Steam says game is running when it's not.

[Mount C]

Whenever I close a game, Steam doesn't register that it closed and, as a result, can't run the game because it thinks it's already running. This happens for EVERY game I play. Even if I restart Steam, it still thinks I'm running every game I closed. The only way I can stop this is to restart the computer completely.
The easiest solution I found while searching onine was to close the game in task manager, but here's the thing; The games don't show up in task manager! How do I fix this so I can run games again without having to restart my computer?

[chencking]

Początkowo opublikowane przez forty degree big toe:

Początkowo opublikowane przez Washell:

I know you said it a few months ago, but since no-one chimed in:

Steam has millions of users. If it was a steam issue, this thread wouldn't have 9 posts (10 including this) after 3 years. Multiple pieces of software not closing properly is a PC issue. A driver may be wrong for the device. A disk may be failing. The windows install may be corrupted. A memory stick may be dodgy. The problem is local, the solution will be too. Fix Your PC.

That said, random crashes (which I'm assuming you people are experiencing too) and failures to close are a ♥♥♥♥♥ to diagnose and fix. It's actually easier to run a full memtest and diskcheck, and start a completely wiped system and a freshly downloaded (and thus up to date) copy of Windows installer. If it still persists then, well, you're screwed because you're looking at PSU, CPU or motherboard issues and the only way to really rule them out is to replace them one by one. Hopefully you have some you can borrow.

I'm assuming most people (like myself) just ignored it for years without bothering to make an entire post about it. The only reason I am even writing this is that dismissive people like you who actually have little to no idea what they're talking about really annoy me. The fact that Steam can't detect that a primary active process has been shut down or is no longer running is definitely an issue with Steam's ability to detect processes. Many programs store bits of themselves within memory until a PC is restarted; it's super common. That being said: Steam should be able to adapt with that in mind in 2021. I don't mind if Steam thinks a game is running, but it shouldn't be stopping me from running my game executables.

Sorry guys, Steam is always going to try and detect little pieces of game programs that ran with the executable because they're likely paired together (depending on the game), and Steam is too aware of that fact. I've stopped using Steam as my primary game library years ago, and only use it now because it's impossible to run games that are bought from Steam's platform without Steam.

Początkowo opublikowane przez TheJazztralAssassin:

Yes, this is a Steam issue. It's 2021 and is happening to me. The game isn't in task manager. Restarting Steam doesn't work. Like OP said, restarting the entire computer is the only solution.

Please, if anyone has a way to solve this without restarting your computer, please speak up. This is very annoying.

Początkowo opublikowane przez SeaGoblin:

did you ever find out how to fix this? nothing is in task manager for me, not in processes or services, the game is legit not running, but steam thinks it is. only way to make it stop is to exit steam and relogin

Początkowo opublikowane przez Mount C:

That seems to be the best solution, but it's not always guaranteed to work.

Unfortunately, the solution is to eliminate every process that is making use of game files. Even having a .log of the game open or in-use by another process will give you this issue. This includes programs like Razer Cortex, CCleaner, any PC optimizing program that detects game files, many antivirus/antimalware services/programs, anti-cheat services, and the list goes on. These programs are good, it's just that Steam's compatibility with these programs is completely ridiculous. It can even be something you don't expect, but I guarantee if you were to go through your task manager with all processes ticked on and closed all non-essential processes other than those necessary for windows to run (but kept barebones Steam running), you would solve your issue. Yes, the issue is local, but it's not your fault or your PC's fault, it's still Steam's fault.

Thank you so much for this. I was so tired of restarting my laptop multiple times a day. Ending RazerCortex's process is much easier. It's so stupid that they still haven't fixed this issue.

[max]

Początkowo opublikowane przez chencking:

Thank you so much for this. I was so tired of restarting my laptop multiple times a day. Ending RazerCortex's process is much easier. It's so stupid that they still haven't fixed this issue.

Also can confirm that this works!! I've been having this issue since getting a new computer recently, and I figured there was something up with Steam or the computer itself. Go figure the one time I decide to install Cortex again, it's back to causing issues. It used to seriously lag my games. I wouldn't really recommend it, period.

[voxar]

Początkowo opublikowane przez chencking:

Początkowo opublikowane przez forty degree big toe:

Unfortunately, the solution is to eliminate every process that is making use of game files. Even having a .log of the game open or in-use by another process will give you this issue. This includes programs like Razer Cortex, CCleaner, any PC optimizing program that detects game files, many antivirus/antimalware services/programs, anti-cheat services, and the list goes on. These programs are good, it's just that Steam's compatibility with these programs is completely ridiculous. It can even be something you don't expect, but I guarantee if you were to go through your task manager with all processes ticked on and closed all non-essential processes other than those necessary for windows to run (but kept barebones Steam running), you would solve your issue. Yes, the issue is local, but it's not your fault or your PC's fault, it's still Steam's fault.

