Without a doubt, Steam is one of the most popular gaming distribution platforms available for users. Even though the developers keep sending updates every now and then to fix bugs, there are still some unresolved issues. Among them, one of the worst nightmares for gamers is Steam running slow. Slow response is the worst thing, especially if you are a professional gamer.
This problem can occur for various reasons, such as low memory or outdated software. Though it is a little bit complicated issue for the user, it’s not impossible to fix the problem. There are a number of ways available which can help you to fix when Steam is running slow.
If you don’t know how to resolve the problem, then you are in the right place. In this article, we are gonna discuss how to fix the Steam running slow issue. So, follow the rest of the article carefully.
Methods to Solve Steam Running Slow Issue
Resolving the speed issue of Steam is not rocket science. With a little bit of guidance, anyone can solve the issue instantly without the help of any third-party application. If you know exactly what caused the problem, then choose the appropriate method from the following fixes. But if you don’t know exactly why you are getting the issue, then go through all the methods one by one.
Solution 1: Clear Cache and Cookies of Steam
When problems like Steam running slow 2017 occurs, the first thing you should do is clear cache and cookies. If you don’t know how to clear Steam cache and cookies, then follow these steps:
- At first, turn on your device and launch the Steam client by right-clicking on it. Make sure you open Steam with the administrator privilege.
- Once it opens, click on the Steam tab from the top-left corner of the screen.
- Now, from the drop-down menu, click on the Setting option and navigate to the Web Browser tab present on the left side.
- After that, you will see two buttons on the right side of the screen. One by one click on Delete Cache and Delete Cookies and let Steam do the work automatically. A notification will pop up asking you to confirm your action. Simply, press OK to continue.
- After clearing both cache and cookies, press OK to save the changes you have made and then exit from the page.
- At last, Restart Steam with the help of Task Manager.
Solution 2: Enable Automatic Detect Settings and Disabling LAN Settings
If you intentionally or unintentionally leave the proxy activated, then your computer can also create an extra workload on the Steam. So, in this case, the quickest way to fix the problem will be to disable the proxy setting.
There are two ways to disable the LAN Settings and enable the Automatic Detect Settings. The first one is using a web browser and the second one is through Network Settings.
Method 1: Through Web Browser (Chrome)
- At first, launch the Chrome browser and then click on the Menu (3 dots) from the top-right corner of the window.
- Once you click on it, a drop-down menu will come. From the list, select the Settings menu. After that, type “proxy” in the search dialogue bar present at the top of the window.
- Next, from search results locate and select the “open proxy settings”.
- From the current window, click on the Connections tab and then select the LAN Settings button from the bottom of the screen.
- A new window will pop up where you have to check the box labeled as Automatically detect settings and uncheck the box which labels as Use a proxy server for your LAN.
After completing the above steps, save the changes you have made. Then, restart the Steam to check the status of the problem.
Method 2: Through Network Settings
- First, open your device and then press Windows key + R key to open the Run dialogue box.
- After that type “inetcpl.cpl” in the Run dialogue box to open the Internet Properties window.
- Here, you will see lots of tabs at the top of the table. Select the Connection tab and then click on the LAN Settings.
- Now, just like before you have to check the box labeled as Automatically detect settings and uncheck the box which labels as Use a proxy server for your LAN. After that, relaunch Steam.
Solution 3: Repair Steam
If none of the above methods work, then you can use the Run dialogue box in order to repair Steam automatically.
- At first, press Windows key + R to launch Run dialogue box. Then, type xxxbin.exe /repair ( here, xxx is the address of the Steam directory).
- Once you hit the Enter button, it will launch a Command Prompt and start the automatic repairing.
- Now, you have to wait until the system show any kind of completion message. This process will take some time and show nothing in the Command Prompt. But that’s normal. So, don’t cancel the operation until it exits itself.
- When the window exit automatically, launch the Steam again and check if it responding properly or not.
Solution 4: Verify the Integrity of Game Files
If the problem is occurring particularly for one game then it can be possible that the game files are corrupted. Because of that, Steam will not able to work properly. Also, if library files contain incorrect configuration, then it can also lead to a Steam error.
- To resolve, at first, open your Steam client and then click on the Library tab located on the top of the window.
- In the Library tab, all of your installed games will come in a list format. Now, right-click on the game in which you are getting the problem and then select its Properties.
- Once the Game Properties window opens, click on the Local Files tab and then click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- When you do that, Steam will automatically start verifying all the files present. If it finds any file missing or corrupted file, then it will download that file and replace it accordingly.
- Once the process is done, Stream will show the All files Successfully Validated message. Run the game again to check the speed of Stream.
If the problem is still there, then repair the library file to fix the incorrect configuration.
Steps:
- To check the library file, navigate to Stream and look at the bottom-left corner of the window to click on the Settings option.
- Now, open the Downloads tab present on the left side of the interface. Then, click on the box which is labeled Steam Library Folders.
- Here, all of the stream content information will be listed in a folder. Right-click on it and then select Repair Library Files option to start the repair process.
After completing the above process, restart Steam and check if the problem is fixed or not.
Solution 5: Grant Steam the Administrative Privileges
Another potential reason for problems like Steam running slow 2017 can be not having administrative privileges. So, you have to give Steam and its entire directory administrative privileges in order to avoid Steam is running slow issue. There are two ways available to do that.
Method 1
At first, close your Steam client and then right-click on the Stream icon from your desktop’s screen. If the shortcut icon is not available there, then you can do the same thing from the Start menu or the taskbar. When the drop-down menu opens, click on the Run as administrator option. After that, simply reboot the system.
Method 2
The second method is a little bit longer. So, use it only if the first method does not work for you.
- To use this method, at first, press Windows key + R and then in the search field, type in the location of your Steam directory. By default, it is installed in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\ location.
- Once the folder opens, find the Steam.exe file and then right-click on it.
- Now, from the contextual list, scroll down a little bit and then click on the Properties button.
- In the new window, you will see lots of tabs. Select the Compatibility tab from here to check the box which is entitled Run program as an administrator.
- When it’s done, click on the Apply button to save the changes and then press OK to exit the window.
After completing the above steps, boot up the Steam client to see if the problem of Steam running slow is solved or not.
Wrapping Up
We hope that after applying the above methods, you will be able to fix the Steam running slow issue. If you have some other effective methods to solve the problem, then you can also share it with us. If these methods are still not able to resolve the problem, then we will highly recommend contacting a professional for better guidance.
