Unable to move games from SD card to internal storage "Content File Locked"

[HeroProc]

-I can transfer games from internal storage to the SD card without issues.
-I can also install games directly to the SD card without issue.
-I can run games from an SD card without issue.

However when transferring a game from the SD card to the internal storage almost every transfer stops about halfway through with a "content file locked" Steam message.

Things I have tried...

-Tried multiple working (authentic) SD cards ranging from 64gb to 1TB (Sandisk Extreme)
-Reformatting the cards multiple times.
-Did a full system reset of the Deck.

I can find zero record of people experiencing this issue other than a few reddit posts calling out unconfirmed claims that the Deck is "bricking" SD cards. Ive since tested the cards on PC with read/write tests via h2testw and they still seem to be functioning.

I am hoping this is something super obvious that I am missing.

[@R+5]

have you checked if the games also had something in common? ie all nned to run with proton, or all need a launcher. maybe the problem is related to an issue with some file types.

[Bangheader]

I have the same problem, tested it with Dark Souls Remastered.

[retrogunner]

Have you tried dropping to the Desktop mode and using the Steam client there? That's a less optimal solution, more of a troubleshooting testing -- short of using Desktop mode, quitting Steam, then moving the files with the Dolphin file manager.

[Finraziel]

Same issue... Moved fallout 4 from internal to SD to test load times, no issue. Back to SSD just won't work. Guess I need to download the game again :(

[Polysorbate]

I'm having this problem as well.

[psymin]

Allegedly you can uninstall from one location and re-install to another if that is helpful.

[Polysorbate]

Originally posted by psymin:

Allegedly you can uninstall from one location and re-install to another if that is helpful.

This works but it's still really annoying. Copying files from A to B isn't rocket science.

[Nagrali]

I've just come across the exact same problem.
I moved all my games from internal to SD - that went fine. The plan was to copy SD to SDD so I had a local backup rather than needing to re-download (didn't work) I then went to move my games back to internal, same issue "Content file locked"

I have had to uninstall & start downloading again!

I have noticed one thing though, it happens to every game NOT bought on Steam site. Bought on Steam, everything works fine both ways, bought elsewhere, it'll move over to SD okay, but will fail back to internal later.

I wonder if Steam does this intentionally?

So my attempt to backup the games locally to speed up the process of reinstalling had cost me many hours of re-downloading.....

[Marlock]

not likely intentional... Valve added the support for 3rd-party software voluntarily and their platform openness is a positive feature helping drive Steam Deck sales, plus this exists since forever on Steam for Linux

It's much more likely a bug derived from their hasty coding of the new UI... there is clearly A LOT of issues and quirky/unreliable behaviour on Steam and the Steam Deck that can only be explained by "spaghetty code" (mostly on Steam itself)

ps: obviously since Steam isn't opensource, this is a conjecture that nobody but Valve can confirm

[Polysorbate]

Yeah, I seriously doubt it's intentional. Probably 50% Linux being dumb, 50% Valve coding in a rush.

[Marlock]

undue file locking is far less likely on linux than on windows (where a freaking thumbnail generator process running in the backgroud thinks it is ok to prevent me renaming, moving and deleting files, and let me skip my opinion on OneDrive sync...)

it's more like 99% valve pasta in this case...

[Nagrali]

I guess you guys are right. The deck is quite buggy & definitely a rushed out product.
I'm completely new to Steam in every way so I'll assume its not intentionally.

My failed attempt at keeping games locally for future installations cost me about 9 hours re-downloading.

It makes the use of a microSD rather pointless though unless you're happy to keep running the games slowly.
The ability to move games across back & forth when needed is absolutely necessary.

[Polysorbate]

Originally posted by Nagrali:

I guess you guys are right. The deck is quite buggy & definitely a rushed out product.
I'm completely new to Steam in every way so I'll assume its not intentionally.

My failed attempt at keeping games locally for future installations cost me about 9 hours re-downloading.

It makes the use of a microSD rather pointless though unless you're happy to keep running the games slowly.
The ability to move games across back & forth when needed is absolutely necessary.

Have you found the games you play are actually slower off the SD card? It's a safe bet it's almost always the same or very close to it: https://youtu.be/yqzZMeVc7z4

Personally I keep a handful of evergreen games on internal storage (Monster Hunter World and a few others) and keep everything else on SD... no complaints.

[Finraziel]

Originally posted by Polysorbate42:

Originally posted by Nagrali:

I guess you guys are right. The deck is quite buggy & definitely a rushed out product.
I'm completely new to Steam in every way so I'll assume its not intentionally.

My failed attempt at keeping games locally for future installations cost me about 9 hours re-downloading.

It makes the use of a microSD rather pointless though unless you're happy to keep running the games slowly.
The ability to move games across back & forth when needed is absolutely necessary.

Have you found the games you play are actually slower off the SD card? It's a safe bet it's almost always the same or very close to it: https://youtu.be/yqzZMeVc7z4

Personally I keep a handful of evergreen games on internal storage (Monster Hunter World and a few others) and keep everything else on SD... no complaints.

It depends strongly on the game. Steam OS seems to do some pretty sophisticated caching I think which makes the load times almost as good on SD as on SSD, as long as you're mostly loading the same things. In Fallout 4 I tested load times and I noticed if I loaded the same save a couple times in a row, the times for the SD got faster with repetition. But if it's the first time you load it, there's quite a difference (I seem to recall something like 11 seconds vs 20 seconds). During normal gameplay it definitely felt like I had to wait longer when the game was sitting on SD though.

[LevelLord]

I'm having the same issue transferring a game from SD card to internal get the same error message as mentioned in the previous post. Card I'm using is SanDisk Extreme 1TB. Seems to me to be a Linux coding bug I don't think it's intentional. Anyone know if Valve is working on the fix in a OS beta?