Steam friends network unavailable on windows 7

[Pear400]

I cannot connect to steam friends list server and client web browser shows no images and badly formatted blue text. My friends can't see me online and cannot invite them or message them through the client.

//I just want to be able to invite friends to join me in my games and vice versa//

I have tried every solution under the sun, Reinstalls, fresh windows install (7 SP1), adjustments to launch parameters, port checking,clearing caches, opting in and out of steam beta, checking conflicting software, wireless adapter driver updates, etc.

There are multiple older threads that had similar issues and the only joint factor is windows 7. This being an older laptop there are no drivers for some critical functions (keyboard, touch pad etc.) on windows 10, so upgrading would gimp me completely.

I've tried solving this for over a month now and am utterly dejected.
This issue started at the end of 2021 and it seems Valve just doesn't care about their windows 7 user base.

Any help would be appreciated.
PS How do I submit a ticket to refund a game if I can't play with friends?

[Elucidator]

The issues you have are there due to the DST Root CA X3 which has expired in 2021.
this Root CA was used to sign certificates that allowed for an encrypted connection to establish over HTTPS protocol
however because this root ca is now expired, it cannot sign and validate certificates; and
because windows 7 doesn't get updates, the Trust Store (a folder with certificates) isn't automatically filled in with newer Root Certificate Authorities.


edit to add:

the IdenTrust DST Root CA X3 expires on 30th September 2021

What you need to do is manually add in newer Root CAs and manually "trust" them as valid.

[Elucidator]

(this thread is on the top of the list already anyway, and I realize you may have already read my previous post, so here is some addition and a notification for a new post to let you know.)

At least, you will need these Root CAs:

Originally posted by Elucidator:

from here: https://www.digicert.com/kb/digicert-root-certificates.htm
Baltimore CyberTrust Root CA
DigiCert Global Root CA
DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA

and from here https://letsencrypt.org/certificates/:
ISRG Root X1 (cross signed)

You can add more from Lets Encrypt if you want. Lets Encrypt themselves suggest also to take X2 and X3, but that may not be nessecary. You may need to mess around with things yourself, like, maybe you also want to look at IdenTrust for a root cert, etc. (I'm not sure which Root CA signs Steam's certificates at the moment.)
The Root CA that officially replaced DST Root CA X3 is https://www.identrust.com/node/1330 this one. (use a search engine to find out more)

A quick tutorial on how to install newer certificates:

Originally posted by Elucidator:

Open up MMC (Microsoft Management Console), mmc.exe
To do so, the fastest way would be to press and hold the windowskey on your keyboard, then pressing R. You can release both keys now.
Now "Run" should have opened up.

In here type mmc and hit the enter button.

Within MMC, do the following:
Press ctrl+M and add the modules Certificates and Group Policy Object Editor

In case you how to do that:
Click Certificates, and hit Add
- Computer Account
- Local
- OK

Then Group Policy Object Editor
- Local Computer object
- OK

Within MMC's main window, the modules should now be visible.

- Open the Certificates tree and right click on Trusted Root Certification Authorities
- Mouse-Over All Tasks
- Hit Import
follow the instructions there to import the certificates one at a time.
> Both Current User and Local is fine, though Local is advised. It saves a different user some trouble.
> "Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate" is recommended

- Open Group Policy Object Editor tree next and go to: Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Public Key Policies
- Double Click on Certificate Path Validation Settings
- Select the Stores tab (if it isn't selected)
- Check Define these policy settings
- Check Allow user trusted root CAs to be used to validate certificates
- Check Allow users to trust peer trust certificates
- Make sure under "Root CAs that the client computers can trust" that Third Party and Enterprise Root CAs is selected.

-Apply
-OK

You're done.

You might need to restart windows, but it should work now.

[Pear400]

Enlightening, thank you

I've added all the certificates you recommended and It's gotten me to the point where my store and profile are working again - Unfortunately still no luck on the friends network.

Either way, I now know what's causing the issue and I'll keep down this road to see if I have any success.

Originally posted by Elucidator:

(this thread is on the top of the list already anyway, and I realize you may have already read my previous post, so here is some addition and a notification for a new post to let you know.)

At least, you will need these Root CAs:

Originally posted by Elucidator:

from here: https://www.digicert.com/kb/digicert-root-certificates.htm
Baltimore CyberTrust Root CA
DigiCert Global Root CA
DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA

and from here https://letsencrypt.org/certificates/:
ISRG Root X1 (cross signed)

You can add more from Lets Encrypt if you want. Lets Encrypt themselves suggest also to take X2 and X3, but that may not be nessecary. You may need to mess around with things yourself, like, maybe you also want to look at IdenTrust for a root cert, etc. (I'm not sure which Root CA signs Steam's certificates at the moment.)
The Root CA that officially replaced DST Root CA X3 is https://www.identrust.com/node/1330 this one. (use a search engine to find out more)

A quick tutorial on how to install newer certificates:

Originally posted by Elucidator:

Open up MMC (Microsoft Management Console), mmc.exe
To do so, the fastest way would be to press and hold the windowskey on your keyboard, then pressing R. You can release both keys now.
Now "Run" should have opened up.

In here type mmc and hit the enter button.

Within MMC, do the following:
Press ctrl+M and add the modules Certificates and Group Policy Object Editor

In case you how to do that:
Click Certificates, and hit Add
- Computer Account
- Local
- OK

Then Group Policy Object Editor
- Local Computer object
- OK

Within MMC's main window, the modules should now be visible.

