Changing Computers

I have all the guild wars games(prophecies,factions,nightfall, guild wars: eye of the north) and they all came from boxes not the online store.

I am getting a new faster computer that doesn't lag a lot and I would like to know if there is any way of transferring my guild wars games from one computer to the next without having to buy a new game.

Download the game client from the GW website, then log in and its good as new! Only thing it doesn't transfer is skill templates

That's the beauty off MMOs, your account isn't stored in your computer; it's stored in the online server. All you have to do is install GW (using the CDs/DVDs from the game boxes you bought) on your new computer and play.

okay but wouldnt i need a new key code for that?

Why would you need a new key code? Just install the game, open it up, and then log in.

no, you have already entered that information----your account is online (accessed with your login and password)....as was mentioned the only things that arent there are your still templates. ( you could copy that file and move it over if you so wish it).
Lots of people play this on different computers.....the only thing is when you start up on a new computer there is A LOT of stuff to redownload (all those updates and such) so you might want to look up the -image command for that.

Your answer to that is a floppy disk.

Lol, you must be hardcore old-fashion (not that's bad). Nowadays it's USB drive.

not had a flppy disk in my pc for years now and glad of it.....i still have nightmares of the disk reading noise

external hard drives ftw!!!! (ok and a lan to go with it).

good luck!

OMG I lolled so hard at that...

To the OP, you can also copy the GW.dat from it's current location on your computer and transfer it to the new one saving you lots of unnecessary download.

Just to clarify a tiny bit, the CD keys you got are only there to make an ACCOUNT, they are not needed in any way to download the game. In fact, you can download the game for free from the website to as many computers as you like. None of your account information is stored on your computer (except for skill bars as stated above).

So, since you've already payed for and created an account, you do not need to pay again. Just download the game on your new computer and log in as you would on the old computer.

Do this:

1. Install ONE of the games from your CD's onto the new computer. No need to install all 3 of them as all the install process does is copy the client and set up so registry entries.

2. Copy your Guild Wars directory structure from your old PC to your new PC. Use a USB key if you can, or burn it to CD. Either way it will be a whole lot quicker than downloading all the updates again from a fresh install.

It won't matter if the drive letter has changed. Just copy:
Gw.dat
Gw.exe
Screens <- this is a directory with your screenshots.
Templates <- this is a directory with all your builds.

Gw.dat is just one big data file that has all the data for all the games in it. It is pretty big, mine is 3.7GB but it varies from person to person.

Then just run the game and log on with your email address and password.

All your keys are stored at ArenaNet so you don't need to do anything else and everything should run ok.

Cheers,
JC.

Let me add my lol to that. My computer doesn't even have a floppy drive.

The floppy drive is dead - may it rest in peace.

Not completely dead...I added one to my computer when I built it so I could flash my bios and keep the old files in case of emergencies... easiest and most organised way to do it...

Or you can simply copy the directory as a whole from your old pc to your new one (preferably the same location) without installing first. once you run gw.exe the game will automatically setup registry keys etc before starting.
This is the method i use to run the game from a portable hard disk on any pc.

Exactly how I did it.
I used an external hard disk for the transfer of all my essential files to the new pc including the GW files.

Yes it is dead but I still miss the purr it would make when saving to it

PDPDPD! CLUNK GIG A GIG A GIG A PDPDP! CLUNK

Made you really think that the Flinstones Stones tablet carving bird was inside your machine