How to Deal with Common Steam.exe Performance Issues?

Steam is a game lover’s paradise. It was quick to grab the attention of game buffs when it saw the light of the day, and from then onwards there was no looking back. Steam is available for a host of platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux. Steam also doesn’t miss out on the smartphone bandwagon and is available for Android, iOS and the Windows Phone platforms.

However, it is much more than a gaming platform to put it simply. The other entries in the bouquet of services it has to offer include digital rights management, matchmaking servers, video streaming, and social networking. This means that Steam caters to a huge clientele, and must be performing in pristine shape at all times to continue riding the wave of popularity it currently is.

Steam sometimes suffers from performance dropouts which kill the fun for it’s loyal customers. We’ve done our research and have come up with a few solutions that can carry the day for you. So let’s dive into the solutions without any further delay.

Disable Problematic Programs

Some programs can be attributed to the performance dropouts you experience on Steam. In adverse cases, the trouble might even lead to a Steam crash. It is safe to temporarily pause or exit these programs and then relaunch Steam. In some cases, you might even have to reboot your computer once you’ve paused or exited the program altogether. Such programs include antivirus programs, antispyware software, VPNs, firewalls, download accelerators etc.

Run in Compatibility Mode

Launch Steam in compatibility mode. This method is also known to smooth out performance issues. Here is how you do it:

1. Right-click Steam.exe and select Properties.
2. Now click the Compatibility tab.
3. Select the checkbox for Run this program in compatibility mode for.
4. Finally, select another version of Windows which is known to smoothly handle the game.
5. Click OK.

Run Compatibility Troubleshooter

This is a neat feature which is designed to determine if the particular program is compatible with your current version of Windows or not. Just follow these steps and save yourself the trouble.

1. Right-click the Steam.exe file and click Properties.
2. Now click the Compatibility tab.
3. Click Run compatibility troubleshooter and then select Try recommended settings on the next screen.
4. If this mode didn’t work out, relaunch the Compatibility Troubleshooter and now select the Troubleshoot program option.

Grant Administrator Access

Steam requires read as well as write access to various file and folders so that it can provide you with a trouble free experience. In some cases, it might even have to access system files and optimize them. In the event of administrator access not being available to Steam for these files, problems occur. Here is how you can rectify this:

1. Browse to the location on your hard disk where you’ve installed Steam.
2. Open it and look for Steam.exe. Right-click it and select Properties.
3. Open the Compatibility tab and select the checkbox for Run this program as an administrator.
4. Click OK to apply the changes.
5. Now repeat the same procedure for the file named GameOverlayUI.exe.

Update the Graphics Drivers

The GPU is known to cause severe performance issues such as contrails, freezes, lags or even crashes in some cases. To stop this irritating scenario from troubling you again and again, simply update the drivers for the Graphics Card.

• AMD | https://www.amd.com/en/support
• Intel | https://downloadcenter.intel.com
• Nvidia | https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Delete ClientRegistry.blob

This file is used by the Steam application to hold all your registration details. However, this file might get corrupt over time. Deleting it will result in the file being restored once you relaunch Steam. The good news is that your game settings and game progress won’t be lost as they are all stored on the cloud.

Note: Only go for deleting ClientRegistry.blob if you remember your login credentials as you will have to enter them when you launch Steam after deleting it.

1. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Steam.
2. Locate ClientRegistry.blob and delete it.

Delete the appcache folder

This folder contains cache files and can safely be purged. Be assured that deleting this folder won’t result in any gaming centric issues as a result of the contents of this folder being deleted. Simply navigate to the directory where you’ve installed Steam, locate the appcache folder and press Shift + Delete keys to delete it for good.

Verify the Integrity of Game Cache

This step helps out to resolve performance issues in Steam, specifically the crash issue. The fix is totally straightforward.

1. Launch the Steam client and click LIBRARY.
2. Right-click the game that causes issues and select Properties.
3. Click the LOCAL FILES tab and then hit the VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME CACHE button.
4. Click CLOSE.
5. Now relaunch the game and check if this step has helped.

Launch Steam in Safe Mode with Networking

This method helps out users who are using an app that has a conflict issue with Steam. Using this method is totally harmless, and is known to do the trick in some cases.

And do not get scared by the term Safe Mode. It is a startup mode incorporated in Windows to help diagnose issues that might be preventing it from either starting or performing normally.

Disable Automatic Launch Programs

There are certain programs which launch automatically on system boot up, and don’t do any good to your chances of a nice and problem free Steam session. Even worse is the fact that they don’t appear in the taskbar and so you don’t know about them running in the background unless you take the trouble of opening the Task Manager. You can, however, easily disable these programs from launching on system startup by opening up the Startup tab in the Task Manager. Look for any program which shan’t be launching on system startup, right-click it and select Disable. Now repeat this step for all other programs you want to prevent from being launched on startup.

Note: Please be very meticulous about which programs you step from being launched on system startup, as this can also lead to adverse consequences if you select something which is necessary for Windows to function properly. We strongly suggest you consult a person with in-depth knowledge of this process and follow their advice.

Uninstall Steam

This is the universal solution employed by users, funnily enough, as a method of last resort to solve a wide range of issues. Sometimes this tricks helps out, sometimes it doesn’t. There is no harm in trying it out nevertheless.

1. Simply open up Control Panel and uninstall Steam.
2. Now reboot your computer.
3. Once the computer boots up, download a fresh setup of Steam and install it.

Update Windows

This solution is also known to help smooth out issues in some instances. In any case, your Windows must be up-to-date at all times.

1. Click Start and select the cog icon to open up Settings.
2. Click Update & Security.
3. Now click the Check for updates button to launch the update.

We’ve tried our best to provide you with solutions that can help mitigate the trouble you face various performance issues associated with Steam.exe. Good Luck with them!