11 Solutions for Steam Disk Write Error

The disk write error of Steam occurs when the game being downloaded or installed cannot be written to the disk/drive. Users encounter the following type of error messages when trying to install or update a game in the Steam client:

• Error occurred while installing [game title].
• An error occurred while updating [game title].

This error most often occurs when Steam is unable to complete the installation or update process because it is unable to write to the disk. There can be many different reasons behind this depending on the problem your computer has encountered. The commonly recommended solution is to delete Steam and download all content (including games) again.

While this method usually works pretty well, it is a bit of a pain and time-consuming measure. There is no need to resort to this solution if a simpler one works for you. But let's dig deeper into this topic below.

What causes the disk write error in Steam?

• Underlying Antivirus Interference: According to some documented user reports, it is possible that the active antivirus blocks the download of the game through Steam. This is believed to occur mainly with the built-in Antivirus present in Windows 10. To resolve this issue, you need to whitelist the Game's main executable along with the Steam main executable.
• Disk drive failures / disk problems: If you're having similar issues with other Steam games, you can expect this error to occur because your computer's disk may have sector defects and is starting to fail.
• Corrupted game installation files: It is not uncommon to see this error code appear due to some sort of file corruption that is affecting the Steam installation of the game. If this scenario is applicable, you can resolve the issue by enabling an integrity check in Steam.

How can I fix this error?

To resolve the disk write error in Steam you can try some of these possible solutions:

1.- Change Steam settings

Before you move on to advanced troubleshooting, you'll want to make sure to change your Steam settings to see if the error is resolved. Changing the download region is a basic process that can go a long way.

Steam's content system is divided into different regions. The client can automatically detect your region over the network and set it as the default. In case the servers in that specific region are overloaded or have a problem such as a network failure, the client will automatically detect the region. hardware, user may encounter disk write error.

In this case, changing the download region of the Steam client can be very helpful in solving the problem.

• Open Steam and click where it says Configuration in the drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the window.
• Now, you have to select the option Downloads and navigate to where it says Download region.
• Then you have to select other regions other than yours and restart Steam.

2.- Temporarily disable your antivirus or Steam + the Game whitelist

To start this process you must deactivate the antivirusAntivirus/Firewalls are known to create different kinds of problems for computer games, especially Panda Antivirus is known to cause the disk write error for Steam. To rule this out, temporarily disabling it is a good idea.

Warning: It is recommended that you change your firewall/antivirus settings at your own risk because it may make your computer vulnerable to fraudulent, viral or malicious attacks.

• Turn off your antivirus.
• Then you must do the same with your Firewall.
• Now check if the Steam disk write error has been resolved. If yes, add an exception for the Steam folder in your antivirus/firewall settings. Don’t forget to enable your antivirus/firewall again.

Whitelist the game and Steam

In some cases, the disk write error on steam It is the result of third-party security suites (firewall + antivirus) and the integrated security application (Windows Defender + Windows Firewall).

If this is a suitable scenario, the solution is simple: You must whitelist both the main executable and the Steam launcher you use to launch the game within your AV/Firewall settings.

Nota: If you're using a third-party security suite, the instructions you'll need to follow to create a whitelist rule will differ from application to application. Look online for the exact instructions for your specific security application.

Now, if you are using Windows Defender + Windows Firewall (the built-in security app in Windows 10), you can follow the step-by-step instructions below to create a whitelist rule for the main game executable and the Steam launcher:

• As soon as you are inside the menu Allowed applications, you have to click on the button Change settings. Change settings in Windows Defender Firewall
• Then you must go directly to where it says Allow another application below the list and click on it, then click on Navigator and browse to the location where the game is installed.
• Once you manage to find the main Game executable, add it to the whitelist and then do the exact same thing with the Steam executable.
• Look in the Allowed Apps list for the 2 entries you added earlier and make sure the Private and Public checkboxes related to them are checked.
• Now simply save the changes, then try downloading the game again to see if the error persists.

3.- Check the directory permissions and run CHKDSK

Within this solution, it is important that you run the directory permissions check, to do this, you must do the following:

• First, you need to log out of Steam and navigate to the Steam directory, which by default is as follows:

C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam

If you chose a custom location for the respective installation, you must navigate there.

• You have to make sure that the directory is not from read only.
• Following this, you have to do right click on the Steam launcher icon and in the resulting menu, make sure to click on the option that says Run as administrator.

This will ensure that the Steam directory is not marked as read-only due to corrupted installation or update files. Afterwards, and once you make sure that this is not the case, you will be able to run the application as administrator and gain certain privileges when writing to disk, which means that the problem will be solved.

Running ChkDSK

If you experience similar issues with other games you try to launch through Steam, there is a chance that your hard drive's sectors are corrupted and your HDD is on its way to failing permanently.

In this case, you can make use of CHKDSK to scan for logical errors and check the health of the hard drive and replace any possible bad sectors on your hard drives with healthy equivalents.

Please note that if CHKDSK is used simply without parameters, it will only check the health of the drive. But if used with parameters, it can repair various hard drive errors by replacing damaged hard drive sectors with unused equivalents.

Nota: Even if the CHKDSK utility fixes your hard drive problems, you should still consider looking for a replacement, as the hard drive will eventually fail forever.

