It should come as no surprise that Steam is the best platform available out there for PC gaming.
The compatibility together with the vast library of games that this platform offers makes it truly easy for you to maintain all your content in one place, coordinate periods with companions, and even join groups of players that you share the same interest with.
However, the site also comes with a certain number of drawbacks along with so many advantages.
A lot of users have talked about a “Steam content file locked” error whenever they try to update any of their games.
While updates in Steam generally just include the process of right-clicking along with executing the update, some errors are likely to occur.
In case you have been facing this error, don’t worry because we’ve got you covered!
In this article, we are going to provide you with the easiest way to fix these errors of the content file locked steam Fix.
What Is the “Steam Content File Locked” Error?
The majority of the reports for the Steam Content File Locked error arise from updating various games.
In simple words, Steam isn’t able to access any of the files that it has got to update. This typically occurs because of an issue with permissions.
While the Steam platform isn’t the best at giving out details of such errors, there are a few tried-and-tested methods that you can certainly try and fix your issue of Steam Error Content File Locked.
Steam Content File Locked Fix 2023
Now that we are well acquainted with the Steam Content File Locked error, it’s time that we finally look at the way to fix it.
Without any further ado, let’s move on to the steam content file-locked fix.
1. Finding And Fixing Any Damaged Files
This is one of the most commonly occurring causes that is found behind the error of Steam Content File Locked.
There may be some corrupted or damaged files on your device and a lot of issues might be occurring or are likely to occur due to these files.
You can try to locate and get rid of these corrupted files by deleting them and then steam download content file locked them on the system back again steam ‘content file locked error.
To delete the corrupted files on your system, you will need to follow the below-mentioned steps:
- First and foremost, you will need to close Steam and go to the Steam directory on your device. The majority of these are mainly found in C: / Program Files (x86) / Steam.
- During the process of installation, in case you have selected any different location then you will need to head here.
- Now move to the folder named ‘ logs ‘ and click on ‘ text ‘.
- Now, after you have opened this file, you will need to go to the very bottom of the text file and search for any new errors.
- There may be a lot of errors displayed right here with their respective dates and times, APPID, as well as error description.
- Now, you will need to go to the base folder of the mod. After reaching there, simply delete it.
- Now, try to restart Steam on your device and you will be able to see that Steam is expecting an update since you deleted that file as well.
- Just update Steam and then see if your Steam Content File Locked issue is fixed or not.
2. Shifting Steam Installation along with Game Files
The second solution to your Steam Error Content File Locked is to move the Steam Installation as well as Game files. When you shift the location of Steam to a fresh one, it will be able to fix your problem.
To do so, simply follow the steps provided below:
- Launch Steam on your device and click on Settings.
- Click on the option of “Download” and tap on ‘Steam Library Folders‘.
- Now, it’s finally time to choose a fresh path for Steam, so just tap on the option of “Add Library Folder” and enter a different path.
- Now, you will need to shift the file from its existing location to the newly selected location.
- Now, just close Steam.
- Open the current location of Steam on the C drive (C: \ Program Files \ Steam).
- Cut every file or folder from this location and simply paste them into the fresh location that you have just decided on.
- Now, you will need to re-launch Steam and go on to log into your account.
Now, in case you face any kind of problems while shifting your files or folders from their former location to their new one or after opening them again, you can check out the below-mentioned steps and follow along.
- First and foremost, you will need to close Steam.
- Now, head to the location where you have shifted all of your files and folders, i.e. the new location.
- Find the folder named “SteamApps” and shift it from here to the desktop.
- Now, you will need to put up with the tough phase of Uninstalling Steam. You can do so by just going to the Control panel–> Programs and features.
- After this, right-click on Steam and tap on Uninstall. This will successfully delete Steam from your system.
- Now, you will need to install Steam back again.
- Now, shift the folder of Steam Apps to the fresh directory where you just downloaded the game.
- After this step, all of your saved games as well as game data will come back to you.
- Now, launch Steam and log into your Steam account.
- Now, see if the problem is still there or not.
3. Resetting Winsock
The Steam Content File Locked Error may be occurring due to the Winsock catalog.
Follow the below-mentioned steps to operate the command for resetting Winsock.
- First and foremost, you will need to enter run in the search bar of your Windows and simply right-click on the first search result that is displayed on your screen.
- Click on the option of Run as administrator.
- Now, in the Run box, enter netsh Winsock reset and click on enter.
- The command will operate. After this, you will need to restart your system and see if your problem got fixed or not.
4. Checking the Disk Scan
Many times, the game, as well as its files, are thoroughly operating well but the Hard disk where all the files get stored gets corrupted.
There can be poor sectors on your drive and hence, a specific component of the disk is not able to be accessed. Disk speed is holding back because of poor sectors.
Now, you will need to see if the Steam error Content File Locked problem is associated with your hard disk.
You can try to operate a scan with the help of “Disc Check” to see any bad sectors for the drive.
To do so, you will need to follow all the steps that we have provided below:
- Hit Windows Logo key and R simultaneously and enter cmd in here and then, simply hit Enter.
- Enter ”chkdsk c: / f ” and operate the command by just clicking on the enter key.
- Now, tap ” Y ” and it will verify the disk scan.
- Now, the process of disk scanning will begin and you will soon get notified in case there is an issue on your hard disk or if it is truly working fine.
- After this process of disk scan is successfully finished, you can head to Steam and check if your problem is still occurring or has been fixed.
5. Operating Steam As Administrator
The next step is to try to run Steam as an administrator and then check if the problem of Steam Content File Locked still appears or goes away.
You will be required to provide complete access to Steam to be able to get access to all folders as well as files.
In case the access is not granted, a message saying ”Content File Locked” will appear on the screen. You will need to follow all the steps provided below and see if your problem gets fixed or not.
- First and foremost, you will need to right-click on the icon of Steam and choose the option of ”Properties”.
- After this, the Properties window will appear on your screen and you will need to tap on the ”Compatibility” tab.
- Now, you will be able to see an option for ”Run as Administrator“. Just put a checkmark here.
- Now, click on the option of Apply and Ok.
- This will make sure that all of your changes get successfully saved.
- Now, launch Steam on your device and see if the issue still occurs.
6. Disabling Antivirus
The issue of Steam Content File Locked might be occurring because of an Antivirus on your device. This will probably result in blocking the tasks you wish to do.
Hence, you must try to disable this antivirus unless you update your game, and then you can go on to re-enable it.
It is pretty easy to disable the antivirus on any device. All you need to do is just head to the Antivirus dashboard and search for the Disable option there.
Disable it for half an hour or maybe more. On the other hand, you can also choose to look for the documentation on the official site of the antivirus that you are using to disable it.
Conclusion
This wraps up our guide to Steam Content File Locked Fix. In this article, we mentioned a few ways that will help you to deal with the Steam Game Content File Locked.
So make sure to follow all the above-mentioned solutions carefully and fix the issue.
Note: In case none of the above-mentioned methods is successful in resolving the issue for you, we recommend that you try to use a Restore Repair Tool which works to scan the storage for replacing any corrupted as well as missing files on your device.
It is worth mentioning that this one works in the majority of the cases, where the issue primarily arises from your corrupted system. Restore will also work on optimizing your system to achieve ultimate performance.
Nonetheless, the above-mentioned methods have proven to be quite effective to solve the Steam Content File Locked issue.
