Very, very simple answer if you have the time to do this, and an NTFS file system*.
*Don't know what this is? Easy: Do you have Windows Vista or 7? If yes, then yes. If not, then "maybe", and you'll have to poke around to see. Disclaimer: This works on XP systems as well, but I haven't done it for a little while. Process for XP is different.
- Keep Steam as it is. That's right, completely as it is.
- Cut and paste your sister's games from your STEAMAPPS folder (in your X:\Program Files\Steam folder) to her portable drive.
- Now open a command prompt. This can be found usually in the "Accessories" tab of your start menu, or some computers can just RUN a command called "cmd".
Enter the command "mklink", and press enter. It'll tell you that you can run a command like:
mklink /d "x:\program files\steam\steamapps\sister's game 1\" "s:\sister's game 1\"
Work out the appropriate file placement, then if it's all lined up right and you've filled in all the info as it should be according to where your Steam is installed, and where your sister's games are, press enter.
- Enjoy knowing that your sister's games are no longer taking room on your own hard drive.
Surprise Bonus Round!
Hey kids! Tired of your portable drive that you never unplug from having "performance issues"? This is because Windows tends to prevent disc write cache on any drive it's concerned may be unplugged without warning. By default, all USB drives count as this.
Want to milk better performance from it? Here's some easy steps*:
*Disclaimer: Though this process works on Windows Vista and Windows XP systems, it is slightly different to what is described below. Always use adult supervision when playing with your hardware settings!
- Make sure your drive is connected to a high-speed USB port. It's not worth doing this on an old USB-1
- Go to "My computer"
- Right-click the drive you have plugged in. Click "Properties"
- Go to "Hardware", and click on the drive you need to alter, and go to "Properties" again.
- Under "Policies", turn to "Better Performance".
This now means that Windows will start using your USB drive as a high-performance drive, like the ones inside the case. This also means that "bad things" can happen if you pull the drive out, without using the built-in Windows "Safely Remove Hardware" button, found conveniently near your clock, in your System Tray.
Thanks for watching, kids! And remember:
Spyware no spying!
Dawnguard has a minimum level requirement of 10. I'd recommend waiting until 15-20 though since some of the quests are long and tough (lots of trekking through falmer infested territory).
Hearthfire can be started at any time as its simply a material collection quest to build a house. Though collecting all the materials may take a long time. To get the courier letter, you must be level 10.
Dragonborn requires you to have started the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller quest. This is a tough DLC and having good gear matters more than levels, I wouldn't recommend anything below 30.
Best Answer
I can't really answer since it would require proper testing and I dont know how steam handles multiple accounts, but i can help you play safe meanwhile:
When you launch skyrim, in his launcher, you can disable the DLC by pressing the "DATA FILES" button
Now you should be able to see a menu with various files ( mods/addons and DLC'S).
If you have the dlc and he recognizes them, you can disable them by clicking on the checkbox ( for example Dawnguard.esm is gonna disable the dawnguard DLC ).
Then press ok and play the game without the DLC's.
For safety, i recommend to make a backup of her data files, copying them somewhere safe before playing Backup save files