Is Steam uninstalling your games automatically randomly? If your game is uninstalling itself in Stem, this post will help you. As reported by some Steam users, their installed games are getting removed randomly without the users uninstalling the game. Now, if you are experiencing the same problem, this post is for you.
Why did my Steam games uninstall itself?
There can be different reasons why the Steam games are getting uninstalled automatically. It can be due to the corrupted ClientRegistry.blob file that stores installation details of Steam games. Besides that, it can also be caused because of broken appmanifest files of the games. It can also be the case that Steam is not showing the installed games, which is why the games seem to be uninstalled. So, check the Hidden Games list on Steam and see if you can find your games there. Also, ensure that the current account owns the game.
Steam games uninstalling automatically
If your games on Steam are getting uninstalled automatically or randomly, here are the solutions you can use to fix the issue:
- Rename ClientRegistry.blob.
- Add a new Steam Library folder.
- Launch the game from the Steam folder.
- Modify the appmanifest file.
- Reinstall Steam.
1] Rename ClientRegistry.blob
The first thing you can do to fix this issue is to rename the ClientRegistry.blob file. This file stores information related to the installation of Steam and your games. If this file is broken or corrupted, you are likely to run into various issues. You might be unable to find your installed games on Steam, or your games might be getting uninstalled randomly due to a corrupted ClientRegistry.blob file. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can force Steam to recreate the ClientRegistry.blob file by renaming the file. Here’s how:
First, close Steam and make sure there is no instance of Steam running in the background. You can open the Task Manager to close all running tasks linked with Steam.
After that, press Win+E to open the File Explorer and navigate to the directory where you have installed Steam. It is by default, installed in one of the following locations:
C:\Program Files\Steam C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
Once inside the Steam directory, find the “ClientRegistry.blob file” file and right-click on this file. From the appeared context menu, choose the Rename option. You can now rename this file as ClientRegistry.old.blob or something else.
When done, close File Explorer and relaunch Steam to let it regenerate the ClientRegistry.blob file, and see if your installed games are still uninstalled automatically or not.
Read: Steam Cloud Error: Fix Steam unable to sync your files.
2] Add a new Steam Library folder
You can also try adding a new Library folder in Steam to see if the problem is resolved. Here are the steps to do that:
- First, open the Steam app and make sure you are signed into your account.
- Now, move to the Steam menu option and choose the Settings option.
- Next, navigate to the Downloads folder and click on the STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS button
- After that, press the ADD LIBRARY FOLDER button and select the folder where you want to save your installed games.
- Once done, the “Steam games uninstalling itself” issue should be fixed.
See: Fix Steam needs to be online to update.
3] Launch the game from the Steam folder
The next thing you can do is run the game directly from the Steam installation folder and see if it reminds Steam of the game. This workaround has been proven to be effective for some affected users. So, you can also try doing the same and check if the problem is resolved. Here’s how:
First, open File Explorer and navigate to the Steam installation directory. After that, open the folder where your games are installed. You are likely to find your games in the below location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common
Now, locate the game with which you are experiencing the issue and run its main executable file. Check if this helps in resolving the issue or not.
Read: Fix Steam error Initializing or Updating Transaction.
4] Modify the appmanifest file
If the problem remains the same, you can edit the appmanifest file associated with Steam. You might face this problem due to the corrupted or broken appmanifest file stored in the Steam installation folder. Or, the file might be removed, causing the problem. So, modify the appmanifest file accordingly and see if the issue is fixed.
Here are the steps to do that:
First, open the Steam installation folder as discussed in the above fixes. Now, go to the steamapps folder present inside the Steam folder.
Now, you will see appmanifest files associated with your games named in the following syntax: appmanifest_(Game_ID).acf file. To find the appmanifest file for the game with which you are facing the issue, you need to know its game ID. You can check Steam game IDs here.
Once you have located the appmanifest file for the problematic game, right-click on it and select the Open with > Notepad option.
Now, find the “installdir” line and change the location to the correct path of the game in the “common” folder in the Steam directory.
After that, save the file and relaunch Steam to see if the problem is resolved.
See: An error occurred while installing or updating the Steam game.
5] Reinstall Steam
If you continue experiencing the same problem, the installation of Steam is likely corrupted. So, in that case, you can uninstall Steam and then reinstall it on your PC. Open Settings using Win+I and go to the Apps > Installed apps option. Now, select the three-dot menu button present next to Steam and choose Uninstall.
Once the client is uninstalled, download the latest version of Steam and install it on your PC. Before uninstalling Steam, create a backup of the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps folder to avoid losing your games.
I hope this helps!
When Steam is uninstalled do I lose everything?
When you uninstall Steam from your PC, it will remove the Steam client as well as all your installed games and related data from your computer. Hence, if you want to restore games without reinstalling them after reinstalling Steam, you can keep the backup of the game folders at a different location on your computer. You can copy the entire C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps folder and paste it to your Desktop or some other safe directory.
Now read: Fix Invalid Depot Configuration Steam Error on Windows PC.
