributing to piracy. The goal here is to enable Steam to run on WinXP and play your Steam Library games.
Things You Need to Download
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The latest version of Steam: https://store.steampowered.com
Root Certificates Updater: https://msfn.org/board/topic/175170-root-certificates-and-revoked-certificates-for-windows-xp/page/3/#comment-1110568 (the download link and password are listed at the top)
The Steam package files from 2014: http://www.mediafire.com/file/klk15d0c917mvfb/Nov_2014_Steam_Client_Packages.zip/file />The PackageInfoConverter tool from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tyAKh00acJgtjk-poBABud40VR7ft37E/view />The archive listed in this post: steam.zip
Getting Steam Working on WinXP
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1. Update root certificates via Cert_Updater_v1.6.exe and reboot the PC
2. Download and install the newest version of Steam (close/ignore the "unsupported system" dialog) and ensure Steam is not running post install
2. Go where Steam is installed and delete the Steam folder
3. Unzip the 2018 version of Steam and replace the old Steam folder
Wrong -> C:\Program Files\Steam\steam -> files
Right -> C:\Program Files\Steam -> files
4. Modify the Steam shortcut on the desktop to add the -no-browser attribute
Example: "C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -no-browser
5. Run Steam via the shortcut and login/authenticate into Steam
6. Steam will run but will probably not display anything, so kill Steam via WIndows task manager after 30 seconds or so.
7. Cut and paste the steam.cfg file from the Steam folder to the desktop
8. Use CCleaner or something similar to disable/delete having Steam start on Windows startup, and then reboot the PC
9. After Windows loads, make sure Steam is not running and go into the Steam folder and delete everything in the package folder
10. Unpack the November 2014 package files into the Steam\package folder
11. Disconnect from the internet and run Steam via the desktop shortcut
12. After the Steam updater completes, close the client updater or kill Steam if it is running
13. Cut and paste the steam.cfg file back into the Steam folder
14. Reboot the PC
15. Do not run Steam yet! If you run Steam now, it will get stuck on the login screen. Get a copy of the packageinfo.vdf file from Steam installed on a Windows 7/8/10 system, which will be located in the Steam/appcache folder.
16. Copy the packageinfo.vdf file to where you have the PackageInfoConverter tool file located. Run the tool. It will generate a new file called packageinfo.vdf.new.
17. Go into you Steam/appcache folder and delete or rename the packageinfo,vdf file.
18. Copy/move the packageinfo.vdf.new file to your Steam/appcache folder and rename it to packageinfo.vdf. Right click, choose properties, check the box for Read-only, and then select Ok.
19. Run Steam via the desktop shortcut - Steam should be running fine now.
NOTES:
* If you do not disconnect from the Internet per step 11, the newest version of Steam will be downloaded and installed again. You will have have to start all over if you skip this step.
* I am able to install and play games from Steam because of the steps to fix packageinfo.vdf listed above. If this stops working, you will need to follow the steps below to copy games from Win7/8/10 to your XP system.
Copying Games from Win 7/8/10 to WinXP
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1. On your Win 7/8/10 system, go into your Steam\steamapps\common folder and locate the game folder you want to copy over. Make sure you have launched/played the game on this system at least once.
2. You can direct copy the whole folder over or archive it to a file onto a USB drive. (I prefer the later using 7zip so I can keep games stored on an external drive in case I need to install it to another XP system later...plus the storage space used will be smaller.)
3. Under Steam\steamapps folder there are app manifest files, such as appmanifest_41500.acf. You need to use notepad to view each of the manifest files until you find the one that shows the name of the game you are trying to copy. Copy the correct manifest file for your game over to the USB drive.
4. If you have a shortcut on your desktop for the game, then copy over the shortcut to the USB drive as well.
5. Sometimes there are workshop files and/or Steakworks Shared files that are needed for a game. If there is a workshop folder under steamapps, then copy it over to the USB drive. If there is a SteamWorks Shared folder under steamapps\common, then copy it over to the USB drive.
Your USB drive should have a set of folders and files similar to this example:
workshop
Steamworks Shared
appmanifest_41500.acf
Torchlight.7z
Torchlight (shortcut file)
6. Now connect your USB drive to your XP system.
7. Ensure Steam is **NOT** running! Close/kill Steam if it is running.
8. Copy the workshop folder (if exists on your USB drive) to the Steam\steamapps folder.
9. Copy the Steamworks Shared folder (if exists on your USB drive) to Steam\steamapps\common
10. Copy the game's manifest file over to the Steam\steamapps folder
11. Now copy over the game folder or unpack the game folder archive to Steam\steamapps\common
12. Copy the game shortcut to your desktop
13. Start Steam via the desktop shortcut
14. Either start the game via the desktop shortcut or run it via the Library tab in Steam
Notes
* Game folders can be quite large, so ensure you have a USB drive formatted in NTFS that is large enough for you to copy over the game folder or archive file (if you created one instead.)
* Be careful if you archived the game folder that you extract it correctly to the steamapps\common folder; otherwise, the game will not run.
Wrong -> steamapps\common\Torchlight\Torchlight - > files
Right -> steamapps\common\Torchlight - > files
* The number in the manifest file is the Steam ID number for the game. I don't know if the ID is the same for everyone or if it's specific to your account. I recommend only setting up Steam on XP using the same account used to install/run Steam on your Win 7/8/10 system.
* I have tested copying over and running at least 10 games to WinXP successfully, but I cannot guarantee this game copy/transfer method will work for all Steam games.