- In spite of efforts from Microsoft and Epic Games to carve out the territory in this huge PC game landscape, Steam, to date, is the top dog boasting the lion’s share of around 70% of the entire worldwide desktop gaming market. However, stream servers sometimes become incredibly congested, preventing users from accessing their steam content. Every now and then, simply the Steam won’t start up or open. The problem might result from many reasons, such as interference from the other software or unclosed steam processes running in the background. Irrespective of the cause, the issue is quite annoying and scary. We have discussed here some fixes that will help the Steam users.
Fixes to Steam won’t start up or launch
With Task Manager, kill Steam processes
Sometimes Steam won’t open might be because it actually never closed in the foremost place. To ensure it is closed properly, you need to do the following:
To open the Task manager, you need to press Ctrl+ Shift+ Esc
Find any processes which are related to Steam, like the Steam Helper
On those processes, Right click and then select End Task
You need to repeat the process until and unless no Steam processes are left
Generally, Steam immediately starts up while you wish to open it once again.
Restart your computer
When you see that killing every Steam process is not doing the trick, the upcoming quickest solution is restarting your computer. This will shut down the processes that might prevent Steam from starting.
Run the Steam as an Administrator
At times Steam administrator privileges for a few tasks. To solve the issue related to the initial startup, run Steam in Administrator mode and then normally start it the next time until this issue again crops up. It is quite easy to run the Steam as an Administrator:
First, open the Start Menu
Then search for Steam
After you have right-clicked on Steam, you need to select Run as administrator
For this, you have to give permission and, if prompted, enter an administrator password
Flush the configuration data of the Steam
Resetting the internal settings of Steam might solve some problems with the client software. This involves a mysterious absence of enthusiasm from Steam when you are trying to start it up. It is pretty easy to perform, and your saved files and installed games also do not get affected. But if you have various Steam library folders, you need to add them again when the flush is finished.
Make sure that the Steam is closed completely with the use of Task manager as discussed above
For opening the Run dialog, press the Windows + R key
Then type steam://flushcofig and then select Ok
On the confirmation dialog, select Ok
Finally, start Steam again and then login
Hope this will resolve the issue, and you will be able to play again
Delete the file of Beta Client when you are a better client user
Have you opted to participate in the Steam Beta? This is a wonderful way of receiving quick access to innovative features. It will also mean that you are taking the risk of a bug or a betas update that prevents Steam from normally opening. Thankfully, you may disable the Beta client manually and then move back to the vanilla Steam by just deleting a little file.
You need to ensure that Steam is closed completely with the use of the Task manager method that has been discussed earlier.
First, launch the File Explorer and then navigate to C:\Program Files (x86) \Steam\package. This path is the default.
Search the file “beta” and then delete
Try starting Steam again. If you see it is not starting, there might be something wrong with the recent Beta update. So, you need to wait a bit before opting in again.
Set the date and time of your Windows to Automatic
Steam needs users to have proper local dates and times on the PC. This one is a bit counter-intuitive, but at times Steam will not open because the date and time of your computer do not match with the time that Stream is retrieving from the internet. Apparently, this is linked to a bug in the Chromium browser. Chromium is the version that Steam is using for displaying pages. If you have recently altered the settings of date and time on your PC, then there is a probability that the issue is caused by it. To adjust it, you need to:
On your taskbar, right-click on your Date and Time tab
Then select the option Adjust date/time
You need to ensure that the Set Time Zone automatically and Set Time Automatically options are enabled.
Close the window and then open it once again to view if your problem is fixed.
Reinstall Steam
The installation of the Steam client might also repair the busted installations of Steam. It is quite a good idea to utilize this feature when the common fixes are not working. No data will be lost in the game. This is because you have to only download the recent Steam client installer and run it. For this, you need to:
Right-click on the desktop icon of Steam and then select the option Open File Location
Then move inside the Steamapps folder and locate a folder named Common. After that, copy all it’s contents.
Your job is to create a folder in another directory named “Backup” and paste it there.
You may select to restore the games once you have restored the games with the Backup and Restore Games
When you have reinstalled Steam, you have to click on it and check whether you can launch it or not.
Check if you have an active internet connection
Steam requires an active connection to the internet unless you have restarted it in Offline mode. So, you will not be able to open Steam when the network is down. Generally, an error message will show up, denoting any connectivity issues.
Disable the antivirus on your PC
Even the most popular Steam may run afoul of a security suite or an antivirus. Disable your antivirus software temporarily and check whether Steam is starting or not. If you see that it is not starting up when the antivirus runs, then whitelist Steam as well as it’s related processes immediately.
Check whether Steam is in Compatibility mode
Windows must work with huge historical data containing a backlog of old software. So, for applications that are designed for Windows XP 7 and so on, it involves a compatibility mode. The recent version of Steam has been designed for working for Windows 7, so it must not be in compatibility mode for Steam executable for particular reasons. Switch it off. When specific old games on the platform might require compatibility mode for working, Steam itself does not.
First, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86) \Steam\
Then look for exe
Next, right click and then select Properties
Select the Compatibility tab
Then ensure that you have unchecked the box Run this program in the compatibility mode
Select Ok, and you are done.
Wrapping up
These are our tricks and tips to solve your Steam won’t start up or open issue. Hope you find a solution from the fixes that we have mentioned. Now, if you are at the end of the rope and nothing seems to fix your issue, it is time to contact Steam support. Let’s hope for the best.
Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.
