For any PC gamer out there, Steam is an important application. Without it, downloading game updates, purchasing new games, and connecting with your friends would be a challenging task. But what if your Steam Store is not loading in Windows?
It is definitely an irritating error. But fixing it is not as hard as you might think it is. To help you out, below, I have shared a couple of tricks that will help you get rid of the error.
How To Fix Steam Store Is Not Loading in Windows?
There are many ways you can fix the Steam store not loading error. Some of the useful workarounds are:
- Test Your Internet Connection
- Check Steam’s Server Status
- Update Steam
- Run flushconfig on Terminal
- Run Steam in Big Picture mode
- Launch Steam from the shortcut
- Remove Steam compatibility
- Reinstall Steam
Now let’s talk about these fixes one by one below:
1. Test Your Internet Connection
Steam clients won’t get loaded if you have a slow internet connection. So before getting into any troubleshooting methods, make sure that you don’t have a slow internet connection.
Many websites allow you to test your internet connection. For instance, you can use Ookla’s Internet Speed test for the job.
Ensure you have at least a download and upload speed of 5 MBPS, and the latency is below 25ms. If you face a network or internet issue on your side, you can run the Internet Troubleshooter, especially if you are using a VPN.
2. Check Steam’s Server Status
You should also make sure that Steam servers are live and not offline. If steam servers are offline, then the Steam store will not load.
The good part is that checking the Steam server’s official status is extremely easy. You can head over to this website steamstat.us for the job. However, it is an unofficial website.
3. Update Steam
Another thing that you should do is update your Steam application. There is a high chance that the error is occurring because of a bug, and Steam developers have already fixed it and rolled out an update. Although, Steam update itself automatically.
But you can also manually update it by clicking on Steam from the software’s menu bar and then selecting Check for steam client updates.
However, in this case, since Steam is not loading, then the manual update isn’t a solution. Instead, you have to follow the below steps:
- Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to launch Task Manager.
- From Task Manager, select Steam client and click on End task.
- Next, press Windows Key + R to launch R.
- Paste this following path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam on Run and press Enter.
- Now you will get to see a few files and folders. Delete everything apart from files like Steam.exe and SSfn files.
- Once done, launch Steam, and it will start updating itself automatically.
- Finally, check if this worked for you.
4. Run flushconfig on Terminal
You can also try running the flushconfig. It helps clear the download cache and helps you get rid of Steam errors.
For this, follow the below steps:
- First, launch R by pressing Windows Key + R.
- Now copy and paste this command: steam://flushconfig and press enter.
- Next, click on OK to confirm the flush.
- Finally, relaunch Steam and see if this worked for you.
5. Run Steam in Big Picture mode
Next, you can try launching Steam Store in Big picture mode. It is one of the workarounds that worked for most users.
Also, there is nothing wrong with giving the method a try. So follow the below steps:
- From the bottom right of your Desktop, right-click on Steam and select Big Picture.
That’s it. Now Steam should launch without any issues. If not, move to the other fixes.
6. Launch Steam from the shortcut
You can also try launching Steam from the shortcut. For this, you will need to follow the below steps:
- Launch R by pressing Windows Key + R.
- Copy and paste this path and press enter: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
- Now locate and right-click on Steam.exe and select Create shortcut.
- Then right-click on Steam Shortcut and click Properties.
- Now, leave a space at the end of the Target box under the Shortcut tab. Then copy and paste -no-cef-sandbox.
- Click on Apply > OK.
Now double click on the Steam Shortcut to launch Steam and see if it worked for you.
7. Remove Steam compatibility
If you have enabled Steam compatibility, then it is not recommended as it prevents the Steam client from running smoothly. So it is advised that you turn off the Stream compatibility mode.
For this, follow the below steps:
- Press Windows Key + R to launch Run.
- Now copy and paste C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam and press enter.
- Right-click on Steam.exe and click on Properties.
- Switch to the Compatibility tab, uncheck all the boxes, and click on Change settings for all users.
- Uncheck all the boxes and click on Apply > OK.
- Finally, relaunch Steam and see if Steam Store launched adequately.
8. Reinstall Steam
If, in the end, nothing works out for you, then you can reinstall Steam. Reinstalling Steam will not delete your gameplay data. For this, follow the below steps:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features.
- Search for Steam and click on the three dots icon.
- Click on Uninstall and follow all the onscreen steps, and you are good to go.
- Once uninstalled, download a fresh copy of the Steam client from its website and install it following all the onscreen steps.
How to Repair Steam if It’s Corrupt?
- Right-click on Start Menu.
- Select Windows Terminal (Admin) and launch it.
- Now copy and paste this following command and press enter: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe”/repair.
That’s it. Your Windows system will now try to repair the Steam client for a while. If it doesn’t work, try to update your Steam client manually.
So that was all for how to fix Steam store is not loading in Windows. Now go ahead and try out the fixes and see if they help you. Also, if you are stuck at anything, drop a comment below.
How do I get my Steam EXE back?
The simplest way to get Steam EXE back is to reinstall the Steam client. To reinstall Steam exe, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features. Then search for Steam client and uninstall it.
After that, download a fresh copy of Steam from the official website and install it on your Windows machine by following all the onscreen steps.
Why Did Steam Delete Itself?
Steam cannot delete itself. Instead, it is your Antivirus that might have altered or deleted the appmanifest files in the Steam folder. To deal with the issue, you can whitelist the Steam client in your Antivirus program. So it won’t delete the client in the future.