How To Install Riot Vanguard On D Drive

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A Comprehensive Guide: Installing Riot Vanguard on Your D Drive

Hey there, Valorant players! Are you running out of space on your C drive? Is your game performance suffering because of a cluttered primary disk? You've come to the right place! We're going to dive into the process of installing Riot Vanguard, the all-important anti-cheat for Valorant, on your D drive. It's a common question, and while it's not as straightforward as just picking a different drive during installation, it is absolutely achievable. So, let's get started!

Step 1: The Crucial First Step - The Pre-Flight Check

Before we even touch a single file, let's make sure we're on the same page. Are you ready to take control of your storage? Excellent! The very first thing you need to understand is that Riot Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat, which means it's deeply integrated with your operating system. This is why you can't simply move it after the fact. We'll need to work with the Valorant installation itself.

Do you have Valorant installed? If you don't, great! You can follow the steps for a fresh installation.
Is your D drive ready? Make sure you have enough free space on your D drive for the entire Valorant installation, which is a bit more than just Vanguard. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 30-40 GB free to be safe, especially with future updates.
Are you okay with a little bit of tinkering? Don't worry, we'll go through every step, but this isn't a simple "next, next, finish" installation.

Step 2: The Core Method - The Symbolic Link

The most reliable and recommended way to install Riot Vanguard on your D drive is by using a symbolic link. Think of a symbolic link as a fancy shortcut that your computer treats as if it were the actual folder. We'll trick the Riot installer into thinking it's installing on the C drive, but all the data will actually go to your D drive.

Sub-heading 2.1: Uninstalling Valorant (If Already Installed)

If you already have Valorant on your C drive, you must uninstall it first. This is a non-negotiable step to ensure a clean installation.

Close all Riot Games applications, including the Riot Client, Valorant, and any background processes. You can check your Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to be sure.
Open 'Add or remove programs' in Windows Settings.
Find 'Riot Vanguard' and 'Valorant' in the list.
Click on each and select 'Uninstall'. Follow the on-screen prompts.
Restart your computer. This is a critical step to ensure that all leftover files from Vanguard are cleared.

Sub-heading 2.2: Creating the Target Directory

Now, let's prepare your D drive.

Open File Explorer and navigate to your D drive.
Create a new folder where you want to install Valorant. A good name would be something like 'D:\Riot Games' or 'D:\Valorant'.
Inside that folder, create another new folder named 'Riot Vanguard'. So, the final path will look like 'D:\Riot Games\Riot Vanguard'. This is where the magic will happen.

Sub-heading 2.3: The Command Prompt Magic

This is where we'll create the symbolic link. Don't be intimidated! Just follow the instructions carefully.

Open the Start Menu, type 'cmd', right-click on 'Command Prompt', and select 'Run as administrator'. This is absolutely essential. The command will not work without administrator privileges.
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
mklink /d "C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard" "D:\Riot Games\Riot Vanguard"
- Let's break down that command:
  - mklink /d: This is the command to create a symbolic link for a directory.
  - "C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard": This is the source path, the location where Windows will think the files are being saved.
  - "D:\Riot Games\Riot Vanguard": This is the target path, the actual location on your D drive where the files will be saved.
If successful, you will see a message that says, "symbolic link created for C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard <<===>> D:\Riot Games\Riot Vanguard". You will also see a new folder in C:\Program Files with a small shortcut icon, named 'Riot Vanguard'. Do not delete this folder.

Step 3: The Re-Installation

Now that the symbolic link is in place, you can proceed with the Valorant installation as you normally would.

Download the Valorant installer from the official Riot Games website.
Run the installer as an administrator.
When the installer asks you to choose an installation path, you will only have the option to install to the C drive. That's okay! Leave the default installation path as C:\Riot Games. The symbolic link will handle the Vanguard part.
Proceed with the installation. The installer will place the main game files in C:\Riot Games (or wherever you choose), but when it gets to Riot Vanguard, it will automatically redirect all the Vanguard files to your D drive thanks to the symbolic link we created.

Step 4: Final Checks and Troubleshooting

You've done it! Now, let's make sure everything is working correctly.

Sub-heading 4.1: Verify the Installation

Navigate to your 'D:\Riot Games\Riot Vanguard' folder. You should see the Vanguard files there.
Navigate to 'C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard'. You should see the shortcut icon and no files.
Launch Valorant. If the game starts without any Vanguard errors, congratulations! You have successfully installed Riot Vanguard on your D drive.

Sub-heading 4.2: Common Troubleshooting Steps

"Access is denied" when creating the symbolic link: This almost always means you did not run Command Prompt as an administrator. Close it and try again, making sure to right-click and select "Run as administrator."
"Cannot create a file when that file already exists": This means the C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard folder already exists. You need to delete it first (if it's not a symbolic link).
Vanguard errors after installation: If you get a VAN error, it's possible the symbolic link wasn't created correctly, or a file got corrupted. Repeat the entire process from Step 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to move Valorant to D drive without re-downloading?

You can't move Riot Vanguard, but you can move the main Valorant game files. However, it's often easier and more reliable to just perform a clean installation with a symbolic link. If you insist on moving, you'll need to move the Riot Games\VALORANT folder and then modify the game's registry entry to point to the new location.

How to change Riot Vanguard install location?

The only way to effectively change the install location is by using a symbolic link before installation, as outlined in this guide. The installer does not provide an option to change the location of Riot Vanguard.

How to fix Riot Vanguard not installing?

Make sure you have enough disk space, run the installer as an administrator, and temporarily disable any antivirus or firewall software that might be interfering.

How to check where Riot Vanguard is installed?

Navigate to C:\Program Files. If you see a 'Riot Vanguard' folder with a shortcut icon, it means it's a symbolic link. To see the actual location, you can check the properties of that symbolic link.

How to uninstall Riot Vanguard from D drive?

You simply need to uninstall Valorant and Riot Vanguard through the 'Add or remove programs' in Windows. The symbolic link will be automatically removed as well.

How to install Riot Vanguard on external hard drive?

While technically possible, it is highly discouraged. The latency and connection reliability of an external drive can cause significant performance issues and potential anti-cheat errors. It's best to use an internal drive.

How to install Riot Vanguard on another partition?

You can use the same symbolic link method described in this guide to install it on a different partition (e.g., E:, F:, etc.). Just replace 'D' with the desired drive letter in the command.

How to install Valorant on D drive directly?

You can install the main Valorant game to your D drive during installation. When the installer asks for a location, you can browse and select a folder on your D drive. However, this will not install Riot Vanguard on your D drive. For that, you need the symbolic link method.

How to update Riot Vanguard on D drive?

You don't need to do anything special. Riot Vanguard updates automatically through the Riot Client. As long as the symbolic link is in place, the updates will be downloaded and saved to your D drive just like the original installation.

How to re-create a broken symbolic link for Vanguard?

First, uninstall Valorant and Vanguard completely. Then, delete the symbolic link folder in C:\Program Files. Finally, follow the steps in this guide from Step 2 onwards to create a new symbolic link and reinstall the game.

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