- Open the Certificates tree and right click on Trusted Root Certification Authorities
- Mouse-Over All Tasks
- Hit Import
follow the instructions there to import the certificates one at a time.
> Both Current User and Local is fine, though Local is advised. It saves a different user some trouble.
> "Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate" is recommended

- Open Group Policy Object Editor tree next and go to: Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Public Key Policies
- Double Click on Certificate Path Validation Settings
- Select the Stores tab (if it isn't selected)
- Check Define these policy settings
- Check Allow user trusted root CAs to be used to validate certificates
- Check Allow users to trust peer trust certificates
- Make sure under "Root CAs that the client computers can trust" that Third Party and Enterprise Root CAs is selected.

-Apply
-OK

You're done.

You might need to restart windows, but it should work now.

[Elucidator]

If you log into Steam Friends and Chat through the default browser, you can see what certificate it uses to sign and establish the encrypted TLS connection.
(you can see it even if signing fails)
(your browser may also give a hint that the connection isn't secure (because of it failing to sign the certificate) )
You can see this by clicking on the lock icon next to the website name in the address bar,
and then... well it depends.

In firefox you need to actually click on the 'secured connection' (or insecure connection) and then on More Info, after which you get a summary page.
If it involves certificates, you can see here which certificates it uses.

Firefox has its own Trust Store though and due to this, it's likely that if you use firefox, Steam Friends and Chat will simply work.
but you can still see which Root CA you'd need to install for it to work on the Steam Client.

Its a bit of a mess I suppose to figure this out

[Pear400]

Instead of selecting the box for "Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate" as Elucidator suggested - I did it manually and seems to have solved the issue for me.

Thanks again, and happy gaming.

[Pear400]

Originally posted by black_power_all_day_son!:

lol win 7

You'll be happy to know that I'm upgrading to the best gaming machine on the market and that all my issues will soon cease.

ALL HAIL MACBOOK PRO!

[AureoleTaxe4]

Originally posted by Elucidator:

The issues you have are there due to the DST Root CA X3 which has expired in 2021.
this Root CA was used to sign certificates that allowed for an encrypted connection to establish over HTTPS protocol
however because this root ca is now expired, it cannot sign and validate certificates; and
because windows 7 doesn't get updates, the Trust Store (a folder with certificates) isn't automatically filled in with newer Root Certificate Authorities.


edit to add:

the IdenTrust DST Root CA X3 expires on 30th September 2021

What you need to do is manually add in newer Root CAs and manually "trust" them as valid.

So I just change my broken (due to a HDD problem) windows 7 sp1 to a new, fresh and working windows 7 pro.

And for that replacement, i have that problem with the friends stuff.

So I did what you suggest. And as it is the DST Root CA X3 who is guilty of that mess, i think that it could causes conflicts, so i simply deleted it from the root ca in mmc. I close & restart steam, doesn't work...

I go to mmc, DST Root CA X3 reappeared !

So i litteraly test the thing : deleted the DST Root CA X3 again, close & restart steam. And while steam is coming again, I spam the refresh button in mmc to watch over any changement about root CA. And you know what, exactly when the friends network window appeared, which comes a little bit more after the main steam window, the DST Root CA X3 appears in the mmc.

So i'm not an engineer in computer but if dat now-useless DST Root CA X3 is the problem and the friends network stuff there brings the problem again and again how the heck it's supposed to work ?

I even tried by deleting steam from the hdd, deleting DST Root CA X3 from mmc, restart the computer, download a fresh setup of steam, execute the setup, do my little process above with spamming refresh button on mmc. And again, the friends network window bring DST Root CA X3 back !

So can someone help me with that ?

I consider to test an old version of steam.

[AureoleTaxe4]

I really solved the thing with that link so you may consider it : https://superuser.com/questions/1679135/dst-root-ca-x3-expiration-on-windows7-which-update-i-need-to-install-are-there

So what i did : I deleted all the root CA from mmc. I downloaded the seld signed, in .der format, ISRG Root X1. I put in mmc but like that : https://i.stack.imgur.com/5TIDQ.png

Then i relaunch Steam, the friends window is not taking me for a joke anymore. Finally !

[Spo POvich....!]

So I just change my broken (due to a HDD problem) windows 7 sp1 to a new, fresh and working windows 7 pro.

And for that replacement, i have that problem with the friends stuff.

So I did what you suggest. And as it is the DST Root CA X3 who is guilty of that mess, i think that it could causes conflicts, so i simply deleted it from the root ca in mmc. I close & restart steam, doesn't work...

I go to mmc, DST Root CA X3 reappeared !

So i litteraly test the thing : deleted the DST Root CA X3 again, close & restart steam. And while steam is coming again, I spam the refresh button in mmc to watch over any changement about root CA. And you know what, exactly when the friends network window appeared, which comes a little bit more after the main steam window, the DST Root CA X3 appears in the mmc.

So i'm not an engineer in computer but if dat now-useless DST Root CA X3 is the problem and the friends network stuff there brings the problem again and again how the heck it's supposed to work ?

I even tried by deleting steam from the hdd, deleting DST Root CA X3 from mmc, restart the computer, download a fresh setup of steam, execute the setup, do my little process above with spamming refresh button on mmc. And again, the friends network window bring DST Root CA X3 back !

So can someone help me with that ?

I consider to test an old version of steam.