How To Fix Steam File Content Locked?

Fix Steam File Content Locked: One of the most frustrating issues faced by Steam players when trying to update games on their gaming PC is the Steam locked content file.

When the error occurs, it means that Steam is unable to write update files to your SDD or hard drive. This problem can be easily solved by various simple methods which only take a few minutes.

How to Fix Steam File Content Locked?

Method 1: Winsock reset

The problem can sometimes be related to the way Windows network software accesses network services. For this reason, you may need to reset the Winsock. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Holddown the Windowskey and then press the R key to launch theRun command
2. Typenetsh Winsock resetin the dialog that appears and pressRun
3. Once the command is executed, just restart your system and that should fix the problem.

Method 2: Check your antivirus

Most often, the problem is caused by yourantivirus. Some antivirus programs often mark certain files as potential threats and therefore quarantine them on your hard drive. This sometimes happens withSteam depending on the antivirus you are using. Here’s how to fix it based on your antivirus:

Kaspersky Antivirus

One of the most sensitive antiviruses,Kasperskycan prevent Steam from making changes to your computer because it sees it as a potential virus.

To remedy this, simply launch the antivirus and go to the “threats and exclusions” section. Go to the trusted zone, then add Steam.exe among the trusted apps. In the settings, change them to ”Do not limit the activity of applications” and ”Do not scan open files“.

McAfee Antivirus

If you are usingMcAfee, you can resolve this issue by launching the antivirus, and then selecting “Virus and spyware protection”. Go to real-time scanning and turn it off.

Whichever antivirus you use, once you have configured it to work withSteam, you will also need to verify the integrity of the game files. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer, then launch Steam
2. Go to the library section and right-click on the game with the problem.
3. Select its properties and go to the Local files tab
4. Then click on theCheck game integrity button. This should hopefully solve the problem you are having.

Note:

You can also decide to simply deactivate your antivirus when you update a game and encounter this problem. If it works, then obviously the problem is caused by your antivirus. You can therefore always deactivate the antivirus until you have finished updating your games or have followed the above steps.

Method 3: Repairing corrupted files

Many problems withSteamand other applications on your computer can be caused by missing or corrupt files. To fix this, you can download the problematic file. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Close your Steam and go to theSteam directoryon your computer using the default location (C: / Program Files (x86) / Steam). However, if you installed it somewhere else, you just need to navigate there.
2. Go to the Logs folder and open txt.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the txt file and look for recent errors that have occurred.
4. Navigate to the root folder.
5. Quit Steam and relaunch the application. Go to the download folder and the application will ask you to update the game.
6. Click the Update button.
7. Once Steam has been updated, the file that caused the error will be corrected.

Method 4: Run as administrator

It may happen that the content file is locked because Steam needs special authorization to access certain folders and it does not obtain it. To resolve this issue, you can simply give permission by running Steam as an administrator by following the steps below:

1. Go to your desktop and right-click on the Steam icon
2. Select theProperties option
3. In the properties dialog, select the “Compatibility” tab
4. Under this section, check the ”Run as administrator” box under Settings.
5. At the bottom of the box, click on ”Apply” and then on “OK
6. Once that’s done, try running Steam in the usual way and see if that fixes the problem.

Method 5: Change the location of Steam and game files

Although this method is complex, it works like a charm. However, you can consider and try all of the above methods before you decide. Note that you should not interrupt the process once you have started copying files, as this may corrupt them.

With this method, just follow the steps below:

1. Go to theSteam clientand click on Settings
2. Select Downloads and then click onSteam Library Folders.
3. The next thing you want to do is click on “Add Library Folder” and then select a location for the folder. This will define the path for the installations.
4. Close your Steam client
5. Access your Steam directory through the default location; C: \ Program Files \ Steam
6. Go ahead and delete all files and folders, except theSteamApps and UserDatafoldersas well as the exe.
7. Just cut the folders and go to the new directory you created and paste.
8. Once done, you can launch Steam and log in.

If that doesn’t solve the problem or if you have a problem with the above process, you can decide to try this:

1. Exit the application
2. Open the new Steam site
3. Move theSteamAppsfolder from the directory and have it stored on your desktop. It is important to keep it well because it contains the content and settings of your game.
4. Completely uninstall Steam in order to remove old Steam settings from your computer
5. Reinstall the application to the original location.
6. Move your SteamApps folder to the new Steam directory
7. Open your Steam and log in. This should fix the problems you are having.

Note:

Like anything else with the applications you use on your computer, you may run into problems with Steam because you have failed to ensure that you have updated it to the latest version available. Therefore, always keep the application up to date as well as your system.

Thus you can fix Steam File Content Locked. If you have any questions, comment in the comment box.