wait a minute.

As far as I remember you don't install mods in your "my documents" folder, you install it in the game directory.

In the case of Steam this is an example ( I keep my Steam on D:) of the path to install let's say a texture mod:

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data\texture

I need someone to confirm this for me, cause I want to know if all of a sudden things have changed for Skyrim modding from Oblivion.

This is how it works in New Vegas (My Skyrim will arrive in about an hour ):
I've installed Steam to "E:\Games\Steam\" and the NV data folder is "E:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\fallout new vegas\Data"

As long as you keep programs you want to modify completely out of the standard Program files folder, Windows UAC won't get in the way.

Confirmed

I second that Confirmed but theres a caveat, anyone installing steam for the first time from the DVD will not get the option to install steam elsewhere - gamesass steam installer is different ....

But if you grab the steam installer msi http://store.steampowered.com/ ( green Install Steam button top right of the screen grabs the msi )

When that version of steam installs you will get the option to change the install path (the one on the Skyrim disk asks you to agree to T&Cs, then proceeds to install with no option to change the location)

After installing steam, you can then follow http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1258133-installing-from-disc-instead-of-steam/ to install the game from disk.

I am in the same position, using VISTA 64 I need to install to a different directory owing to the UAC limitations. My hard disk is C:
Could someone give me please a point by point, ickle baby simple language way to install this so that the modding kit when it arrives doesnt get mugged by the UAC.

I will be installing from disc in about an hour or so. (well trying to) I dont have STEAM installed on my desktop just yet, only on my laptop so I have an account.

I'd almost say go buy a new hdd and plonk steam on that (by using the guide/s myself and others have linked)
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

On the other hand if thats not a possibility, well if you could get steam out of 'program files' and into eg. c:\games\steam\ . then i'd imagine that would work. Might want to confirm it tho, i use vista but i have never installed a game to the same partition or drive as windows, Seems to have been a good idea....

You really don't need to mess about with UAC, you can just change the permissions on your steam directory.

Just:

* Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common" (or your equivalent).
* Right click on your "Skyrim" folder, select properties
* Change to the "Security" tab
* Click the "Edit" button
* Select "Users" from the "Group or user names" list
* Check the checkbox labelled "Full Control"
* Hit "OK" and you're done.

Ordinary users should now be able to modify the skyrim directory.

Yeah, I just played after making that post with some mods (the cleaner bodies and better faces mods, excellent btw) and it worked like in Oblivion.

Simplest thing to do is is download the Steam client before installing the game.

Run it and when you're asked where to install it select another partition that is not C: if that is your choice. When installing it might not actually ask where you want but it might say "express install" or "custom", in that case choose custom.

I personally always keep Steam on a separate partition from my system (C:\) partition. That way if I need to reinstall Windows I can do so without having to move or lose the games.

Later on when I am getting an SSD, since space is limited I will make good use of the "steam backup" ability (awesome utility/feature), it lets you backup the game and it creates an EXE installer when you want to reinstall the game again.
That way you never have to re-download a game and also in the case of Skyrim I can save the whole game including 100's of mods and not worry about doing it all over again.

I agree. This is the proper solution to the problem. UAC is quite useful, and you should't disable it or simply move your files to another drive to avoid the issue. Simply give your user or all users modify permissions to the Steam folder.

Maybe a patch will be released

Sorry, New Vegas was Obsidian not Bethesda. And if Steam is required then I will never buy it for the PC since I can't stand the POS obnoxious software. I purchase my digital copies through direct2drive.com not steam for a reason. It isn't steam... To think that you have to log into the stupid program just to play an *offline* game is absolutely idiotic.

Obsidian developed the game. The developer doesn't pick DRM or handle how a game is distributed. Those decisions are made by publishers. Bethesda published the game and made those decisions.

Steam user here but still waiting for physical DVD to arrive (probably monday)

On a couple of games I modded using steam, when steam checks for updates, it considers your replacer files (mods replacing original files) as corrupted installation files. All the time it detects them, steam auto-downloads the original version and "fixes" your game installation directory. This is something to watch out when updating. Specially if you have checked "keep this game updated", or something like that in the steam options.

I have a question about keeping a modded install. Does the steam backup system also backs up the entire game folder or just the files it knows should be installed?

All the vanilla meshes and textures are packed in the BSAs. Replacers are loose files, Steam leaves them alone.

However, it is still generally a good idea to disable automatic updates for a modded install. Patches will break the script extender and (potentially) mods until they are updated.

Hmm strange - I had steam active and it still defaulted to installing from the disc. I just followed the instructions in the DVD booklet about using the setup.exe.

Activating and downloading the patch took longer. Mostly because my internet connection is shoddy right now.

Also I can confirm that steam is only tied to the launcher not the game exe, so you don't have to have Steam running in the background. This could even mean that multiple installs on the same computer could work well. Not sure about moving the main install though.

For those shocked that Steam is involved - http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1258551-unofficial-steamdrm-discussion/ (for 23 threads now)?