How to Move League of Legends to Another Drive

To move League of Legends to another drive without re-downloading the full game, copy the League of Legends folder to the new drive, uninstall the game in the Riot Client, start a fresh install pointing to the new drive, pause the download immediately, close the client, paste your copied folder over the partial download, then reopen the Riot Client to let it validate.

The Riot Client has no "change install location" button for an already-installed game. The trick above works because starting a fresh install writes the new path to the client's config, and the pasted files get validated instead of re-downloaded.

Before You Start

• Disk space: League's full install is around 22–24 GB in early 2026. Riot's system requirements page lists 16 GB as the minimum, but that's outdated. Plan for 25 GB free on the destination drive.
• Default install path: C:\Riot Games\League of Legends\
• The Riot Client launcher is separate. It lives at C:\Riot Games\Riot Client\ and can stay on your C: drive. You only need to move the League of Legends folder.
• Nothing to back up account-wise. Skins, champions, rank, match history, and runes all live on Riot's servers. A reinstall loses nothing.
• Optional local backup: Documents\League of Legends\Config\ holds your personal keybinds and HUD layout. Copy it somewhere if you've customized those.

Method 1: Move Without Re-Downloading (Recommended)

This is the free method every working 2026 guide eventually lands on. Follow the order exactly. The pause step is the part that fails if you rush it.

1. Copy (do not cut) the League of Legends folder to the new drive. For example, from C:\Riot Games\League of Legends to D:\Riot Games\League of Legends. Let the copy finish completely.
2. Open the Riot Client, click your profile icon, and go to Settings > League of Legends > Uninstall. Confirm. Your copy on the new drive is untouched.
3. Back in the Riot Client, start a fresh install. When it prompts for an install location, choose the new drive (D:\Riot Games\ in this example).
4. As soon as the download begins, click Pause. A few seconds is enough.
5. Fully close the Riot Client. Check Task Manager if you're not sure. No Riot processes should be running.
6. On the new drive, delete the tiny partial League of Legends folder the client just created, then paste your full copied folder in its place.
7. Reopen the Riot Client and click Resume. It will scan the existing files and validate them instead of re-downloading. You may see a short patching step to top up the latest version.

When it finishes, your fresh shortcut points to the new drive automatically. You can now delete the original C:\Riot Games\League of Legends folder to reclaim the space.

Why it works: the Riot Client writes the install path to its config (C:\ProgramData\Riot Games\RiotClientInstalls.json) the moment you start step 3. Once that path is registered, the client checks the destination folder for existing files on launch. Finding yours, it validates instead of downloading. Plain copy-paste alone fails because the config never gets updated.

Method 2: Clean Reinstall

Use this when Method 1 fails: interrupted copy, file permission errors, or if you just want the simpler path.

1. Open the Riot Client > Settings > League of Legends > Uninstall (let it delete the files).
2. Start a fresh install and choose the new drive when prompted.
3. Wait for the full download. The initial client is about 9 GB; patching brings it to 22–24 GB.

You lose nothing. Everything is server-side. If you hit integrity errors during Method 1, a clean reinstall is faster than debugging. See how to repair League of Legends if you want to try repairing files first.

Why You Can't Just Change the Install Path

The Riot Client only shows the install location selector when you're running a fresh install. There is no Manage Game > Change Location button in Settings, no "browse" field next to the install path, nothing in the Riot Client FAQ. This has been the case across every major client version through Q1 2026.

That's why every working method boils down to either tricking the client into picking up files at a new path (Method 1) or letting it download from scratch (Method 2). If you're searching for "can't change install path League of Legends," that's the answer: the path can only be set during install, not edited afterward.

Do You Need EaseUS, AOMEI, or 4DDiG?

No. EaseUS Todo PCTrans, AOMEI Partition Assistant, and 4DDiG Partition Manager are all paid tools (roughly $30 and up) heavily marketed for this exact task. They work, but they're not necessary. The copy-and-validate method above takes about the same wall-clock time. File I/O is the bottleneck either way.

The guides pushing these tools are vendor blogs: easeus.com promotes EaseUS, diskpart.com promotes AOMEI, 4ddig.tenorshare.com promotes 4DDiG. If you already own one of them and are migrating several programs at once, go ahead and use it. Don't buy one just for League.

Moving League of Legends to a New PC

Two options:

• Easiest: install the Riot Client fresh on the new PC and let it download. It takes one evening on most connections.
• Using an external drive: copy your League of Legends folder to an external drive, plug it into the new PC, paste the folder into C:\Riot Games\ (create the folder if needed), then run Method 1 steps 2–7 to register it with the new machine's Riot Client.

Either way, log in on the new PC and your account is there: champs, skins, rank, BE, everything.

Does an SSD Actually Matter for League?

For load times, yes. For FPS, no.

Community reports put HDD match loading around 15–30 seconds and SSD loading around 3–8 seconds. These are ballpark numbers, not rigorous benchmarks, but the direction is real: any SSD is a meaningful upgrade over any spinning HDD for client responsiveness and match loading. An NVMe versus SATA SSD difference for League is barely noticeable.

The catch: match start is gated by the slowest player in the lobby, so your faster personal load time doesn't make matches start sooner. You'll still sit at the loading screen waiting on the player with an HDD. What the SSD buys you is a snappier client, faster replays, faster champion select transitions, and not being the person everyone else is waiting on. See do you need a good PC to play League for the broader hardware picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose my skins, champions, or rank? No. Everything is stored on Riot's servers. Uninstalling and reinstalling, on any drive or any PC, loses nothing account-related.

Can I move the Riot Client launcher itself? Yes, but it's a separate operation. The Riot Client lives at C:\Riot Games\Riot Client\ independently of the game. Uninstall it via Windows Settings > Apps, then reinstall from leagueoflegends.com and pick a new path. It doesn't need to live on the same drive as League.

Does League work on an external drive? Yes. Use USB 3.0 or faster. Performance is close to an internal HDD, which is fine for League. Avoid USB 2.0. Load times will be painful.

Does this work on Mac? Method 1 is Windows-specific. For Mac, uninstall by dragging League of Legends.app to the Trash and deleting Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Riot Games, then reinstall and choose the new location. League supports macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and later, including Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2, with Metal API required from Patch 25.02 onward.

What if my copy gets interrupted? Restart the copy from scratch. The Riot Client's validation step in Method 1 will fill any remaining gaps when you reopen it.

Can I use a symlink or junction instead? Technically yes. mklink /J "C:\Riot Games\League of Legends" "D:\Riot Games\League of Legends" from an admin command prompt works for advanced users, but it's more fragile than Method 1. Client updates occasionally choke on junctions. Only use this if you know why you'd want to.