Ever played games online on PC? Then, you might definitely hear about Steam games. Steam games, a Value corporation owned company, is the largest online gaming service platform with more than 37000 games.
Now, there might be many errors that occur while playing Steam games. One such error is ‘content file is locked.’ This means that files are not being updated on the hard disk by Steam. So, the necessary files to play the game may be locked and this results in this error.
So, this article discusses the solutions to solve this error and provides 6 solutions for this fix.
Solution 1: Run as Administrator
This error could possibly occur as some files are not given the special permissions to function. In order to function properly, the Game files might require some additional special permissions. To do so, running the program as the administrator can help to fix the error. To run as administrator, right-click on steam and then select run as administrator. This might work.
If that didn’t work, try these steps:
Step 1: Right-click on steam and then select properties.
Step 2: Next, click on compatibility and put a tick mark(check) to run as an administrator option.
Step 3: Click on apply.
Step 4: Lastly, click on ok.
Now, check if the error is fixed by running steam.
Solution 2: Check Antivirus
Antivirus software programs are used to protect the computer from virus attacks. But there may be a chance that those antiviruses may suspect Steam files as some virus. Due to this reason, this error might occur. So, disabling the antivirus programs can help in sorting this error. You should keep in mind that this disabling is temporary until you update your program files and it doesn’t mean in any manner to disable your antivirus permanently or uninstall it. The following programs can help in disabling the antivirus.
McAfee Antivirus
In McAfee excluding certain files from viruses, scans is not possible. So, you need to disable the antivirus completely so that it doesn’t spam your game. You can do this by opening McAfee and selecting Virus and Spyware protection and turning off the real-time scanning option.
After disabling the installed antivirus, you have to check the game files integrity by following the steps below:
Step 1: Firstly, Restart your computer and go to Steam.
Step 2: Next go to the library section. Then, right-click on the game which is giving errors and then select the Properties option.
Step 3: After going to properties, navigate to the Local Files tab. Then select the verify integrity of game files button and your game will be verified by Steam.
ESET NOD32
NOD32 software might suspect some steam files as a threat as well. So in order to stop this from happening, firstly you need to know the current steam directory and copy the address. After copying the address, you need to open ESET NOD32 and exclude these files from scanning by pasting the address. Lastly, follow the steps for verifying game integrity.
Kaspersky AV
To stop Kaspersky AV from making steam files as suspect, you have to go to threads and exclusions. Then, go to the trusted zone and add steam as a trusted application.
Later, check the integrity of the game and restart your computer.
Solution 3: Repair Corrupt Files
Another way of fixing the error is by troubleshooting the fin files which are responsible for the error. To do so, follow the below steps.
Step 1: Firstly, go to the Steam directory.
Step 2: Next, go to Logs and click on Txt.
Step 3: Next, search for any errors in the text file.
Step 4: Then navigate to the folder root.
Step 5: Restart Steam and go to your downloading folder.
Step 6: Update the files which were given the option to update.
Solution 4: Relocate Steam Installation and Game Files
If the above methods haven’t sorted your problem then you may have to change the location of steam files. You can do this by following the below steps.
Step 1: Firstly, go to Steam and then click settings.
Step 2: Then, you have to click on downloads and then select steam library folders.
Step 3: Next, you have to select the add library folder and select a new location.
Step 4: Later, close the steam client and go to the default steam directory.
Step 5: Now, Delete all the files except User Data and Steam App folders.
Step 6: Now, you have to move these files to the new location that you have set in step 3.
Step 7: Lastly, open steam and login to check if you can update steam games.
Solution 5: Reset Winsock
Winsock stands for Windows Socket. It defines how network services will be accessed by Windows software. Winsock can probably cause this error. So, you can reset Winsock by following the below steps:
Step 1: Press the windows and R buttons at a time.
Step 2: Next, type netsh winsock reset in the box and press enter.
Step 3: Finally, restart your computer and check if the problem is sorted.
Solution 6: Check Disk Scan
A disc scan can help in sorting the error. This is because the hard disc might be corrupted or malfunctioning which contains the game files. So, it is better to try the disc scan. Follow these steps in order to perform a disc check:
Step 1: Press the windows and R buttons simultaneously.
Step 2: Next, in the dialogue box, type cmd, and press enter. (Cmd means command prompt)
Step 3: Later, type chkdsk c:/f command and press enter. (chkdsk means check disc command).
Step 4: Next, you might be asked to select y or n, which means yes or no. You have to select yes. To select yes, press Y to confirm the disc scan.
Step 5: Lastly, restart your computer after the disc scan and see if the problem is solved.
Conclusion
Steam plays a major role in today’s gaming. It owns over 60 percent of PC gaming. Users are enjoying its services by playing on PC. Yes, Gaming should be interactive, relaxing, enjoyable. You are really not going to enjoy your gaming when there are some errors like this one. This can be frustrating.
Now, you need not frustrate and worry about the errors because this article got all the help you need. Follow the steps mentioned in this article and I am sure that in some method your error will be resolved.