Here's how you can check and repair your hard drive for logical errors with CHKDSK:

• Right click on the start menu which is located in the lower left corner and then press the option that says File Browser. Open File Explorer

• Then, you have to right click on the partition where you have the game installed, then click on Properties.
• Click on Tools, and then click Check.

The system will then show you if any errors were found, it will also tell you which errors were found, if any errors were fixed, or if no errors were found.

If the disk write error persists, you can try one of the other possible solutions listed below.

4.- Run the flushconfig command

• The first thing you should do is press the (Windows) + R key on your keyboard so that the window can open. Run.
• Then, inside the dialog bar, you have to write the following command steam://flashconfig.
• You will immediately see a dialogue where they ask you to continue with the command or cancel it. You have to click where it says Yes.
• Then you have to press the button Accept, Steam will restart and hopefully the issue will be resolved. This command allows Steam's settings to be reset and when you log back in all settings will be set to default.

5.- Check for corrupted files

In case these methods do not work as you expect, you need to locate the corrupted file and download it again. This way you can fix the problem.

• First of all you owe yourself exit steam and navigate to your Steam directory  The default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam

If you chose a custom location for the respective installation, you need to go there.

• Go to the folder that says logs and open the option that says txt.
• Then you need to go to the bottom of the text file and look for the most recent errors.
• Now, you need to navigate to the root folder of the mod. Although it doesn't have a specific file size, partly because the root folders of different games vary and eliminate this type of files.
• To finish, you must restart your Steam and go to Downloads. Here you will notice that Steam is asking you for an update for the game. Run the update of the necessary files and everything will be ready to start again.

6.- Remove write protection from Steam folder/drive

If for some reason you enabled or installed applications with write protection, Steam will most likely show you the disk write error. In case you didn't know, many games and applications have write protection, in part, because it is a way to improve the security of the games and applications. That is why removing the write protection can be very useful to solve the error.

• Remove write protection.
• Starts Steam to check if it is working normally.

7.- Delete the 0 KB game file

Typically, these types of Steam disk errors are the result of software glitches caused by 0Kb files. This means that 0KB files are blank files that contain the name of the game that is causing the problem.

You can locate it in the common folder identified as steam apps. Please note that this is a blank file with no data, no extensions, and a size of 0KB. Those who delete this file claim to be able to resolve the problem.

• Make sure you don't there are processes in progress within the Task Manager Steam related.
• After this, you have to open the File Browser y surf to this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common
• Now, you need to scroll down to the bottom to find the file with the name of the problematic game, which has a size of 0 KB, if it is there, remove it the file.
• Afterwards, you need to launch Steam and check if it is free of disk write errors.

8.- Move the game folder

To rule out the presence of problems within the drive or folder, moving the game folder to an alternate location or to the hard drive may be beneficial for you. In case there is a local file present in the problematic game location, doing this will fix it by freeing up local space.

• Starts Steam and locate the option Configuration.
• Now you have to click on Downloads, Select Steam Library Folders and finally click where it says Add new library folder.

• After this, you must surfto the new location where you want to change the game folder.
• Now you have to find out if Steam has started working properly.

9.- Check the hard drive

If your hard drive has bad sectors or is reaching the end of its life, it can cause write errors within the Steam disk. In this case, it is important that you check and fix each of the errors on your hard drive to resolve the potential problem. To achieve this purpose, Windows has a powerful built-in utility SFC.

The system file scanner downloads an online manifest from the Internet, compares it to the local version, and fixes any discrepancies found. You should make sure to back up all your work before proceeding.

• Run the SFC command completely and do not cancel it at any time.
• Now you must start Steam and check if it works normally.

10.- Check for errors in the RAM

If for some reason the RAM is malfunctioning, Steam will show write error present on diskOne way to test your RAM is through the built-in Windows testing utility known as the Memory Diagnostic Tool. This option can automatically check and fix any memory-related faults. This means that by using this diagnostic tool, your memory will be able to fix any existing problems.

• You are going to press the Windows key and type the word memory, then you have to click where it says Windows memory diagnostic.

• Within the diagnostic tool you will see the following two options: Now reboot and check for problems - the latter is the most recommended.

• Once the system reboots, you can run a basic scan or select the options You advanced , the Test mix o Pass count. You simply need to press the F10 key to start the test. When you choose the option of your preference, the system will reboot.
• Once the above is completed, during the next start the system will boot in the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool Environment. Please wait patiently for the entire process to complete.

• If the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool confirms that there is indeed a faulty RAM, you will have no choice but to replace the faulty memory.

11.- Reinstall Steam

If none of the above options have worked for you at this point, you will need to uninstall and reinstall your Steam client. In case you didn't know, reinstalling Steam allows you to completely delete the games installed on your computer and all sessions will be closed. Therefore, you need to have the game credentials at hand so you can continue with the process without any problems.

• First, you need to create a copy de to maximise security and your enjoyment. from the folder you will use for the reinstallation.
• Then, you have to press the Windows key and locate the option that says Control Panel, click on it to open a new window.

• Afterwards, you have to press the option Uninstall a program.

• Search and select Steam and then press the button uninstall. You need to follow each of the instructions displayed on the screen to complete the uninstallation.
• Make sure to reboot the system.
• Once again, you need to download the Steam client.
• Once the download is complete, you should launch the downloaded file. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Steam installation process.

Hopefully, the Steam disk write error will be resolved. If not, then as a last resort, you will be forced to disable your GPU overclocking. To do this, you must have free space on the drive.