Whenever my computer starts, Steam Client is supposed to start automatically and check for updates. However, recently, it didn’t launch. When going through the logs in the Event Viewer, I stumbled upon one entry that said that the Steam Client Service service failed to start. Also, right below that error, we found another Event – A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the Steam Client Service service to connect.
In this post, we will talk about this issue and see how you can resolve it.
The Steam Client Service service failed to start due to the following error:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.Source: Serivce Control Manager
Event ID 7000
Fix The Steam Client Service service failed to start
If the Steam Client Service service failed to start, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Try starting Steam manually
- Check if the Steam Client Service is running
- Repair Steam Client
- Increase Service Timeout
- Troubleshoot in Clean Boot
Let us talk about them in detail.
Fix Steam service error in Windows 11
1] Try starting Steam manually
The problem that we are having here is that Steam, when starts automatically, fails to communicate with its service. This can be nothing but a glitch that can be resolved by just opening the app manually once. So, search out Steam and open it. If it checks for an update, wait for it to complete, and see if Steam opens. In case Steam is opening manually, reboot the computer and see if the automatic startup is working. If the issue is resolved, congratulations, but if not, we have two scenarios, Steam is not opening at all or Steam is not opening automatically, either way, move on to the next solution.
2] Check if the Steam Client Service is running
As mentioned earlier, the Steam client app should start the moment the system boots up and look for updates. For that, the Steam Service should always be in the running state, as the app tries reaching out to it to perform its tasks. In case, it fails to do so, Steam won’t open automatically and you will get the error in question. In order to resolve this, let’s check the status of the Steam Client Service.
- Open Run (Win + R), type “services.msc”, and click on Ok to open the Services application.
- Now, look for the Steam Client Service, right-click on the service, and select Properties.
- You need to check if the service is running and what the startup type is. If the service is stopped, click on Run and make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.
- Click on Apple > Ok.
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
3] Repair Steam Client
If the Steam Client itself fails to launch on startup or when you try opening it manually, there is a high probability that the program has been corrupted. However, we can use a command to repair it. To do so, first open the Task Manager, and check if any process related to Steam is running, and if that’s the case, terminate it. Once done, open the Command Prompt as an administrator by searching it out of the Start Menu. Now, run the following command.
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair
Do keep in mind that C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe is the default location if you have installed it to a custom location, replace the location.
Once done, check if the issue is resolved.
4] Increase Service Timeout
As mentioned earlier, in the Event Viewer, we found the following error message.
A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the Steam Client Service service to connect.
This means the Steam Client Service is taking more than 30 seconds to start or respond, which may have caused the error we are facing. Therefore, in addition to performing the troubleshooting methods mentioned earlier, we will have to increase the Service timeout by editing the registry. Before that, go ahead and backup the Registry.
Once done, open the Registry Editor and go to the following location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
Right-click on the empty area and click on New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Now, set the Value data to 4000, which is 4000 milliseconds.
Finally, save and reboot the system.
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
5] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot
If nothing works, we need to check if there is a third-party service that’s causing this issue. In Windows, we have Clean Boot where we need you to disable all the third-party services except the ones related to Steam, and then check if Steam opens. If it does, enable processes manually to stumble upon the culprit and either disable or delete it.
Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: Fix Steam Service component error on Windows PC.
How to fix Steam client is not running?
If the Steam client is not running, we should first repair Steam. To do so, open the Command Prompt and then run the command – “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair. If the issue persists, check and make sure that the Steam Client Service is running on your computer. You can check out the solutions mentioned earlier to know more. Also, go through our guide if Steam is not opening.
How do I start Steam client service?
To start the Steam client service, open the Services app, look for the Steam Client Service, right-click on it, and select Start. You should also, set the startup type to Automatic. For that, right-click on Steam Client Service and select Properties. Then, change the Startup type.
Also Read: Steam says Game is running but it is not showing.
