16 Quick Fixes for Steam Not Opening on Your PC

Steam is the dominant and most used gaming platform. Since its release in 2003, it has improved a lot in performance. Like any other computer application, you can face difficulty in dealing with the Steam client. One of the significant troubleshooting queries about Steam is “Steam not opening.” We will address this issue in these articles and enlist all the possible ways to help you open the Steam client.

Here are the 16 best possible Fixes that you can do if steam is not opening on your PC or Mac.

  1. Perform a System Backup
  2. Check if Steam is down
  3. Restart Steam
  4. Run Steam as Administrator
  5. Clear the Steam app cache
  6. Reinstall Steam
  7. Repair Steam
  8. Use System Restore
  9. Update Windows
  10. Restart the Router
  11. Check If You are running Steam Beta
  12. Fix Corrupt Registry
  13. Fix GPU Drivers
  14. Fix Steam Error Code -107
  15. Check if the internet connection is interfering with Steam
  16. Check Errors in Hard Drives

1. Perform a System Backup

Before making any changes to your files and data, makes sure to perform a system backup. It is an excellent approach to keep the system safe for restoring it later in any problem. Follow these steps to make a system backup before making any changes to the system or Steam app.

Press Windows keys and Q together. A menu will open up in the bottom left corner of the screen. Search “settings” and open it from the menu.

perform system backup

Next window, click on “update and security,” and then from the options, select backup.

Once the backup window is open, connect a USB drive to your computer and click on the “add a drive” option. From the options, select the drive you have attached with your PC.

Now it will start getting up your PC for a system restore. It can take a while to create the PC backup on your drive.

You can exit the window after the completion of the backup.

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2. Check if Steam is down

The first thing to check when your Steam is not working is checking whether the Steam client is working or down for everyone. If your Steam client does not go beyond the connecting place and is stuck with the initial screen, you can check that internet connection or check if Steam is temporarily down.

To initiate this process, you need to open your internet browser and open any website to check that whether the problem is on your side or not. If the website does not open up, then it might be an issue with your internet connection. A quick fix you can do to avoid this situation is to restart the modem so that the internet can work again. If resetting doesn’t work, then you can contact your ISP.

check if steam is down

But if your internet is working fine and opening app and websites, it may be an issue with the Steam client, and it may be temporarily down. There are unofficial “Steam status” and “Steam down” websites to check the status of Steam services. Both websites are reliable and give information regarding steam service status.

Finally, you can figure out whether your Steam’s possible reason for not working is your internet service provider or it is from the Steam end.

3. Restart Steam

There are several reasons for Steam not opening up, and one of the reasons is its problem with the background programs. Sometimes the programs are running in the background prevent the steam app from launching up and cause issues with its core files. To manage this situation, you will require the task measure to close the running task.

For opening the task manager right click on the taskbar, and from the menu, select “task manager.”

restart steam

Once the task manager opens up, go to the processes tab and look for the steam processes from the list. After you find the steam client processes, you can click on it and choose “end task” from the options.

perform system backup 2

After the Steam processes are closed, open the distinct client again to check if it is working or not. If it is still not working, you can follow the next steps.

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4. Run Steam as Administrator

Sometimes there is an issue with the apps that they do not open without administrator privileges. If you are steam application is not opening, you can try another solution to run it as a system administrator. Opening administrator privileges enable the steam client to bypass security or permission-related issues that do not let it open.

Running Steam as an administrator is not a difficult task. You can easily run it as administrator by right click on the app icon and select run as administrator from the menu.

There is another workaround of giving administrator permissions to the Steam client, and you don’t require to repeatedly provide the administrator rights every time you open the steam app.

run as administrator

Open the installation directory of the Steam client and right-click on the Steam executable, and go to the “properties.” ([Fix] Windows Cannot Find Steam.exe)

run as administrator steam

Inside the properties, there is an option saying “run as administrator.” Check that box and click OK. Now Steam will always run with administrator permissions and does not have issues in opening up due to lack of admin privileges. (Fix: Steam Missing File Privileges Error).

5. Clear the Steam app cache

Clearing app data may not be a new thing for you as we are familiar with clearing application data on Android mobiles when our apps cause issues. Similarly, in Windows, when some programs do not open up, there is a strong chance of problems with the application cache.

