ESO Double Download/Install

McSwarlton · March 2018

I got the game April last year. I had to download and install the game twice, once through Steam, once through the launcher.
Recently I was told someone got the game recently and this time it did not download/install twice.
To test this out, I just uninstalled the game and tried to download again.
Before anything started, it already asked me for over 80GB of space, which is approximately double the size of the game.
Is this normal? Will I still be downloading through the launcher again?
I'd like to know what can I do this time to prevent a double installation again.

Cheers

Saturnana · March 2018

I've done several re-installs for various reasons, and through my personal experience I can tell you that it does not in fact install twice.

It will certainly prompt you to install something more than once, which is what probably caused your confusion, but everything downloaded through the launcher after the 'original' game-download from Steam, will just overwrite and install within the allotted/reserved disk-space.

To check this;
1. Write down available disk-space (in GB) before starting any downloads and installs, i.e. 300GB
2. Then download and install game from Steam (download 1) and write down size
3. Follow-up by downloading and installing all patches and updates from the launcher (download 2) and write down size

Check the disk-space of your install location again; the total should be the original amount minus the amount of GB you downloaded from Steam (the disk-space you had to reserve before/at starting your download). So in the above example:
if both the Steam download and the Launcher download are 75GB each, your total disk-space should now be 300 - 75 = 225.
Not 300 -75 - 75 = 150.

This is how it has worked for me the past 5 re-installs or so.
So to answer your questions:

Is this normal? Will I still be downloading through the launcher again?

Yes this is normal. And yes, both Steam and the launcher will prompt you to install something.
Steam will install the game. The launcher will apply any relevant updates and patches to the game.

I'd like to know what can I do this time to prevent a double installation again.

You are not experiencing a double installation, and you cannot prevent the extra downloads the launcher gives you.
Not installing the data-files from either source (Steam vs. Launcher) will undoubtedly break your game.

McSwarlton · March 2018

Thanks for the input. I just completed the installation, it no longer double installs, it did before because I remember downloading 80GB twice.

So here's what happens with the newly updated version:
1. It downloads 80GB
2. Then asks for another 87GB before installing, on top of the already taken 80GB, even though it doesn't use up the 87GB

Unless the average person has 160GB lying around, this is where it stops a lot of new players (and me a minute ago) from installing, however I have found a fix for this, I'll be posting the fix in a separate thread!

Saturnana · March 2018

Never thought of that honestly!
If the update from the launcher also needs a certain amount of free disk-space - even when it doesn't use it, then I can understand how that's an issue. I'm lucky to have a fairly large SSD, so disk-space issues generally don't bother me, but I'm really interested in your fix. Will keep an eye out for the other thread, in case I run into the same issue in the future.