Top 9 Tips | How to Resolve Steam Disk Write/Read Error

Updated by

Sherly 

Written by

Linda 

Updated on April 19, 2024

You can follow these fixes whenever you encounter a Steam disk write error while installing or updating games.

"?"

"Steam Disk Write Error While Downloading/Upgrading"

Typically, when installing or updating well-known Steam games like Dota Underlords, Football Manager, Kenshi, Tree of Savior, or Team Fortress, you might encounter an error indicating a Steam disk write error or possibly a disk read error. You can refer to the error details and associated screenshots for more information.

These lines translate to English as:
• An error occurred while updating [game title]
• An error occurred while installing [game title]

As you can gather, the additional information in the parentheses behind the specific error message indicates an issue with the disk. This problem can occur anytime a game is being updated or installed through Steam, preventing the installation from completing successfully. Consequently, to resolve Steam disk issues, you should promptly take action to repair the affected hard drive.

How do I fix Steam disk write-read errors?

Here, you'll find the top nine solutions to help you resolve the Steam Disk Write Read Error.

Translation: Solution 1: Restart Steam and Computer

No matter when you stuck in trouble, restarting can always help you. For example, the computer blue screen, black screen, disk error, etc., and Steam disk error is no exception. The first thing you should try is to restart Steam and your PC.

How to restart Steam:

Step 1. Open any Steam window.

Step 2. In the top-left corner, click the "Steam" button to open a drop-down menu.

Step 3. From the drop-down menu, select "Exit" (Windows) or "Quit Steam" (Mac). This will close Steam.

Step 4. Open Steam again, and log back in if you were logged out.

Click on Restart Steam to confirm.

Then, try again to see if the disk read error or write error occurs again.

To restart the PC:

Step 1. Click the "Start" icon.

Step 2. Go to "Shut down or sign out > Restart."

Restart PC to fix Steam disk write error

How to Fix Steam Not Enough Disk Space Error [Updated]

What should we do when the Steam not enough disk space error occurs? How to get rid of this error? Don't panic; below, you'll learn how to free up disk space on Steam and directly extend your partition using third-party free software.

Fix 2: Clear Steam Download Cache

Another way to rectify the issue is by clearing the download cache. This action compels the Steam client to discard locally stored configuration data and retrieve it anew from the Steam server.

< strong > To clear the Steam download cache: < / strong >

Step 1. Open "Steam" and go to "Settings".

Step 2. Click "Downloads", and select "Clear Download Cache".

Then, try to reopen Steam and see if it works.

Fix 3: Check and Repair Steam Disk Bad Sectors

If there are bad sectors on your Steam drive, you might also encounter a disk write error related to Steam, Origin, or other games. In that case, you should check for bad sectors on your drive.

Starting from this approach, you'll need additional help from a third-party free partition manager tool, which is tools Partition Master. First of all, the Surface Test feature is extremely easy-to-use in checking bad sectors. Follow the steps below to check the bad sectors.

Step 1. Launch tools Partition Master. Right-click the hard drive that you want to check and choose "Surface Test".

Step 2. The operation will be performed at once and all bad sectors will be marked in red.

If you don't find any issues, check Steam to see if the game update is still stuck.

If you find some error responsible for the Steam downloading/upgrade error, it's a good option to clone the drive to another HDD and replace the drive. Fortunately, tools like Partition Master can handle this as well.

To replace a failing hard drive with a new one, use the disk cloning function in AOMEI Partition Assistant:

Step 1. Select the source disk.

1. Click "Clone" from the left-hand menu. Select "Clone OS Disk" or "Clone Data Disk" and click "Next". 2. Choose the source disk and click "Next".

Step 2. Select the target disk.

Translate the following sentences into English: - Select the desired HDD/SSD as your destination and click "Next" to proceed. - Read the warning message and confirm by clicking the "Yes" button.

Step 3. View the disk layout and edit the target disk partition size.

When the program warns you that it will erase all data on the target disk, click “Continue” (If you have valuable data on the target disk, back it up in advance).

Here, you can choose to "Autofit the disk", "Clone as source", or "Edit disk layout" to customize your disk configuration. (Select the last option if you wish to allocate more space to the C drive.)

Step 4. Click "Start" to begin the disk cloning process.

Tools like Partition Master can also resolve the Palworld disk write error by:

How to Fix Disk Write Error in Palworld | 5 Solutions

This extensive guide provides players with five effective methods to resolve the disk write error in Palworld.

Translation: Fix 4: Run Steam as an Administrator

There are times when you're not an administrator and can't get access to certain apps. Running software as an admin grants it extra permissions that can fix various odd issues.

Step 1. Locate the Steam folder, right-click on Steam.exe and click "Properties."

Step 2. Click on the "Compatibility" tab.

Step 3. Under Privilege Level, check "Run this program as an administrator."

Step 4. Click "Apply > OK".

Click on "Properties".

Fix 5: Move the Steam Game Folder to Another Drive

Another efficient method to resolve the Steam disk write error is by relocating Steam to a different healthy drive. Manually copying might not yield the desired outcome. Instead, you can use the Todo PCTrans tool. It offers Steam users three practical game transfer options: PC to PC, Image Transfer, and App Migration. Each of these features makes it the top overall Steam game transfer tool to automatically move a PC game to another drive.

To transfer Steam games to another drive:

Step 1. Connect the destination drive to your computer.

Step 2. Select the games you want to change the location for.

Step 3. Transfer the games to the target drive.

