I wake up in the morning to play a couple of rounds in CS:GO and Steam not opening. Steam is a powerful online gaming store and they have been providing a VAC security system to prevent invaders from spoiling the game. There are a number of ways to resolve the Steam won’t open problem, and I will mention a simple solution and move out way up to the advanced solutions.
Follow Basic Solutions to solve Steam not opening
I dislike forums answers and tutorials that explain essential solutions and cover entire points around it. I will cover all basic solutions in one go, and save plenty of reader’s time, so make sure to read them all.
- Restart the Steam client by ending the task manually from the taskbar.
- Restart the computer by turning it off manually and then turning it on.
- Run Steam as Administrator.
- Reinstall Steam and backup the data.
- Unplug external devices.
- Update Date & Time Settings.
- Sign out from the internet and re-login.
I consider Steam users or gamers smarter people because they understand technology and hardware extremely well. Knowledgeable people can perform the actions that I have mentioned above and solve generic problems.
Check Online Steam Server Status
Steam offers a wide-range of servers for gamers around the world, and they have multiple servers available in different locations. It is common knowledge that the server doesn’t respond normally all-time because of technical reasons. I have provided an online web-based tool, and I check servers for user load and downtime.
Fix “Failed to Load SteamUI.dll” Error
Windows error is common knowledge for Microsoft OS administrators and “Failed to Load SteamUI.dll” is a well-known problem. Allow me to guide to resolve the issue by following a simple guide and create a new shortcut.
- Open Steam installed folder, which usually found in “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” location.
- Select the shortcut and Right-mouse click to view more options, and then click on “Properties” to continue.
- Add (-CLIENTBETA CLIENT_CANDIDATE) after (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe) in the shortcut.
Click on “Apply” and then “OK” to complete the process. I recommend the PC administrators to shut down the computer, and then restart it to start a new session. Most of the bugs are eliminated by restarting the operating system and maintain the C: drive optimization.
Clear All Steam appcache
The steam program does not want the users to spend plenty of time loading the heavy file sized games. Valve created a directory called “App Cache” that stores every single file in the cache, so the users can load the game faster next time. However, Microsoft proved in the past that software can go wrong, and it is called “misremembering” traditionally. Clearing the saved formed data can remove the problem from the system and Steam will work normally.
- Go to Steam installed “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” folder.
- Click on the “appcache” folder and find it, if it doesn’t appear on the first on the top.
- Open the folder, and select all files from the list, and then move the files to another location. Now, restart the computer to start a new session and then check whether this resolves the problem.
No need to delete the folder because the program will create a new one next time. Move the files and no harm will come when you delete the app cache but you will experience slow launching of the games for a couple of days and that’s all there is to it.
Update the Steam forcibly
When Steam doesn’t open at all, nobody can update the software, and we have to take the manual method to replace the corrupted files. Allow me to update the program forcibly, and I would like to guide the PC administrators through it.
- Download the Steam program from the official store.
- Set-up the program as usual and login to the account.
- The software updates smoothly without any problem.
- All the games were present in the library, and I spent only three minutes.
Move the “steamapps” folder to another partition because there is a higher chance of losing the data. You can restore the folder back to the original Steam installed folder, and it will work smoothly.
Note: Copy the “steamapps” folder locally because the forcible installation of Steam causes downloaded games to disappear.
Test RAM with WMD tool
Microsoft introduced “Windows Memory Diagnostic” in XP edition and is available in all latest versions. The inbuilt program designed to conduct several tests on the RAM module and provide accurate information on the health status. Save all opened tasks because this function requires to shut down.
- In the search bar, Type “Windows Memory Diagnostic”.
- Now, tap on “restart now and check for problems (recommended)”.
- Let the Windows carry out the process and it will consume a few minutes to complete it.
The computer will restart automatically and conducts three-step modules scanning. Do not turn off the computer whatsoever because it won’t harm the RAM stick nor provide any information.
Find Corrupted System Files and Fix it
Windows is an innovative operating system, but it is well-known for system files corruption, and I personally faced this plenty of time. Solving the problem is not easy because it could be in a situation where there is going back in the past. However, Microsoft added the inbuilt tool to provide advanced repairing support, and we are going to look at it.
- Open CMD as administrator and type (sfc /scannow) in it and hit enter to continue.
- Do not run programs in the background and keep the PC idle till the scanning completes to 100% and be patient meanwhile.
- Windows Resource Protection will find out the corrupted files and repair them at once.
The PC administrator needs to be patient during the process because the task duration depends on the HDD or storage drive speed and overall Windows machine speed.
Roll Back Drivers or Update GPU
Be it Nvidia, Intel or Radeon GPU, and Steam program is directly connected to the graphics card. I know that some of the readers don’t understand the connection between the GPU and Steam library, but it is a contributing factor to open games in the library.
Roll Back GPU Driver:
- Fire up “Device Manager” from the search bar.
- Click on “Display Adapters” and then select the GPU. Now, right-mouse click to open more options and then select “Properties” from the list.
- A small window will pop-up on the screen and then select “Driver” from the top menu, and then click on “Roll Back Driver” from the options.
However, I could not show any further because I didn’t update the GPU drivers lately. I wanted to keep this part untouched because I wanted to show the manual driver update.
Update GPU Drivers Manually:
- Fortunately, Intel, AMD and Nvidia offer an official website for download.
- Currently, I’m using a Radeon RX 570 series, and I receive updates in the control panel.
- Open GeForce Experience software that comes with Nvidia control panel, and select “Drivers” and then click on “check for updates” for stable installation.
- Make sure to connect the computer to an active internet connection and the driver file size is always above 300MB. In this case, I was using GTX 1060, which is a decent GPU for 1080p gaming from Nvidia.
Final Words
Resolve Steam won’t open by following the solutions that I have suggested in this tutorial. I didn’t mention plenty of other solutions because I believe that there might be a huge problem with the Windows version. I recommend the PC administrators to keep the machine clean from threats, and I would love to know your opinions in the comment section below.