Steam is no exception in this case, and with continuous built-up of cache, it does not open up on Windows. To address this issue, you need to locate the cache folder inside the steam directory.

clear appcache steam

First, you need to open the installation directory of steam client and go to the appcache folder inside the installation directory of Steam. The folder is straightforward to find because it is listed on the top of other folders if you arrange the folder alphabetically.

For the backing up data, make sure to make a backup of your appcache folder. Once you make the original folder and it will clear the Steam application cache. Now you can start the steam team without any issues.

6. Reinstall Steam

Sometimes the steam application files get corrupted, and the only solution to this situation is to reinstall the steam client by downloading a fresh copy of the software. Before proceeding with this, make sure to backup the game files not to lose your essential game file. Because some online games in the Steam library only have local backup data so removing the Steam client can remove their local data from your computer.

The first step to reinstall the steam application is to close it entirely from the computer and the processes running in the background. Then, open the windows task manager by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Del  button combination and selecting Task Manager from the options.

Inside the task manager, select the processes tab and search steam application processes from the list. Once you find its processes, right-click and end those tasks. Doing that, the Steam client will close, and you can now begin with the reinstallation processes.

uninstall steam

After closing the Steam app, uninstall it from the control panel. To open the control panel, click on the start menu and search “control panel.” Now open it and go to the “programs and features” option. Search steam application from the list of the installed programs and right-click on it. Choose uninstall and confirm to delete it permanently from your computer. Restart the computer after the successful installation of steam application. Or you can check out in detailed guide about uninstalling Steam.

Now it’s time to install the fresh copy of the steam application. To begin with, this process, go to the official steam website and download the latest installer. After downloading, open the installer and start with the installation process. Once the installation is complete, you can restore your backup files by placing them into the same folder you have made the backup.

Installing the fresh copy of the Steam application becomes necessary if you could not fix Steam’s opening up issue and wanted to run the Steam application. if this method still does not work for you, you can proceed to the following method to open the Steam application

7. Repair Steam

A steam client is flexible software because it provides various options for a better gaming experience. Besides gaming features, it also has a built-in repair function that automatically detects the issues and repairs the steam client. Before using this method, make sure to back up your files.

fix steam files

Once done with the backup, go to the steam application official website and download the latest setup for the steam client. Run the downloaded setup and choose the repair option from the installer, during which it will show onscreen prompts.

Follow all the instructions to complete the repair process. Open the Steam client again. And hopefully, your problem will get resolved if it was due to bad or corrupt Steam installation files. If Steam still won’t open, you can try the next methods and figure out the real cause of the issue. (Check out this guide if Steam is stopping while downloadin game, or Steam is downloading slowly)

8. Use System Restore

Sometimes a new software installation or Windows update can break the file system. If your Steam stop working after a Windows update, then the possible cause of this issue is the Windows updates.

This issue is annoying, but you can recover from the situation by running System Restore from the settings. However, you may lose your game and other files that reside on the Windows installation drive.

To do a system restore on Windows 10, if Steam is not opening, you need to go to “Control Panel” and then navigate to the upper right corner and select “View Large Icons” from the options. Now look for the “Recovery” option and open it.

steam recovery

Inside the Recovery, find and open System Restore. If you have made any system restore point in the past, it will automatically show you the date. When choosing the restore point, select the date of the Windows update installation that caused the files to go corrupt.

steam system restore

The system restores process takes a bit long, but it effectively reduces the system back to the previous state. It fixes almost any issue related to the windows update file corruption.

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9. Update Windows

It is also the fastest way to recover the issues related to the Steam opening. Sometimes a faulty Windows update causes issues in the file system and causes issues with the file system. Updating the Windows to the latest build can resolve the issues as they replace the faulty files with the most recent files.

To start the update in Windows 10, you can follow these easy steps.

Access the Windows Settings by pressing “Windows Key + I.”

Now in the bottom left row, select “Updates & Security.”

windows update steam

It will open a new window, choose “Windows Update” from the list, and open it.

