15 Ways to Fix Steam Disk Write Error

 As we know Steam is the best video game digital distribution service. This software is equipped with many additional features, a user friendly interface, and much more for a better user experience. However, there seems to be some bugs or errors that may spoil the gaming experience for many users. Steam disk write error is one of them.

According to many reports, affected Steam users are experiencing certain errors while trying to download or install game updates. This error usually appears whenever users try to update a game they previously installed or downloaded. But you don't need to worry, because this time we will discuss how to fix the Steam disk write error.

How to Fix Steam Disk Write Error

Well, the chances are quite high that your Steam won't be able to download and save the game data properly to the disk storage on your computer. It can show you error messages like:

* An error occurred while installing game title (disk write error): C:\Program Files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\game_title

* An error occurred while updating game_title

* An error occurred while installing game_title

According to some affected Steam users, this error might appear due to a write-protected Steam folder or disk drive, an antivirus or firewall blocking Steam from downloading or installing data, corrupted or missing game files, etc. In addition, it is possible that your device drivers are outdated, the Steam folder security does not have full permissions, and many more.

1. Restart Steam

The first thing you can do to fix the Steam disk write error is to restart the Steam client on your PC. This is an easy thing that can fix all temporary glitches or data cache issues completely. After restarting it, you can try downloading or installing the game that had the problem again.

2. Reboot PC

So, if restarting the Steam launcher doesn't solve the problem, try rebooting your computer. Restarting the system can also get rid of any possible glitches or temporary data cache issues easily. Just click on the Start menu > Icon Power > Select Restart.

3. Check Internet Connection

You are also strongly advised to check your internet connection as a slower or unstable network can also trigger game download or installation issues. If you are using a Wi-Fi network, switch to a wired (ethernet) connection or vice versa.

4. Remove Disk Drive Write Protection

Try removing the disk drive write protection where you installed Steam. To do this:

Remove Disk Drive Write Protection

1. Click on the Start menu > Type cmd.

2. Right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.

3. Select Run as administrator > If prompted by UAC, click Yes to continue.

4. Once the command prompt window opens, type the following command and press Enter to run it:

1. diskpart

2. list disk

3. select disk #

4. attribute disk clear readonly

5. Once done, close the command prompt, and restart your computer to apply the changes.

5. Set Steam Folder Security to Full Control

It's also possible that your Steam folder doesn't have full permissions to do the task easily. To give full control, you can follow the steps below:

Set Steam Folder Security To Full Control

1. Close Steam and end task from Task Manager.

2. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

3. Type %ProgramFiles(x86)% and press Enter to open Program Files.

4. Right click on the Steam folder > Open Properties.

5. Ensure that the Read-only (Only applies to files in folder) checkbox is not enabled. If it is already activated, then uncheck the checkmark.

6. Now, click on the Security tab > Click on Edit.

7. From Group or user names, click on your PC name (user account).

8. Then tick Full control (Allow) from Permissions for Users.

9. When finished, click Apply and then OK to save changes.

6. Turn off Antivirus and Firewall Protection

Turn off Antivirus and Firewall Protection

Chances are high enough that maybe your default Windows Defender Firewall protection or any third-party antivirus program is preventing ongoing connections or game files from running properly. So, make sure to temporarily disable or turn off real-time protection and pfirewall protection.

7. Close Background Running Tasks

Needless to say that some unnecessary background running tasks or programs can easily take up a lot of system resources on your computer which can reduce performance. This directly affects game launching, gameplay, rendering, other running programs, etc. Therefore, make sure you close the program or task completely.

Close Background Running Tasks

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

2. Now, click on the Processes tab > Click to select a task which doesn't need to be running in the background and consuming sufficient system resources.

3. Click End Task to close them one by one.

4. When finished, restart your system.

8. Run Steam As Administrator

Make sure to run Steam as an administrator as it may not run properly if you don't have admin access to the Windows user account control system. To do this:

Run Steam As Administrator

1. Right click on the Steam file (exe) > Click Properties.

2. Go to the Compatibility tab > Enable the Run this program as an administrator check box.

3. Click Apply and then OK to save changes.

4. When finished, restart your computer, and try to check for the Steam Disk Write Error again.

9. Delete Files 0 KB

Whenever something goes wrong while Steam is downloading a game or even installing an update, it can create corrupted files in the installed directory causing Steam disk write errors. To fix this problem:

1. Close Steam and end task from Task Manager.

2. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

3. Type %ProgramFiles(x86)% and press Enter to open Program Files.

4. Open the Steam folder > Open the Steamapps folder.

5. Go to Common folder > Scroll down and delete the 0KB file (if any).

6. Once done, restart the computer, and check for Steam Disk Write Error.

10. Game File Integrity Verification

Well, if the game files you installed are missing or corrupted for some reason, you might start receiving lots of problems or crashes, or errors on your PC at random. So, simply verifying the game files can drastically reduce the problem. You can do this from the Steam client easily by following the steps below:

Game File Integrity Verification

1. Launch Steam client > Open Library.

2. Right click on the problematic game> Click Properties.

3. Click on the Local Files tab.

4. Select Verify Integrity of Game Files.

5. Wait until the process is complete, then restart your game.

11. Clear Steam Download Cache

If in case, the Steam download cache gets corrupted due to some unforeseen reason, make sure to remove it. To do this:

Clear Steam Download Cache

1. Open Steam > Click on the Steam category from the top left corner.

2. Go to Settings > Select Downloads.

3. Now, click on Clear Download Cache.

4. Once done, restart Steam, and check for problems again.

12. Reinstall Steam To Another Drive

Sometimes it is also possible that the installed Steam drive partition is causing some problems or it does not have enough free space. In that case, you should uninstall Steam first and then try reinstalling it to a different drive partition to check if that has fixed the Steam disk write error or not.

13. Run SFC

System File Checker (SFC) is a utility tool for the Windows operating system that allows users to scan for damaged or missing Windows system files and restore them automatically. This method will solve the startup problem completely.

Run SFC

1. Click on the Start Menu and type cmd.

2. Now, right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.

3. Select Run as administrator > If prompted, click Yes to grant admin privileges.

4. After the command prompt window opens, type the command SFC /scannow and press Enter to run it:

5. Now, wait for the process to complete.

6. Make sure to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

14. Update Device Drivers

Well, it is worth mentioning that if in case, you have not updated your device drivers for a while, it means that some drivers are already running on an old version which can bring compatibility issues. Make sure to always update your device drivers. To do this:

Update Device Drivers

1. Right click on the Windows logo.

2. Click on Device Manager from the list.

3. Now, double click on the respective drive category to expand the list.

4. Then right-click on the name of the graphics card.

5. Select Update driver > Select Search automatically for drivers.

6. If there is an update available, it will automatically download and install the latest version.

7. Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to apply the changes.

15. Contact Steam Support

If nothing works for you, try contacting Steam Support for further assistance. Also, you can find more help on the Steam Community Forum.

Conclusion

So that's how to fix Steam disk write error. You might get this error when downloading or updating games on Steam like Dota 2 games or others. If you have an app that can prevent Steam from saving or updating files, disable it. Games should be installed and updated without any issues.

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That's all for the article 15 Ways to Fix Steam Disk Write Error. Look forward to other interesting articles and don't forget to share this article with your friends. Thank you…

Resa Risyan

Just an ordinary person who wants to share a little knowledge, hopefully the knowledge I provide can be useful for all of us. Keep in mind! Useful knowledge is an investment in the afterlife.