Steam Crashing at Connecting to Steam Account

[Astorec_]

I've been having issues for awhile now, started with Steam coming up saying it couldn't connect to the internet and Had the Retry Option or Offline mode. Would load up in offline mode but I would not be able to online at all.

I had reinstalled on another Hard Drive and it worked okay for awhile and then it happened again, so I reinstalled it again and it sorted it. But now I'm having the issue where it's coming up Connecting to Steam Account then it just freezes.

When trying to End the process it says access denied and steam stays an open process even though it's not open and the Steam Service is stopped. I've tried doing the clear out of the steam files (Leaving the Steam.exe and Steam APPS folder) and I've tried reinstalling again. Anyone know what the problem could be?

[eram]

Have you tried using the built in clear cache option?

This process will not affect your currently installed games, but you will need to log into Steam afterwards.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3134-TIAL-4638

[Astorec_]

Originally posted by erλm:

Have you tried using the built in clear cache option?

This process will not affect your currently installed games, but you will need to log into Steam afterwards.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3134-TIAL-4638

I can't get in to steam at all now. Doesn't even give me the option to start in offline mode jsut crashes at the Connecting to Steam Account

[eram]

Reboot the pc using safe mode and networking, try to load steam.

[Astorec_]

Originally posted by erλm:

Reboot the pc using safe mode and networking, try to load steam.

Doing that just now, same thing is happening

[solidsnake8608]

Same issue. Yesterday in Command Prompt I ran: netsh winsock reset, rebooted computer, Steam didn't work the first time I attempted to start, ended the process (took a few minutes to actually end...) then once I reopened, it worked. Same problem today. Tried the same steps and nothing.

Tried compatibility mode set to Windows 7, restarted PC, the usual steps...

It's only happened when trying to load a game of Left4Dead 2, haven't had any issues with other games.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Astorec 🐮🔪:

Doing that just now, same thing is happening

Just to clarify, after the good erAm's post....

You have booted into safe mode with networking, tried to launch Steam, and Steam is actually "crashing" after it is launched ?

Is this correct ? If so, that suggests that your Steam files may be damaged or corrupted. You can repair Steam and try that fix.

But if there is a problem in a normal boot of Windows, then the issue may just come back.

Delete everything in the Steam folder except steamapps and the Steam.exe. Right click the Steam.exe and run it directly as administrator just this one time.

See if you notice improvement after that. Again, if there is an issue in normal Windows, that needs to be addressed also, as the problem may just come back.

[solidsnake8608]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Astorec 🐮🔪:

Doing that just now, same thing is happening

Just to clarify, after the good erAm's post....

You have booted into safe mode with networking, tried to launch Steam, and Steam is actually "crashing" after it is launched ?

Is this correct ? If so, that suggests that your Steam files may be damaged or corrupted. You can repair Steam and try that fix.

But if there is a problem in a normal boot of Windows, then the issue may just come back.

Delete everything in the Steam folder except steamapps and the Steam.exe. Right click the Steam.exe and run it directly as administrator just this one time.

See if you notice improvement after that. Again, if there is an issue in normal Windows, that needs to be addressed also, as the problem may just come back.

After deleting everything but Steamapps and Steam.exe, restarted in Safe Mode; Steam loaded as normal. Normal boot let me finally open Steam successfully.

Any idea as to what may have caused the issue?

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by solidsnake8608:

After deleting everything but Steamapps and Steam.exe, restarted in Safe Mode; Steam loaded as normal. Normal boot let me finally open Steam successfully.

Any idea as to what may have caused the issue?

That post and those suggestions were not for you but for the OP, as I quoted the OP in my reply. And it is safe mode with networking....not simply safe mode. This is important as there is a difference.

But since that also seems to have helped you.........

Take screenshots of all of the programs you have installed on your computer. Control panel then programs/programs and features. (Windows 7,8,8.1) or "apps" (Windows 10 click "Start" (Windows icon on bottom left)")

Click Windows Start and type in msconfig and run that resulting process. Go to the services tab and check the box on bottom "Hide all Microsoft services". Take screenshots of all that is left.

