How To Fix Steam Not Responding or Freezing When Trying To Install Game on PC 2024

Are you dealing with Steam not responding or freezing while you’re trying to install a new game? You’re not alone. This is a common issue that many gamers face mostly after an update.

We have worked hard to unearth the reason that triggers this issue. As this problem is related to hardware and configurations, it is hard to figure out the specific reason for Steam not responding. However, the solutions explained below are tested and you can apply them one by one to solve this problem.

How To Fix Steam Keeps Not Responding While Playing Game

Apply the below-mentioned fixes to resolve your problem.

1. Restart Steam

Frequently this issue can be resolved by simply restarting Steam.

Open Steam.
Click on “Steam” in the top left corner of the window.
Select “Exit” (Windows) or “Quit Steam” (Mac).
Wait for Steam to close completely.
Double-click the Steam icon on your desktop or launch it from the Start menu/Applications folder to restart.

2. Restart Steam with GPU Acceleration Disabled

Some video drivers conflict with GPU acceleration in Steam. Try disabling it temporarily. To do this follow the below steps:

Follow steps 1-3 from Solution 1 to close Steam.
Right-click the Steam icon on your desktop or search for Steam in the Start menu/Applications folder.
Hold down the “Shift” key while clicking “Play” or launching Steam.
In the small window that appears, check the box next to “Run Steam without desktop composition” and click “OK“.
Steam will restart with GPU acceleration disabled. Test if the issue persists.

3. Restart Steam with Browser Sandboxing Disabled

Browser Sandboxing is a security measure that keeps your web browsers separate from each other and the files on your computer. You can choose to disable this feature temporarily by selecting this option.

However, it’s not advisable to keep it disabled for extended periods. Once you restart Steam, Browser Sandboxing will be turned back on automatically.

4. Clear Steam Download Cache

Another fix that Redditors suggested fixing the Steam not responding and incredibly running slow is by deleting the downloads and browser cache.

Follow these steps:

Open the Steam client and from the top left client menu, click on Settings.
In the Settings panel, select the Downloads tab and you’ll find the CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE button at the bottom. Click on it.
Click OK to proceed. Then your Steam will be restarted.

Now run the game on Steam to see if it’s still freezing or not responding.

5. Delete ClientRegistry.blob

The Steam not responding issue can be solved if you delete the ClientRegistry.blob file from the Steam installation directory.

The ClientRegistry.blob contains the registration data of the installed games. You don’t need to worry after deleting it as it will be restored on the next login.

Follow these steps:

Completely close the Steam program using the Task Manager.
Then browse your Steam directory. The default one is C:\Program Files\Steam.
Then select the ClientRegistry.blob and delete it. Or you can choose to rename it.

6. Update the Date and Time on Your Computer

If you’re experiencing issues with your Steam Client Bootstrapper, it might be due to incorrect date and time settings on your computer. You can resolve this by updating the date and time using the following steps.

Right-click the Start button and choose Settings app.
Go ahead to Time & Language.
In the Date & Time tab, scroll down to click Add clocks for different time zones from the right pane.
In the pop-up window, switch to the Internet Time tab and click the Change settings button.
In the Internet Time Settings window, check Synchronize with an Internet time server. Choose a Server from the drop-down list and click Update now. Then, click OK to save the change.

7. Update Your Graphics Driver

To play a PC game using the steam client without any glitches crashes or freezing you need updated graphics card drivers. If the graphics card drivers are outdated to faulty you will have to deal with random crashing errors.

You can update NVIDIA/AMD GPU drivers manually by visiting their official sites but finding the latest correct driver is often difficult.

So we recommend you download Driver Easy on your PC. It’s a driver updater tool that will automatically scan and update all the system’s old drivers. All you need to do is to:

Download and Install Driver Easy.
Run this program and click on Scan Now button. (It will scan your PC telling you how many drivers need attention)
Now click on Update All or choose anyone at a time.
Now Restart your PC.

You can also create a restore point, in case an updated driver causes the problem you can revert to its previous version.

7. Disable Cortana

Cortana, the helpful digital assistant in Windows 10, can sometimes clash with other installed software, such as Steam. If you experience Steam freezing or becoming unresponsive, it may be due to this conflict. To troubleshoot the issue, consider disabling Cortana via the Registry Editor.

Press Windows + R and type regedit and click OK.
Paste the following path
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows
Right-click Windows and choose New > Key to create a new folder named Windows Search.
Right-click Windows Search and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name the new entry as AllowCortana.
Double-click AllowCortana to open its Properties. Set its Value data as 0 and click OK to save the change.

8. Close Unnecessary Programs

In order to fox Steam keeps freezing or not responding you need to make sure that no unnecessary programs run while the steam running.

You might have noticed that when you turn on your PC many apps start running with it chewing up your system resources. So try to close these apps and then play the Steam client.

Follow these steps:

On your keyboard, press the Windows logo + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box.
Type or paste taskmgr and press Enter.
Select the Startup tab. Right-click an app and select the entry for Disable

9. Delete the AppCache Folder

Steam temporarily stores data in the AppCache folder if it gets corrupted you will see a problem while launching Steam as it might freeze or not respond.

Follow these steps to delete the AppCache folder:

Look for the directory where Steam is installed. The default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam.
Look for a folder named “appcache” then delete it (or you can cut and paste it in a different location so the client thinks it is deleted).
Restart your computer

10. Disable Antivirus and Firewall To Launch Steam

Antivirus programs sometimes become the major cause of Steam keeps freezing or not responding. You need to either disable the antivirus or Firewall or Simply delete them temporarily.

Follow these steps to disable Windows Firewall:

Open Control Panel.
Then choose Windows Defender Firewall.
On the left panel, choose to Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off.
Then check the option Turn off Windows Defender Firewall under Private network settings and Public network settings.
Then click OK to save the changes.

11. Update Your Steam Client

If the Stam freezing when downloading or installing the games then it might be because there’s a glitch in it. You need to make sure that you have installed the updated Steam version.

Valve consistently releases the updates you should find and installed them on your PC. Follow these steps: