How to fix Steam content file locked or content file locked steam?
If your Steam game won’t open or if you keep getting the error “Game launch failed (Executable missing)”, there may be a problem with the Steam application or other software on your machine. This problem usually occurs if a file is missing for a game that you are trying to launch or if Steam or its program is locked.
Reasons why your Steam game won’t open “Steam content file locked”
There are several possible causes to consider if Steam won’t open.
- Random Steam client error
- Conflict with security software.
- Corrupt Steam data
- Other PC software failures
Random Steam client error
No application or program can work 100% all the time. Steam app may stop working due to little bug sometimes. The vast majority of cases where Steam encounters a problem is due to a temporary error that goes away on its own. This is because many things can go wrong with a computer’s software environment.
Conflict with security software
Some antivirus programs may wrongly identify the Steam client as virus/malware. This can lead to security software blocking or deleting some files or applications that your computer needs to load the Steam application. Most security software has an option to allow a user to restore a file or program that they have automatically deleted.
If your Steam application keeps saying that it is blocked or cannot be opened, you must adjust the settings of your antivirus or security software to exclude Steam when you are doing a scan.
Corrupt Steam data
The Steam application uses temporary files to perform certain tasks. For example, downloaded content is stored separately and treated as a cache. Sometimes a file or the entire cache can become corrupted or out of date, which can lead to problems. Fortunately, a cache problem with Steam can be easily fixed. See the solutions for a corrupt file or cache below.
Other PC software failures
Some applications or programs may adversely affect the performance of Steam. Certain applications such as security software (antivirus, antispyware, firewall), P2P clients, FTP / web server applications, IP blocking / filtering programs, download managers, VPN, can cause Steam or its games to crash or be interrupted connectivity.
If you can’t seem to get rid of the missing executable error at all, you need to dig deeper by going through your other apps by removing or disabling them one by one to narrow down the possible causes.
#8 Methods to Fix Steam content file locked
Troubleshooting a game that won’t open on Steam or a missing executable error – If Steam or your game won’t open or keeps showing a missing executable error, there are several possible solutions you can try to fix the problem. At this time the things you need to do to fix this problem are:
# Method 1: Restart Steam client
- Rebooting the Steam client is frequently an effective mode to update the application and repair bugs. Try to force quit a running Steam app through the Task Manager app and see if that will fix the problem. If there are multiple Steam programs running, make sure to close them all. If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 2: Update Steam and its games
- Do the same for your games. You probably don’t need to do this step if your computer is connected to the internet all the time, but if you only play Steam games occasionally, be sure to update before starting Steam again. If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 3: Disable antivirus or security software
- If your security software is very aggressive and you are mislabeling Steam as malware, there are several steps you can take to fix the problem.
- First of all, open your security software and check if Steam or any of its files have been flagged as a threat. We cannot provide the exact steps on how to do this, as there are many security programs out there.
- Second, try to see if your security software has Game Mode that you can enable. If so, be sure to tag Steam or the game you’re having trouble opening as safe.
- Lastly, if your security software interferes with Steam after it scans the system, you can change your settings to exclude the Steam folder when you are scanning.
If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 4: Change Steam and Game Files Location
Step 1: Go to Steam Client and mouse click on Settings.
Step 2: mouse Click on Downloads and choose Steam Library Folders.
Step 3: select ADD LIBRARY FOLDER at the lower-left corner and choose the fresh/new location for Steam.
Step 4: Close the Steam Client and move to your Steam directory. (Please note down that the default position is C:\Program Files\Steam.)
Step 5: Remove the exe and all the files apart from UserData and SteamApp folders.
Step 6: Move these files to the fresh location.
Step 7: Open Steam and sign in another time to ensure whether you can update Steam games.
If the Steam content file locked persists, please go after the steps scheduled in the following content:
Step 1: Close your Steam completely.
Step 2: Open to the location where you relocated Steam now.
Step 3: move the SteamApp folder from that directory to your desktop.
Step 4: Uninstall Steam. This process is done to eliminate your old Steam settings from your PC.
Step 5: Install Steam again to the initial position that you selected.
Step 6: Move the SteamApps folder to the fresh Steam directory. This will duplicate all of your game content, your saved games and settings.
Step 7: Launch Steam and enter your sign in details. Verify the integrity of Steam game files and you will be able to play.
If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 5: Verify corrupt data
An outdated Steam cache or files can cause crashes or connectivity issues when playing a game. Steam may also fail to download a game or updates due to a faulty cache. To see if this is the reason why you can’t open a game on Steam, you can check the integrity of the game files. If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 6: Winsock Catalog Reset
- To start, right-mouse click on the Windows OS Start menu picture and select ‘’Search’’ from the related list that appears.
- Type “cmd” into the empty field and right click to launch as admin.
- In the cmd, type – netsh winsock reset
- Hit Enter on the keyboard to begin the command.
- Reboot the PC when provoked by the ”You must reboot the computer in order to complete the reset” message.
- Start Steam then the update.
If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 7: Delete and reinstall the game
You can also choose to reinstall the problem game if the problem doesn’t go away. To do that, simply
- open the Steam app,
- click the Games tab;
- click View Game Library,
- right-click the game,
- go to Manage,
- And select Uninstall.
Please note that all your saved game progress may be deleted if you uninstall a game unless they are first stored in the cloud. If this doesn’t work for you Move to next step.
# Method 8: Reinstall Steam
- Another possible solution you can try for this problem is to remove and reinstall the Steam program. This is your last option if the problem doesn’t go away on its own after reinstalling the game.
- You can download Steam again from this link.
- Don’t forget that removing the Steam app will also remove your games. If you don’t want to download your games again afterwards, make sure to create a backup of your Steam games first. To do that, just go to Steam Settings, select Backup and Restore Games, and click on Backup currently installed programs.
Conclusion
This article involves an end. Have you ever found out why you receive the Steam error content file locked when updating your Steam games? Hope you’ll perform the acceptable above solutions consistent with the explanation for this issue.
Certainly, if you’ve got any problems with the solutions mentioned during this article, you’ll leave them within the content zone. We’ll reply to you as soon as possible.
FAQ on “Steam Content File Locked”
How do I fix content locked on Steam?
- Disable the antivirus that forestalls you from writing files to your disk drive.
- Change the situation of the Steam installation and therefore the game files.
- Reset Winsock.
- Check your disk drive health.
- Start Steam as administrator.
How do I clear my Steam cache?
To clean the Steam cache, you’ll follow the tutorial below.
- Go to Steam > Settings.
- In the Settings panel, select the Downloads tab and click on CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE.
- Select okay to confirm and acknowledge that you simply will get to login to Steam again.
Why is my Steam download so slow?
The reasons for slow Steam download speed is just too many games and large titles included within the library of the app, the download server working improperly, outdated network driver, and an unstable network connection. To hurry up the Steam download speed, click here.
Are you able to copy Steam games to a different hard drive?
The reply is yes.
