Digital, is it really worth the aggravation?

[SvennoJ]

zero129 said:

SvennoJ said:

My old desktop can't play any of its installed Steam games anymore. Its network module failed and Steam wasn't in offline mode at the time. Since it's just a secure place to backup stuff I don't care that it doesn't connect to the internet anymore. (hardware failure, needs a new network card. I tried a wifi stick yet ironically that needs to go online to install in windows 7) It can still run physical games (fsx runs fine on it) all Steam games locked out.

 

I just tested this.

Disabled my internet i started steam up and it told me that it couldnt connect and then asked me did i want to start in Offline mode.

I clicked yes and i could play my games that i had installed and updated.

Must be a newer version as that works on my laptop too after I disconnect wifi. On my desktop it never gets past the login screen, never gives the option to start offline. It has been offline for over a year so I guess its missing the start offline update. I wonder if you can update steam through a usb stick. I guess if I duplicate the Steam directory onto my desktop it should work in theory. Nothing to lose, gonna try.

Update: Tested it by installing steam on a thumbdrive. I can run Steam from the thumbdrive on my laptop offline, but my desktop insists on going online to update Steam when I try it there, so no go. Either something is missing in the registry or a windows 8.1 Steam install is incompatible with Windows 7. It was worth a shot.