Nowadays, Steam is the most preferred platform for creating, playing and discussing online games. This application is a worldwide accepted for playing games. But when you try to update a Steam game, you can come across with the “Steam Content File Locked” error.
When you get this error, you will be notified with the “An error occurred while updating [game]” pop up message. This indicates that Steam is unable to update the files of the game.
If you are getting this error, we would suggest you fix it to the earliest to avoid unwanted interruption while playing games. Here, we will guide you on how to fix the error by using some quick and effective methods. Go to the next section to implement the methods.
Key Methods to Fix the “Steam Error Content File Locked” Error:
This section consists of the key methods to get rid of the Steam error. Implement the below-mentioned methods accordingly as per your convenience.
Method 1: Reset Winsock
Windows Sockets (Winsock) API is designed to dictate how the Operating Systems communicate with the network protocols such as TCP/IP.
Resetting the Winsock will help to recover the device if there is any socket related error arises for downloading unknown Steam game files. So, it is suggested to reset the Winsock to fix the error.
To do that, you need to perform the below-mentioned steps:
- Hold the Windows and R key together, This will open the Run dialog box.
- In the Run dialog box, write “netsh Winsock reset”. Click on the “Enter” button next to run the command.
Now, restart the device and check if you can update the game files. If not, then simply proceed to the next method.
Method 2: Run Steam as Administrator
If you are still unable to fix the error, we would suggest you run the Steam application taking up all the administrative rights.
If you open the Steam application and admin for updating the game files, then sometimes you might face this error because of rights and privileges issues.
To open the Steam applications as an Admin, you need to implement the below-mentioned steps:
- First, you need to close the application by right-clicking on the “Taskbar.”
- Now, go to the Task Manager tab and search for the “Steam Client Bootstrapper” File.
- Tap on it and choose the “End Task” option from the drop-down menu.
- Now, right-click on the “Steam” icon and then choose the “Run as Administrator” option from the drop-down menu.
Now, after running it as an admin, open the Steam application check if you are getting the “steam content file locked” error. But if you are still stuck in the same problem, then move to the next method.
Method 3: Check Disk Scan
Check Disk Tool helps to check a specific disk related issue. It also repairs the malfunctioned sector of the hard drive or disk. So, if you are still unable to get rid of an error, then there might be a hard drive issue that is interrupting the game installation process because of the corrupted game file disks.
If this is the case, you need to run the CHKDSK command line to fix the error. To run the CHKDSK command line in the device, you need to implement the below-mentioned steps:
- Hold the Windows and R key together. This will open the Run Dialog box.
- In the Run dialog box, write “cmd”. Hit the “Enter” button.
- This will open a Command Prompt window.
- In the Command Prompt window, write “chkdsk c: /f”. Hit the “Enter” button next.
- Tap on the “Y” button to confirm the scanning process.
Now, wait for a while, until Disk check Tool starts to detect the corrupted game files. After scanning for corrupted files, it will automatically repair the corrupted game files. Now, open the Steam applications and check if you can update any game files. If not, then go to the next method.
Method 4: Relocate Steam Application and Game Files
If the above method fails in updating the game files, then you need to perform this ultimate method. Here, we will guide you on how to relocate the Steam installation and the game files. Once you are done with doing the above steps, you can get back to the update process.
How to Relocate the Steam Installation?
In the first segment, we will show you how to relocate the Steam installation by using simple yet quick steps:
- Open the Steam application., Now go to the “Settings” section.
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- Choose the “Downloads” option and then tap on the ”Steam Library Folders.
- Now, tap on the ‘Add Library folder” and then choose a new path to locate the Steam application.
Note: All the installation that will occur in the future, you will find them in this section. Now, you need to move the already existing Steam files to place.
- Next, close the Steam application. Now, try to search for the current Starem directory which is “default is: C: \Program Files \Steam”.
- Remove all the files and folders that are related to Steam except the “SteamApps and UserData” folders and don’t remove the “exe” folder.
- Now, paste all the folders into the new directory.
Now, open the Steam application and check if you can update any Game files. Hopefully, applying the above-mentioned methods will help you to get rid of the error.
If not, then you need to check first if you have downloaded the beta version of the Steam application. Because if Steam application opts into a beta for games, you can get the ‘Steam update content file locked” error.
But while updating some of the games on Steam, you can get this error. Not all the games that are listed under the Beta version will cause this issue.