Then go to the startup tab on top of that same window(Task Manager in W10). Take screenshots of all that there also.

Post all the screenshots here, using a file hoting site such as imgur.com

[solidsnake8608]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by solidsnake8608:

After deleting everything but Steamapps and Steam.exe, restarted in Safe Mode; Steam loaded as normal. Normal boot let me finally open Steam successfully.

Any idea as to what may have caused the issue?

That post and those suggestions were not for you but for the OP, as I quoted the OP in my reply. And it is safe mode with networking....not simply safe mode. This is important as there is a difference.

But since that also seems to have helped you.........

Take screenshots of all of the programs you have installed on your computer. Control panel then programs/programs and features. (Windows 7,8,8.1) or "apps" (Windows 10 click "Start" (Windows icon on bottom left)")

Click Windows Start and type in msconfig and run that resulting process. Go to the services tab and check the box on bottom "Hide all Microsoft services". Take screenshots of all that is left.

Then go to the startup tab on top of that same window(Task Manager in W10). Take screenshots of all that there also.

Post all the screenshots here, using a file hoting site such as imgur.com

Sorry for hijacking the thread, same issue was happening with me so I figured I'd just follow along with your instructions.

Here is the link to the programs,services and startup items.

http://imgur.com/a/xEKUk

I noticed there were duplicates for some of the games...I'm assuming that is from where I used SteamMover to move games from my SSD to an HDD (before Steam allowed you to move games through Steam itself).

I appreciate the help

[The Giving One]

No , not at all. Sorry, I did not mean to suggest that you were hijacking anything here, just that I posted that to the OP and I don't want someone else to try something that may actually be detrimental to their issue instead. That is what I meant. Sorry for my confusion, and if my post seemed rude.

Just wanted to reply to that quickly, so give me a chance to look at your screenshots now.....thanks......get back to you.........

EDIT...

Ok...you have a huge list there, so this may take some effort to track down the issue, unless my suggestions below may help initially.....

CCleaner. This programs has a monitoring mode settings area for monitoring your PC. You need to be sure all that is totally disabled, even if you have the program itself disabled.

Skype.

This program also has a child process of Skype updater, surely, and it is on the list here.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

After you uninstall or disable software, you need to restart the computer, and test Steam launching again. Do this in a normal boot of Windows for now.

Safe mode with networking is a tool and test that is only to maybe identify IF there is a conflict in a normal boot. Once the conflict has been established to exist, then we go forth as we are now.

If this does not resolve the issue, we can try to continue here with the troubleshooting process. If OP replies, we may need to focus on his or her issue instead and you can follow along with those steps if you wish. Thanks.

[solidsnake8608]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Ok...you have a huge list there, so this may take some effort to track down the issue, unless my suggestions below may help initially.....

CCleaner. This programs has a monitoring mode settings area for monitoring your PC. You need to be sure all that is totally disabled, even if you have the program itself disabled.

Skype.

This program also has a child process of Skype updater, surely, and it is on the list here.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

After you uninstall or disable software, you need to restart the computer, and test Steam launching again. Do this in a normal boot of Windows for now.

Safe mode with networking is a tool and test that is only to maybe identify IF there is a conflict in a normal boot. Once the conflict has been established to exist, then we go forth as we are now.

If this does not resolve the issue, we can try to continue here with the troubleshooting process. If OP replies, we may need to focus on his or her issue instead and you can follow along with those steps if you wish. Thanks.

Everything seems to be working. I disabled Skype from the Startup list just in case. If the issue returns, I will create a separate thread.

Just wanted to thank you for the help, it's not often someone is willing to offer legitimate assistance on the internet

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by solidsnake8608:

Everything seems to be working. I disabled Skype from the Startup list just in case. If the issue returns, I will create a separate thread.

