Steam is the most popular PC game digital distribution platform. If you are a gamer, then you are well familiar with it. Steam is perfectly designed and has a great user interface such that you can navigate to your games very quickly. With steam, you can get your game organized under one roof. However, as like other applications, steam also has some flaws in it, and steam content file locked is one of the significant flaws in the app which gamers are facing. As the title suggests, in this article, you get the detailed solution to check the steam content file locked problem. Steam content file locked error is an update error where you won’t be able to play games with upgraded versions.   Usually happens during a failure while updating your steam to the latest version. It happens due to the incapability of the updater to write the updated files in your local steam directory. People often consider this as a significant problem and don’t have any idea to fix it quickly. It is not a very complex problem, and it can be solved using the resources you already have. Let us take a peek in the methods and procedures that help to solve this problem very quickly.

Lets us Discuss Methods to Solve Steam Content File Locked Error on Steam?

Method 1 – Checking hard drive for bad sectors and fix it to solve steam content file locked Mac on steam

Bad sectors are the places in your hard drive that has corrupted, and thus you get an error if you use the hard drive as an installation folder of steam. We need to look for those bad sectors in the hard drive and fix those to solve the problem. This method will, however, let you know about the bad sectors, and in the worst-case scenario, you have to replace the hard drive with a new one. If the hard drive id not corrupted thoroughly, then you can go for a quick format of the hard drive. Before doing any of the operations mentioned above, make a backup of your data. Here in this method, we are going to use the Macrorit disc checker utility, which also helps to mend the bad sectors on your hard drive partition. Let us take a look as to how to do that.

• Download and install the Macrorit Disk scanner on your Windows 10 PC. 
• Once downloaded, open it, and you see the main window with lots of options.
• On the top left corner of the screen, select the disk you want to scan. That is the disk partition where you have installed the steam application.
• Click on the scan to start scanning the disk. On successful completion of scanning, it gives you the results which based out of bad sectors on your partition.

To fix this, you need to use the Partition Expert tool, which rectifies Critical Process Died error shows blue screen dead error.

1. Download and install Partition Expert
2. Run partition expert and from the main menu select a drive to check volume.
3. If found error, it pops up with a window where you verify how to rectify the errors.
4. Click on both the options “Fix found errors” and “Try to fix found bad sectors” and press ok.

It starts fixing the errors, and on successful completion, you get a success message on your screen. Once done, restart your computer and uninstall steam and install the latest version. That probably fixes the error.

Method 2 – Reset Windows Sockets API (Winsock)to solve Steam content file locked error on steam:

No one type of issue can lead to the Steam content locked error. There are different types of issue or combination of issues which can cause this problem. Windows sockets can cause this problem as well. This defined the working of Windows Network software. Sometimes due to malfunction in Winsock can also cause this problem. To reset the windows socket, follow the procedure given below:

• First of all, we need a cmd prompt. To open the command prompt you need to press Windows + R at once. This will open the Run Panel. In the search bar, you need to type cmd and press enter.
• Type “netsh winsock reset” in command prompt and press enter which will start resetting the windows sockets. Once the procedure is completed you can simply go to the Steam client and upgrade again. This will solve the issue.

Method 3 – Check and disable antivirus temporarily to solve the steam content file locked avg on steam.

Maximum cases of a steam content file locked is due to the fact; your antivirus may be intervening with the update files. Antivirus filter out the suspicious file as a virus or malware and may not get it past though their firewall. So it is better to disable antivirus and then update the steam client. You don’t have to uninstall the antivirus. You need to temporarily disable it and then update your steam client to avoid Steam content file locked error. Here are the procedures to disable the antivirus available on your system.

• Go to the notification area on your Windows PC, which located in the bottom left corner on the screen.
• Click on the application tray and find the Antivirus icon from the application tray. Double click on the icon of the antivirus, and it takes to the Antivirus screen.
• Go to settings and there you find an option to disable it. You can also disable it by right-clicking on the icon in the application tray of your Windows PC.
• Once disabled, you can update your steam client and restart your computer. If the problem was because of the antivirus, then it fixes the issue. However, if the problem persists, follow the other steps.
• Check 
• After the update, you can again enable your antivirus.

Method 4 – Changing the Steam Installation and Game Files directory to solve Steam content file locked error on steam

Its another method to fix the Steam Content File locked error. This method involves changing the file directory of steam installation to another local directory. Let us take a look at the procedures involved to do this.

