How to Best Optimize and Prevent Internal OS and OneDrive Synchronization Micro-Lags for ETLegacy

[Lorenzo Battistutta]

GENERAL INFORMATION AND FINAL OBJECTIVE

 

Parameter	Detail
Initial Problem	Unacceptable File Dispersion: The game was forcibly separating configuration files (.cfg), screenshots, and demos from the installation folder (D:\ETLegacy), saving them into separate "user" paths (e.g., C:\Users\...\Documents or OneDrive). This created an organization problem and required a tedious workaround procedure (copy/modify/overwrite) to avoid Access Denied when attempting to edit .cfg files on the 😄 drive or manage them.
Final Objective	Force ETLegacy to save all non-essential executable files into a clean folder on    ensuring complete autonomy, fluidity, and bypassing OS permissions and protections.
Configuration Achieved	Windows Documents folder stabilized, and the game is now forced to save in a new dedicated folder: D:\Documenti_nuovi.
Date of Work	November 3, 2025

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❌ TUTORIAL EXCLUSIONS (Failed or Irrelevant Attempts)

 

Exclusion	Reason
DOS/PowerShell/Regedit Attempts	Complex solutions that, although necessary to understand the nature of the block, are not the final clean solution.
Administrator Access	Necessary to unlock permissions but ineffective due to OneDrive override.
Manual Synchronization	Not relevant, as the goal was a fixed local path, not cloud storage.

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⏱️ STEP HISTORY AND FINAL SOLUTION

 

Phase	Action Detail	Result / System Status
PHASE 1: DIAGNOSIS AND USELESS ATTEMPTS	Work on permissions, GPO, and CLI/Admin redirection to force Documents to D:\. The system rejected or reverted changes due to aggressive OneDrive behavior.	Failure. The path kept reverting to C:\Users\Ladyk\OneDrive\Documents (or similar path) due to an invisible block.
PHASE 2: ONEDRIVE NEUTRALIZATION	Logged in as user Ladyk to directly operate on profile settings: complete deactivation of the "Back up your important folders" feature for the Documents folder.	Status: OneDrive no longer has active control over Ladyk's Documents folder. The path reverts to the local clean path: C:\Users\Ladyk\Documents.
PHASE 3: REDIRECTION AND STABILIZATION	Crucial Action: Redirection of Ladyk's Documents folder to a new, unique path on 😧 (D:\Documenti_nuovi). This moves the "special folder" off the 😄 partition and stabilizes it.	Success. The new path D:\Documenti_nuovi is clean and now recognized by Windows as Ladyk's Documents folder.
PHASE 4: IDENTIFYING THE REAL BUG	Analysis of the non-working ETLegacy shortcut revealed a syntax error in the forced command: it was written +set fs_home patch (with space) instead of +set fs_homepath (all merged).	The Real Problem: The game ignored the command, always saving to the default Windows path (first OneDrive, then C:).
PHASE 5: CORRECTION AND FINAL RESOLUTION	Action 1: Correcting the command syntax in the ETLegacy shortcut (Properties > Target). Action 2: Updating the path to point to the clean folder.	DEFINITIVE SOLUTION: File writing is now forced to D:\Documenti_nuovi, bypassing permissions and lag.

 

🛠️ FINAL OPERATIONAL SOLUTION (The Correct Code)

 

1. Create the target folder:

   • Create the folder: D:\Documenti_nuovi

   • Note: This folder was redirected as Ladyk's "Documents" to eliminate 😄 drive permission issues.

2. Modify the ETLegacy Shortcut:

   • Right-click the game shortcut -> Properties -> Shortcut tab.

   • Modify the Target line. The path already present in your shortcut will end in ...etl.exe". You must only add the command after the closing quotes, with a space. The command argument MUST start with the drive letter (D:\😞

   Plaintext

    

   [...your path...\etl.exe]" +set fs_homepath D:\Documenti_nuovi
   

   Example for a standard path:

   Plaintext

    

   "C:\Program Files (x86)\ETLegacy\etl.exe" +set fs_homepath D:\Documenti_nuovi
   

   (Note: Using fs_homepath merged as one word is mandatory).

3. Final Verification:

   • Launch the game.

   • Verify that files are created in D:\Documenti_nuovi\ETlegacy.

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⭐ FINAL CONCLUSION: Autonomy for Fluidity

 

This operation ensures maximum autonomy for ETLegacy.

By moving configuration and save files from a protected system path (C:\Users\...) to a dedicated folder on Drive 😧 (D:\Documenti_nuovi), we achieved several crucial goals:

• Total Autonomy: Game files (config, screenshots, demos) are now consistent and centralized in a single location near the executable, ending data dispersion and organization issues.

• Elimination of I/O Lag: The game now saves and reads files on the same drive where it is installed, reducing access and loading times.

• Neutralization of Permission Barriers: We bypassed the "protected zones" of the operating system. It is now possible to modify the .cfg files directly with the game open, without the need for workarounds or elevated permissions.

• Guaranteed Maximum Fluidity: With the configuration files isolated and protected from the system, the only variable that can still significantly influence game fluidity is now the network connection. Your game's local performance has been 100% optimized against internal loading issues.

I sincerely hope that what happened to me, documented in this tutorial, can help other users with similar problems.

Best regards,

Ladykaka77

Edited November 3, 2025 by Lorenzo Battistutta

[RNGesus]

Just to clear up some confusion:

1. .cfg files do not cause micro-lag.
ET/ETLegacy only reads configs on game load, map load, or when you run exec. Once the values are in memory, the game isn’t constantly reading the file, so configs themselves can’t create in-game stutter. (Settings they alter can however for clarity)

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2. Why files ended up in OneDrive:
ETLegacy saves everything (configs, screenshots, demos, pk3 downloads) to your Windows Documents folder.
If OneDrive has “Back up important folders” turned on, Windows secretly swaps your Documents path to:

C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\Documents

So the game isn’t choosing OneDrive Windows is redirecting it there.

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3. The fix:

• Turn off OneDrive’s folder backup feature
  (Settings -> Backup -> uncheck “Documents”)

• Move/redirect your Documents folder back to a local drive

• Optional but helpful if you need onedrive: force ETLegacy to write somewhere clean:

  +set fs_homepath C:\WhateverFolderYouWant

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After that, ETLegacy saves everything locally again, no permissions errors, no lag from OneDrive syncing, and no scattered files.