How to Fix : Steam Download Stopping

Steam download stopping is a rather common issue reported by several Steam users. The download might suddenly stop and then resume after some time. The problem may persist due to several reasons and even reinstalling the app won’t work sometime. 

Keeping that in mind, here, we have come up with the most effective fixes to resolve this issue. And, you can try them as well to fix this particular issue in no time.

Steam Download Keeps Stopping: Causes

There might be a lot of reasons that lead to the ‘Steam download stopping’ issue. Some of the more common causes of the error are discussed below. 

  • Third-party software and unwanted applications such as Skype, CCleaner, Updaters, etc may cause the Steam download to stop.
  • Your internet network may fluctuate due to various bandwidth ranges and therefore, interrupt the Steam download. So, in order to resolve the error, you need to limit the bandwidth.   
  • The HTML cache in your device may interrupt the download.
  • Sometimes, the Windows Defender in your device interrupts and generate the Steam error.
  • Outdated Network drivers may cause the ‘Steam download stopping and starting’ problem. So, you can update the network drivers to its latest version to fix this.       

Steam Download Keeps Stopping: Try these Fixes

When the Steam download keeps stopping, you can try the fixes given below for a quick fix to this issue. Just follow them one by one until the issue gets fixed. 

Fix 1: Close the Unwanted Applications 

You may close all unwanted applications from your device as some of them may interrupt and lead to the ‘Steam download stopping’ issue. So, if you want to fix those internal technical issues then you may follow the below guidelines to close the applications. 

  • First, press the Windows + R key together to open the Run dialogue box and hence, type ‘taskmgr’ there. Hit Enter.
  • Therefore, you can close all the unwanted applications including Skype, CCleaner, Web browser, etc from there. 
  • Now, you can open the Steam application with the help of the Steam.exe. Finally, check if the Steam download is now working or not. 

Fix 2: Updating the Network Drivers 

Outdated network drivers may at times lead to the ‘Steam download stopping’ error.  So, you need to update the network drivers to their latest version in order to overcome this situation.

  • At first, type ‘Control Panel’ after clicking the Windows button. 
  • Then choose Device Manager from the search results list. In the Device Manager window, you will get to see a list of registered devices from which you need to choose Network Adapters. 
  • Note that this method is for both wireless adapter and a LAN. Hence, you can update the network drivers by double-clicking the selected driver. 
  • Then you will get a window and thereafter, tap on the Driver tab and select Update Driver. Now, you will get two options from there i.e. Update manually or Update automatically.   
  • You can choose either of the options for updating the drivers. 

Finally, you can check if the Steam download stopping error gets resolved or not. 

Fix 3: Limit Your Bandwidth 

Your download speed may be interrupted due to the bandwidth range variations and your network may fluctuate. So, in order to fix the problem, you need to limit the bandwidth. You can use a moderate range instead of using a higher or lower bandwidth. Take a glance at the steps. 

  • At first, open the Steam client and use the option ‘Run as Administrator’. Then select Steam from the top left corner and thereafter, choose Settings. 
  • Then go to the Downloads tab and click on the option the ‘Limit bandwidth to’. Now, you will get a drop-down window consisting of various speed limits. 
  • Choose the proper internet speed according to your ISP and exit Steam. 
  • Finally, you can restart Steam for its stability and check if the internet fluctuates or not. 

Fix 4: Disable Windows Defender 

If the above methods don’t work in fixing the issue, then you can disable Windows Defender and check if that resolves the issue. 

  • First, press the Windows + R key together to open the Run dialogue box and then, type ‘gpedit.msc’ therein.
  • A window named ‘Local Group Policy Editor’ will open. There, tap the Computer Configuration tab for choosing Administrative templates. 
  • Now, you need to choose the option Windows Defender by clicking the Windows Components folder. 
  • Hence, you will get a list of options from which you need to choose the ‘Turn off Windows Defender’. 
  • Now, click to Enabled to disable the Windows Defender. Then tap on Settings and press the OK button to make the changes.  

Finally, you can reboot your device and restart the Steam application via Steam.exe. You can also choose Run as administrator by right-clicking on your Steam client. Hence, check if the Steam download stopping error is resolved or not.

Fix 5: Delete the HTML Cache 

You can also clear the HTML caches from your device to fix the ‘Steam download keeps stopping’ error. 

  • Firstly, press the Window + R key to get the Run dialogue box open. Type ‘control’ and hit Enter to open the Control panel. 
  • Then select Folder Options from the top right corner and select the View tab. Thereafter, mark the box next to ‘Show Hidden files, folder and drivers’ and save the changes. 
  • After that, exit the window and press the Windows + R key once again to open the Run dialogue box. Hence, type the following command there

C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Steam\htmlcache, where ‘username’ denotes the username of your Windows account. 

But if you are not aware of your username then you can open the File Explorer to get to the file location. Go to the C drive and look for a folder named  ‘Users’. Hence, click on your username and go to the folder ‘AppData’. 

Now, you will get to see a folder named Local. Search for the ‘Steam’ folder inside Local. Finally, you will see the ‘htmlcache’ folder inside it, choose all the items and delete them.

  • Once you delete the cache, press the Windows + R key again to get the Run dialogue box open and type the command  “steam://flushconfig”. Then press Ok to confirm the task. 
  • Now, you’ll be prompted to log in again using your Steam username and password.  Finally, restart Steam and check for the Steam download stopping error. 

Fix 6: Reinstall the Steam Application 

You can reinstall the Steam application to fix the error but before that, you can back up the game data for the future. Just take a glance at the steps to follow. 

  • Press Windows + E keys to open the File Explorer and then open your Steam folder. The path is usually C: Program FilesSteam path.
  • Tap the ‘Copy to’ button after choosing Steamapps from there. Choose another folder for copying the Steamapps. 
  • Now, press the Windows + R keys to get the Run box open and type appwiz.cpl in it. Select Steam and click on Uninstall to remove Steam from your PC. 
  • Then restart your Windows device and navigate to the Steam download page. Hence, select the Install Steam option and add it to your device using the software setup wizard.

These are the fixes using which you can resolve the ‘Steam download stopping’ error from your device.    

Maria Colombo
Maria Colombo
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