• • First, you need to open the steam client and go to the settings of Steam, which you find in the top right corner of the screen.
  • Once you are inside the settings menu, click on downloads, and select “Steam Library Folders.”
  • After that, Chose the option which says “Add Library Folder.” Its allow you to select a new location for the steam client. 
  • Once you have selected the folder/location, you can proceed with the Add Library Folder.
  • Next, Close your steam application and go to the steam default directory, which is C:\Program Files\Steam.). 
  • Open the folder and delete all files except SteamApp and UserData Folders. Move these folders to the location you have newly selected. Now you are all set.
  • Go to Steam and log in again. After that, try to update steam games, and you able to update.
  • If the problem persists, then copy the SteamApp folder and store it in a safe place. Next, uninstall Steam entirely and reinstall it. Once done, copy and paste the SteamApp folder in the default steam directory, which is C:\Program Files\Steam.). It restores your game data and settings.
  • Launch the Steam client and log in. Once logged in, you need to check the Integrity of the steam files before you start to Play or update steam games.

  Method 5: Run Steam client app as Administrator in windows PC to solve Steam content file locked error on Steam

  As with many applications in your Windows PC, Steam also sometimes requires some special permission from Windows Administrator to run correctly. Sometimes Windows block applications from accessing folders, which are stores in system drivers such as the C Drive. And this can sometimes be the reason behind the Steam content file locked error. Let us take a look at how to do that.
  • Go to your desktop and right-click on the Steam client app icon. After that, from the drop-down menu, select properties.
  • In properties, go to the Compatibility Tab. There you need to check the option which says Run as Administrator. 
  • Next, click on apply and then ok for the changes to take effect.
  • Once done, restart your steam client app and check if the problem persists or not.

   

  

Method 6: Repair the corrupt files to solve Steam content file locked error on steam

If none of the above methods works for you, then you can try out this one without having to uninstall your steam app client. Repairing the corrupt files neutralizes the problem in maximum cases. Let us take a look at how to do that.

• First, you need to close the steam client app completely. Once done, go to your steam file directory. the default directory that is present under C:/Program Files/Steam.
• Next, open the folder which says “logs” and the open the.txt file, which is inside the folder.
• If there are any errors, it listed at the extreme bottom of the text file.
• The format may appear like, location address followed by error type. Like Disk Write failure. Here is a sample example to show it

[2020-04-22 12:47:31] [AppID 346110] Update canceled: File commit failed: failed to move unchanged file “C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\346110\570371714\LinuxNoEditor\xxx\xxxxx\xxxxx\xxxx \xxx.z.uncompressed_size” (Disk write failure)

Conclusion

Steam is a great platform for game distribution; however, there are at times you may face issues in the Games, which are minor, and developers are working day and night to fix those issues. Sometimes the issue is not that huge, and thus you can also solve it. Steam content file locked is one such issue that requires an ample amount of your precious time for you to fix it. The above-said methods help you to fix the problem.  If the problem persists after you have successfully tried all of these procedures, you can go for a combination of methods to fic the issue. Even after that, the problem persists, then you have to uninstall the whole client application and reinstall it to fic the issue. This issue is not significant, and you can resolve it on your own without having your steam uninstalled.

You May Also Check: 

• How Can You Access the Steam Screenshot Folder 100% Working

• How to Find Your Steam id [ Easy & Simple Steps ] 2020

• How to Get Steam Trade Link [ Step by Step Guideline ] 2020

FAQ

 ✅ What does content file locked mean on steam?

• Content file locked is a steam error, which means it failed to write the update files in your local steam directory. 

✅ How to fix the content file locked on steam?

• Repairing the corrupt files may resolve the Steam content file locked error on site.

✅ How to permanently fix the steam content file locked?

• Running the Steam client app as Administrator in windows PC can resolve Steam content file locked error on steam. 

✅ How to disable the steam content file locked?

• Disabling Antivirus on your system help in resolving the steam content file locked issue.

 ✅ How to unlock locked content file steam?

• Checking for bad sectors in the installation drive and repairing it is a great way to unlock locked file steam.

 ✅ Why is steam saying my content file is locked?

• There might be an issue while you were updating the steam. It can be due to corrupted files in your installation directory.

 ✅ How to fix “content file locked” on steam?

• Changing the Steam Installation and Game Files directory can help you to solve the Steam content file locked error on steam.

 ✅ What to do when a game on steam says content file locked?

• Resetting Windows Sockets API (Winsock) can be very useful in solving the Steam content file locked error on steam.