From the right side, select “Check for updates,” or you can find it under the “Update Status” option.

windows update steam 1

After a successful update session, don’t forget to restart your computer after the completion of updates. Continue to the next solution if your Steam still doesn’t open up. Want to refund? try these fixes to refund a game on Steam.

10. Restart the Router

In most of the issues related to network-connected applications, problems with the router seem the main factor.

  1. If your Steam doesn’t open, then try restarting the router can solve the issue.
  2. To do this, shut down your PC.
  3. Now approach the internet router and shut it down. Wait for all the lights to go off.
  4. After approximately 2 to 3 minutes, plug in the router and turn it on.
  5. Now turn your PC on and open the Steam application.
  6. Test it if it is working now or not.

11. Check If You are running Steam Beta

Many people opt for the Steam Beta channel for testing out the upcoming features of the Steam client. If you are one of those who have installed the Beta version or have installed it in the past, then opening the Steam might not work.

As we all know that beta builds are relatively less stable and have bugs. That is why they sometimes mess up, and Steam does not open. This is the price that you pay for getting hands-on latest features.

If your Steam isn’t working, then you can disable the beta channel without open Steam. To do this, open Windows Explorer and go into the Steam installation directory.

You may find the directory at C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package by default.

Once you are in the directory, find the “beta” file and delete it.

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12. Fix Corrupt Registry

Sometimes it happens that the Steam client registry gets corrupt or it does not work as it should. In that case, you observe that Steam is still not opening. For these rare events, an old trick works that we found in a thread on Steam community boards.

To start with this obscure fix, go to the installation directory (usually under C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam and find the file “ClientRegistry.blob” and backup it by renaming it to ClientRegistryOld.blob.

Now try opening up the Steam client. It will create a new file for the registry and solve your problem of Steam not opening in windows.

13. Fix GPU Drivers

Steam crashing at the opening can happen due to outdated or bad GPU drivers. Steam has good compatibility with the GPU drivers, but there is an increase in GPUs by different manufacturers over the past few years. Sometimes a bad update to the GPU drivers can prevent Steam from opening.

To update an outdated GPU driver, the process is straightforward. You can easily update the drivers from Radeon Settings (AMD) and GeForce Experience (Nvidia). Download respective applications for your GPU and open them to find the update of the drivers.

For rolling back a faulty or non-working update of GPU driver, go to their official website and search drivers download page. From there, you can select the recently working drivers to use for the rolling back process.

14. Fix Steam Error Code -107

Steam uses Chromium for its desktop client, an open-source and lightweight version of google chrome. It operates almost the same way, and we can see errors in its operation as we see in our web browsers. The most common Chromium-related errors on Steam client include SSL protocol error and Error code -107.

To get rid of these errors, make sure that you have installed the latest updates of Windows 10 and have updated date and time settings. To avoid improper date and time settings, turn on “Set time automatically” from the “Date & Time” settings.

15. Check if the internet connection is interfering with Steam

Some internet providers save bandwidth by compressing the incoming and outgoing data. This data compression causes severe issues with the Steam opening.

If the issue comes from the network provider, then the only solution is to change the network provider to get your Steam back to work.

16. Check Errors in Hard Drives

It not always the software side that can cause errors in the Steam opening. There might be events where an error in the hard drives can prevent Steam from the start. The only way to tackle this situation is to check the hard drives for errors.

To start with this, open the “Start Menu” and then search “File Explorer” and open it.

steam fixes

Now click on the “This PC” menu on the left side.

It will bring the drive window in front of you. Choose the drive you want to check for the errors and right-click on it.

steam fixes 1

Select “Properties from the context menu.

Now select “Tools” from the various tabs and click on “Check.”

steam fixes 2

Scan the drive for the errors. It will take some time, depending upon the size.

Once done, you can try opening the Steam again.

Summary

Steam is a platform that packs many popular game titles that you can play and have fun with friends. But sometimes, it does not simply open. To resolve this issue, we have listed few methods that you can utilize to get the Steam working again. You can analyze your situation and make the Steam run again by following the suitable method.

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Muhammad Kashif

M. Kashif is a published author at Gaming Expert.net. He is a tech enthusiast, a passionate gamer and loves to try new gadgets and writing about games and technology events.