Despite efforts from Epic Games and Microsoft to carve out territory in the vast PC gaming landscape, Steam still remains the top dog with a lion’s share of up to 70 percent of the entire global desktop gaming market. For people who are serious about PC gaming, there really is no choice but to install Valve’s frontend.
If Steam stops working properly, either you can’t make payments, or it doesn’t open at all, then you effectively get locked out of a world of gaming goodness. Before panicking about losing access to the most colossal library of PC games in the world, here are a bunch of Steam fixes that may help rectify the issue.
Also read: How to Find Your Steam ID And Customize It
“Could Not Connect to Steam Network” Error
If, upon trying to sign into Steam, you get a “Connection Error” along with the above message, then the very first thing you should do (after ensuring that your computer is actually connected to the internet) is check whether the Steam servers are down – which can happen when there’s maintenance or some kind of problem that causes an outage.
The best site to do this, wherever you are in the world, is Steamstat.us, which gives detailed info on server loads, which servers are up, and so on.
Go to this site and see if your regional server’s having issues. If it is, you may just have to wait it out. If not, read on.
There may be a quick workaround to Steam not connecting. When the Connection Error box pops up when you try to sign in, click “Start in Offline Mode.”
This way you’ll be able to play all your offline games, though obviously not internet-dependent ones (yet).
Now that you’re in Steam, click Steam at the top-left corner, then “Go Online” and “Restart and Go Online.”
Hopefully this will have worked around the Connection Error and log you into Steam.
Also read: How to Add Non-Steam Games to Your Steam Library
Nothing Happens When I Try to Open Steam
Steam is split into a few separate processes on your PC, which helps it run smoothly. Sometimes when you try to open Steam, it may cause a minor error, where the process starts on your PC, but Steam doesn’t appear on your desktop or notification area. You try opening it again, but literally nothing happens.
This could be because the Steam process has started, but the part that deals with showing the Steam UI hasn’t. If this happens to you, hit Ctrl + Shift + Esc. In the Task Manager, click “More details” at the bottom left if it has not been selected already, then scroll down in the Processes list until you reach “Steam – Steam Bootstrapper, Client Service, WebHelper” and so on. Right-click all Steam processes you see here and click “End task.”
Once there are no more open Steam processes, try opening Steam again, and it should work.
PayPal Not Working
There’s a handy feature that seamlessly links PayPal and Steam together, making it fast and easy to buy games using the popular payment platform. But sometimes this link can go wrong, and you’ll get a message saying you can’t purchase the game you want.
In this case, breaking the link between Steam and PayPal may just give you the reset you need to get it working again.
To do this, click your profile icon at the top-right corner of Steam, then click “Account details.” On the new screen under “Story & Purchase History,” click Delete next to your PayPal details.
Oddly, you can’t just re-add PayPal as a payment method here. To re-add PayPal, you need to go to checkout when buying a game, then select PayPal from the payment method drop-down.
Enter your details, and hopefully this reset of the Steam-PayPal link will get you up and running again.
Run Steam as Administrator
Another solution is to run Steam as a system administrator. This will ensure that there aren’t any security or permission issues somehow blocking Steam from opening or preventing certain Steam games working properly.
The easiest way to do this is to right-click the Steam shortcut on your desktop and click “Run as administrator.”
If you want Steam to always run as administrator, you can go to your Steam install directory (“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” by default), then right-click the Steam executable and click Properties.
Next, tick the box that says “Run this program as an administrator” and click OK. Steam will now always run as admin until you return and untick the box.
Update (or Roll Back) Your GPU Drivers
One of the known reasons for Steam crashing on startup is related to GPU drivers. Over the years there have been several GPU updates on both AMD and Nvidia’s side that have caused Steam to not work properly, and it’s possible that some freak occurrence during a GPU update has caused it to stop playing nice with Steam.
Updating your GPU drivers should be a simple process done either through GeForce Experience (Nvidia) or Radeon Settings (AMD). Simply “Check for updates” in either app, then download the latest driver.
To roll back a GPU driver, you’ll need to go to the official Nvidia driver or AMD driver pages, then track down and download a version of a driver just one or two behind the one you’re currently using.
Also read: How to Install Steam on Chromebook
Fix Error Code: -107
You may not realize it, but the Steam desktop client actually uses Chromium, the lightweight open-source version of Google Chrome that works in much the same way. That means Steam can be subject to the same errors as a regular web browser, including the dreaded Error Code: -107, an SSL protocol error.
The solutions to this can be quite simple: first, make sure you’re on the latest version of Windows. Next, go to your “Date & Time” settings in the Windows Settings app and toggle the two “Set time automatically” options off and then on again.
Another possible solution for this is to delete the beta client file and return to a stable Steam build if you’re not already on it. This leads us to the next point.
Delete the “beta” Client File
If you are running a beta build of Steam, or indeed if you’ve run a beta build of Steam at any point in recent memory, then you always run the slight risk of Steam not working. Beta builds are, after all, less stable than than full ‘stable’ builds, which is the price you pay for getting to play around with the latest features.
If you’re in this situation and Steam isn’t starting, you need to disable the beta client without actually going into Steam. To do this, go to the package folder in your Steam directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package by default) and delete the file called “beta.”
“Failed to Load SteamUI.dll”
One of the more common problems on Steam is the Steamui.dll error, where Steam fails to find the DLL file it needs to open. There are a few possible solutions to this.
In a reversal of our previous tip, you can trick Steam into thinking the current version of Steam you’re running is a beta.
To do this, go to your Steam installation folder (“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” by default), then find “Steam.exe.” Right-click it, then click Create Shortcut. Right-click the shortcut, then Properties.
Next, in the Target box, add -clientbeta client_candidate to the end of the target directory. In my case the whole box will read:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -clientbeta client_candidate
Use this shortcut from now on to run Steam, and you should be fine.
Clear the App Cache
The “appcache” folder in your Steam directory stores various data about your Steam apps and setup. Essentially, it remembers small details each time you open Steam, ensuring that the next time you run Steam things will work that little bit faster. Things can go wrong with the cache, however. It can “misremember” things, which may be a cause for Steam not opening.
To fix this, try deleting the “appcache” folder. (Don’t worry – this will be recreated the next time you open Steam.)
First, go to your Steam directory (“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” by default), then copy and paste the appcache folder to a safe location (just in case).
Once you’ve done that, you can delete the “appcache” folder in your Steam directory, then try starting Steam again. If it works well, you can delete the original backed-up appcache folder, as a healthy new one will have been created in its place.
Do the Quick Reinstall Trick
If all the above instructions fail and Steam still isn’t opening, there’s a quick way to reinstall it while keeping all your preferences and games intact. In your Steam installation folder, delete everything apart from Steam.exe, steamapps, and userdata. Next, double-click “Steam.exe” and let it reinstall. (If you want your new Steam folder to be installed elsewhere on your PC, you can move Steam.exe, steamapps and userdata to another location before you do this.)
Also read: PC Game Pass (Xbox Game Pass for PC) Not Working? Here Are All the Fixes
Got Steam Up But Still Can’t Launch Games?
After all this effort getting Steam to run, if you suddenly run into a wall trying to launch a game, check out our guide on getting your games to launch!
Want to do more stuff in Steam? See our guide on how to stream your desktop and non-Steam games using a Steam Link. We also have a great hack for adding emulated games seamlessly into your Steam library.
Image credit: Steam game store application on laptop screen close up.by DepositPhotos
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