Try Basic Fixes
- Run Steam as an administrator: If your Steam library folder lacks the necessary write permissions, you may encounter the ‘content file locked’ error. Running Steam as an administrator on Windows could potentially resolve this issue.
- Disable any third-party antivirus program: Third-party antivirus software can sometimes block Steam downloads on Windows. To fix this issue, temporarily disable the antivirus program. If the error is solved, add Steam to the antivirus software’s whitelist to prevent future issues.
- Reinstall Steam: If everything fails, try reinstalling Steam as a last resort.
Fix 1: Reset Winsock on Your PC
Winsock is a program that helps apps like Steam connect to the internet on Windows. If there’s a problem, resetting the Winsock data might fix it.
Step 1: Right-click the Start icon and select Terminal (Admin) from the list.
Step 2: Select Yes when the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears.
Step 3: Paste the following command in the console and press Enter.
netsh winsock reset
Restart your PC after this to finish resetting the Winsock Catalog, and check if the error still appears.
Fix 2: Clear the Steam Download Cache
Steam may have trouble installing the update if the existing download cache is inaccessible. To fix this, try clearing the download cache in Steam by following the steps below.
Step 1: Open Steam on your PC.
Step 2: Click the Steam menu at the top-left corner and select Settings.
Step 3: Switch to the Downloads tab and click the Clear Download Cache button.
Fix 3: Delete Downloaded Update Files
If clearing the download cache proves ineffective, try emptying Steam’s downloads folder manually. Here are the steps for the same.
Step 1: Press the Windows + E keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer and navigate to the following directory.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\downloading
Step 2: Select all the files within this folder and click the trash icon at the top to delete them.
Restart Steam after this and try to update your game one more time.
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Last updated on 03 June, 2024
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