Just wanted to thank you for the help, it's not often someone is willing to offer legitimate assistance on the internet

Thank you for the kind words, as that is very nice of you. It is a great community here, and we like to help other users like yourself. Pay attention to the fact you have Skype updater disabled now and maybe you can re-enable that later if you find for sure that was not the cause of your issue.

If you have the problem again, feel free to ask in the forums here and we will continue trying to help you. If you decide to make another thread, be sure to link this one if you can so anyone can see what we have done so far in case they need to. Good luck to you always.

[Astorec_]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Astorec 🐮🔪:

Doing that just now, same thing is happening

Just to clarify, after the good erAm's post....

You have booted into safe mode with networking, tried to launch Steam, and Steam is actually "crashing" after it is launched ?

Is this correct ? If so, that suggests that your Steam files may be damaged or corrupted. You can repair Steam and try that fix.

But if there is a problem in a normal boot of Windows, then the issue may just come back.

Delete everything in the Steam folder except steamapps and the Steam.exe. Right click the Steam.exe and run it directly as administrator just this one time.

See if you notice improvement after that. Again, if there is an issue in normal Windows, that needs to be addressed also, as the problem may just come back.

Hey sorry was sleeping hahaha


But yeah I had already attempted this whilst in Safe Mode w/ Networking and it still crashed. Also reinstalled it it loaded up for a bit afterwards restarted my Machine it worked for a bit untill I had restarted my PC again then it would go back to doing what it was doing

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Astorec 🐮🔪:

Hey sorry was sleeping hahaha


But yeah I had already attempted this whilst in Safe Mode w/ Networking and it still crashed. Also reinstalled it it loaded up for a bit afterwards restarted my Machine it worked for a bit untill I had restarted my PC again then it would go back to doing what it was doing

Sorry for the late reply. If you still have the problem as you described here, it sounds to me as if Steam files are becoming damaged or corrupted due to problematic software. You said you rebooted again and the problem happened again after you reinstalled Steam.

That seems to suggest that you repaired Steam, but the problematic software damaged it again, from what I see.

My suggestions are.........

Take screenshots of all of the programs you have installed on your computer. Control panel then programs/programs and features. (Windows 7,8,8.1) or "apps" (Windows 10 click "Start" (Windows icon on bottom left)")

Click Windows Start and type in msconfig and run that resulting process. Go to the services tab and check the box on bottom "Hide all Microsoft services". Take screenshots of all that is left.

Then go to the startup tab on top of that same window(Task Manager in W10). Take screenshots of all that there also.

Post all the screenshots here, using a file hoting site such as imgur.com

[Astorec_]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Astorec 🐮🔪:

Hey sorry was sleeping hahaha


But yeah I had already attempted this whilst in Safe Mode w/ Networking and it still crashed. Also reinstalled it it loaded up for a bit afterwards restarted my Machine it worked for a bit untill I had restarted my PC again then it would go back to doing what it was doing

Sorry for the late reply. If you still have the problem as you described here, it sounds to me as if Steam files are becoming damaged or corrupted due to problematic software. You said you rebooted again and the problem happened again after you reinstalled Steam.

That seems to suggest that you repaired Steam, but the problematic software damaged it again, from what I see.

My suggestions are.........

Take screenshots of all of the programs you have installed on your computer. Control panel then programs/programs and features. (Windows 7,8,8.1) or "apps" (Windows 10 click "Start" (Windows icon on bottom left)")

Click Windows Start and type in msconfig and run that resulting process. Go to the services tab and check the box on bottom "Hide all Microsoft services". Take screenshots of all that is left.

Then go to the startup tab on top of that same window(Task Manager in W10). Take screenshots of all that there also.

Post all the screenshots here, using a file hoting site such as imgur.com

https://i.imgur.com/DqADCM2.png

https://i.imgur.com/madzY6y.png

https://i.imgur.com/qcPQbn4.png

https://i.imgur.com/UlVJUhq.png


These are the screenshots I have, not sure whats causing it, I've removed both Discord and EVGA arleady as they where listed on the steam support page but removing them didn't help