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Socoder -> PC Gaming -> GGAAHH - Steam hath betrayed me...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008, 14:44
shroom_monk
Up until now I've had no problems with Steam. The quick update from time to time has never taken more than a minute or two, and the fact that you need an internet connection to play has never really bothered me since I have one most of the time anyway.

But, as of yesterday morning, all my Source Engine based games on Steam decided to stop working, for no apparent reason. i.e. None of the following will start: Portal, Team Fortress 2, Half Life 2 (incl ep 1 + 2). Non source based games will start properly.

Upon attempting to start any of the above, it says the usual 'Starting <GAME>...' dialog for a few seconds, but then instead of launching I get the error 'This game is unavailable. Please try again later.'

I have now tried every single thing on their support website for this issue and related ones, tried all other options I found on the internet, and anything else I can think of to no avail! My list of failed attempts is:
1) Restarting Steam.
2) Restarting computer.
3) Deleteing 'ClientRegistry.blob'.
4) Making sure Steam Foler is not set to Read Only.
5) Attemtping to launch games via Desktop shortcut.
6) Deleting the entire Steam Folder bar Steam.exe and the /Steamapps folder, then running Steam again to put new ones back.
7) Deleting the local game content for Team Fortress 2 and redownloading the whole thing.
8) Verifying my game cache files (which never seems to do anything).
9) Putting Steam.exe and each copy of hl2.exe for each game under the 'Do not block' list of Windows Firewall.
10) Rerunning the Steam Installer and selecting the 'Repair' option.

None of this has worked, I want to play my games, and I'm all out of ideas. Bar uninstalling everything, reinstalling Steam from scratch and then redownloading all my games, does anyone have any suggestions? (incidently, i doubt anyone will, since no-one else on the whole internet seems to that I haven't tried, but I'm open to suggestions)

-=-=-
A mushroom a day keeps the doctor away...

Keep It Simple, Shroom!
Fri, 29 Aug 2008, 14:56
Jayenkai
It seems a fairly common issue, but no-one seems to know the real solution.
A full uninstall (Let Steam uninstall itself) + reinstall of Steam seems to be a last resort, but.. Hey, if it works, it works..

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''Load, Next List!''
Fri, 29 Aug 2008, 22:54
Mog


'nuff said.

-=-=-
I am Busy Mongoose - My Website

Dev PC: AMD 8150-FX, 16gb Ram, GeForce GTX 680 2gb

Current Project: Pyroxene
Sat, 30 Aug 2008, 12:58
shroom_monk
Well, I've uninstalled Steam, reinstalled it, and am now in the process of reinstalling and downloading all my games.

Of course, in my blind 'OK let's get this over with' moment of uninstalling Steam, I totally forgot to backup my save game files, so although my achievements will carry over, if the games work afterwards all my save data will be gone. Drat.

-=-=-
A mushroom a day keeps the doctor away...

Keep It Simple, Shroom!
Sat, 30 Aug 2008, 14:46
Jayenkai
I think Steam now stores all your savegames for you..
..
I think..
They said they were going to.. Did they ever get around to doing that?!

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''Load, Next List!''
Sat, 30 Aug 2008, 14:50
shroom_monk
I don't know.

I hope they do. Well, we'll soon find out...

-=-=-
A mushroom a day keeps the doctor away...

Keep It Simple, Shroom!
Sat, 30 Aug 2008, 17:00
Mog
Actually!! do a run over of your steam dir for *.sav files.

-=-=-
I am Busy Mongoose - My Website

Dev PC: AMD 8150-FX, 16gb Ram, GeForce GTX 680 2gb

Current Project: Pyroxene
Mon, 01 Sep 2008, 02:08
shroom_monk
OK, haven't tested the others yet, but Portal works. Thus, I think the others now should to.

However, all my saves are lost (which is my fault). However, this also means I have to totally restart on the Portal Challenge maps (I was doing well at those, too..)

Oh well - lesson been learnt - don't forget to back up!

-=-=-
A mushroom a day keeps the doctor away...

Keep It Simple, Shroom!
Mon, 01 Sep 2008, 02:23
Jayenkai
Don't be silly.. No matter how many times it happens, no-one on earth will EVER learn to backup!

Still, you get to play through Portal again! yeay!

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''Load, Next List!''
Mon, 01 Sep 2008, 03:21
HoboBen
Speaking of which, portal is 50% off until the end of today. I caved and bought it on impulse, but I don't regret it

Glad to hear things are working again, Shroom

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blog | work | code | more code
Mon, 01 Sep 2008, 03:23
Jayenkai
Still haven't bought/played Portal yet.. It's on my "Some day I'll buy an XBox, and the Orange Box" list..
...

..

Stupid RROD's been putting me off.

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Tue, 02 Sep 2008, 07:50
mindstorm8191
The Portal game for PC is on my 'buy later' list. I played a flash game online (its free, you can google it) and it was quite fun, though only 2D. Should be much more fun in 3D.

-=-=-
Vesuvius web game