Translation: Step 6: Verify Integrity of Steam Game Files If you encounter issues with a game on Steam, one troubleshooting step is to verify the integrity of the game files. Here's how: 1. Launch the Steam client. 2. Navigate to your Steam Library. 3. Right-click on the game that's experiencing issues and select "Properties" from the context menu. 4. In the Properties window, go to the "Local Files" tab. 5. Click on the "Verify Integrity of Game Files" button. 6. Steam will now scan and compare the game's files on your computer with its database, repairing or replacing any corrupted or missing files. 7. Wait for the process to complete. This may take some time depending on the size of the game. 8. Once finished, restart the game to see if the issue has been resolved. This process ensures that all the necessary game files are present and in their correct state, which can often fix various issues.

If you find that games keep crashing or their models are missing without your knowledge, try verifying the integrity of the Steam game files first.

Step 1. Restart your system and launch Steam.

Step 2. Select the "LIBRARY" tab and right-click the game that is giving you disk errors and select "Properties".

Step 3. Click on the "LOCAL FILES" tab, and then you will see the "VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES…" button. Click on it.

Step 4. Steam begins verifying the game files, which might take a few minutes. Note that some files might fail to verify, which is typical for most Steam games. This is because these are local configuration files, and they shouldn't be altered during this process.

Step 5. After all files have been validated successfully, try installing the updates again to see if the disk error has been fixed.

Verify the Steam integrity

Fix 7: Remove Write Protection from the Steam Drive

When a disk is write-protected, you can't make any changes to it, like formatting, adding data, or installing games. That might be why you're getting those disk errors on Steam. To fix it, you can use the diskpart command to take off the write protection and get rid of the error.

Step 1. Press "Win + R", type cmd to open the "Command Prompt".

Step 2. Type diskpart and press "Enter".

Remove the write protection

Step 3. Type list disk and press "Enter".

Step 4. Type select disk 0 (Replace 0 with the write-protected device number) and press "Enter".

Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and press "Enter".

Step 6. Type exit to close the Diskpart window once the write protection removal process is complete.

Restart your PC and check if you can access your Steam again.

If you don't consider yourself a pro-computer user and aren't familiar with command lines, don't worry. There are graphical-based solutions to help you remove write-protection from your hard drives, USB drives, and even SD cards.

CleanGenius is one of these tools that helps you fix aforementioned issues on your drives without knowing a thing about command-line.

Here's a simple step-by-step guide on how to utilize this tool to resolve your issues:

Step 1: DOWNLOAD and install the CleanGenius tool (free) on your computer.

Step 2: Run CleanGenius on your PC, select Optimization and choose the Write Protection mode.

Disable Write Protection

Step 3: Select the device that is write-protected and click Disable to remove the protection.

Fix 8: Resolve disk write errors by reinstalling Steam.

If the Steam disk write error still persists in Windows 10, 8.1, 8, or 7, you should consider re-installing Steam. Reinstalling Steam can help resolve potential issues with the client and service files. However, this process will remove Steam along with any installed game content from your computer.

How to uninstall Steam:

Step 1. Exit Steam. Move the Steamapps folder out of C:\Program Files\Steam to preserve your game installations.

Step 2. Click the Windows Start button and select "Control Panel".

Step 3. Open the "Add" or "Remove Programs" dialog. Select "Steam" from the list and click the "Change/Remove" button.

Step 4. Choose the Automatic option and click "Next".

Step 5. Click "Finish" to uninstall Steam

How to Install Steam:

Step 1. Visit https://store.steampowered.com/about/

Step 2. Click the "Install Steam" button and let the Steam installer download.

Reinstall Steam

Step 3. Once downloaded, click "run/open" and follow the instructions to install the Steam client on your computer.

Log in, and all of your activated game keys will be available in the “Library” section.

Fix 9. Contact Steam Official Support

You can also seek assistance from Steam's official support. Their technical support team can guide you through possible solutions tailored to your specific issue. Additionally, the Steam Community forum is another resource where you can find help.

Step 1. Contact the support team for assistance.

Step 2. Visit the Steam Community forum to get more information.

Conclusion

We've walked you through nine fixes for Steam disk read or write errors. Give these methods a shot to sort out your Steam disk issues. If you've got more effective ways to tackle Steam's disk write errors, do share them with us.

"Disk Write Error" on Steam (Frequently Asked Questions)

If you want to learn extra information to fix disk write errors, keep reading.

How do I fix the disk write error on Steam?

There are 9 methods to resolve the Steam disk write error on Windows 10:

Translate the following text into English:
• Fix 1: Restart Steam or PC    
• Fix 2: Clear Download Cache    
• Fix 3: Check and Repair Steam Disk Bad Sectors
• Fix 4: Run as Administrator    
• Fix 5: Move Game Folder...

Why does my Steam display a disk write error?

"Steam Disk Write Error While Downloading/Installing:"

This issue, commonly referred to as a "Steam disk write error," can occur at any time when a game is being updated or installed through Steam, resulting in the inability to finish the installation process.

How can I fix my hard drive?

Steps to Repair a Corrupted Hard Drive Without Formatting

Step 1: Download and install AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right-click on the disk that you wish to check and select "Surface Test".

Step 2: The operation will be performed immediately. Bad sectors will be marked in red...

What causes a disk read error?

The most common cause of this error is an incorrect Master Boot Record (MBR) configuration. This is typically caused by disk write errors, virus infections, or power failures.