Thank you so much for this. I was so tired of restarting my laptop multiple times a day. Ending RazerCortex's process is much easier. It's so stupid that they still haven't fixed this issue.

Thank you! It was the helper process for the new EA app for me...

[QuinoaFalafel]

Whew, that was exhausting to read through. If anyone else got here or skipped to the end, I figured out a simple solution:

1. Close steam.

2. Open the task manager, and end any remaining steam tasks. I had some in the background processes section.

3. Relaunch steam

4. Navigate to the game that was causing an issue. It'll still say it's running, so click the dropdown arrow and tell steam to close it.

That did it for me. Hopefully that's helpful to someone.

[HumanMincer]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Voxar:

Początkowo opublikowane przez chencking:

Thank you so much for this. I was so tired of restarting my laptop multiple times a day. Ending RazerCortex's process is much easier. It's so stupid that they still haven't fixed this issue.

Thank you! It was the helper process for the new EA app for me...

thank you!! ive only had this problem for like 2 days, but about 2 days ago i installed origin. i havnt tested to see if its fixed but that will be the problem

[rumplefartkins]

Początkowo opublikowane przez tutant meenage neetle teetles:

Początkowo opublikowane przez Washell:

I know you said it a few months ago, but since no-one chimed in:

Steam has millions of users. If it was a steam issue, this thread wouldn't have 9 posts (10 including this) after 3 years. Multiple pieces of software not closing properly is a PC issue. A driver may be wrong for the device. A disk may be failing. The windows install may be corrupted. A memory stick may be dodgy. The problem is local, the solution will be too. Fix Your PC.

That said, random crashes (which I'm assuming you people are experiencing too) and failures to close are a ♥♥♥♥♥ to diagnose and fix. It's actually easier to run a full memtest and diskcheck, and start a completely wiped system and a freshly downloaded (and thus up to date) copy of Windows installer. If it still persists then, well, you're screwed because you're looking at PSU, CPU or motherboard issues and the only way to really rule them out is to replace them one by one. Hopefully you have some you can borrow.

I'm assuming most people (like myself) just ignored it for years without bothering to make an entire post about it. The only reason I am even writing this is that dismissive people like you who actually have little to no idea what they're talking about really annoy me. The fact that Steam can't detect that a primary active process has been shut down or is no longer running is definitely an issue with Steam's ability to detect processes. Many programs store bits of themselves within memory until a PC is restarted; it's super common. That being said: Steam should be able to adapt with that in mind in 2021. I don't mind if Steam thinks a game is running, but it shouldn't be stopping me from running my game executables.

Sorry guys, Steam is always going to try and detect little pieces of game programs that ran with the executable because they're likely paired together (depending on the game), and Steam is too aware of that fact. I've stopped using Steam as my primary game library years ago, and only use it now because it's impossible to run games that are bought from Steam's platform without Steam.

Początkowo opublikowane przez TheJazztralAssassin:

Yes, this is a Steam issue. It's 2021 and is happening to me. The game isn't in task manager. Restarting Steam doesn't work. Like OP said, restarting the entire computer is the only solution.

Please, if anyone has a way to solve this without restarting your computer, please speak up. This is very annoying.

Początkowo opublikowane przez SeaGoblin:

did you ever find out how to fix this? nothing is in task manager for me, not in processes or services, the game is legit not running, but steam thinks it is. only way to make it stop is to exit steam and relogin

Początkowo opublikowane przez Mount C:

That seems to be the best solution, but it's not always guaranteed to work.

Unfortunately, the solution is to eliminate every process that is making use of game files. Even having a .log of the game open or in-use by another process will give you this issue. This includes programs like Razer Cortex, CCleaner, any PC optimizing program that detects game files, many antivirus/antimalware services/programs, anti-cheat services, and the list goes on. These programs are good, it's just that Steam's compatibility with these programs is completely ridiculous. It can even be something you don't expect, but I guarantee if you were to go through your task manager with all processes ticked on and closed all non-essential processes other than those necessary for windows to run (but kept barebones Steam running), you would solve your issue. Yes, the issue is local, but it's not your fault or your PC's fault, it's still Steam's fault.

I know this is old, but when I read his comment I was about to do the same thing because he had no clue what he was talking about. First off how do you even put PSU down as something that could be causing a failure in steam recognizing a game has been shut down or not? Rofl.

Likewise, the amount of posts in a thread has nothing to do with whether it's a steam or computer issue.

I never encountered it til just now with 'the last of us' and it's 2023. I shut down the game last night and when I went in tonight 'the last of us' said running. I looked in task manager and clicked the steam process list and it wasn't running. This could be a problem with how the developer integrated the game into steam as it seems like it happens for multiple games for multiple people.

However, its more likely an issue between the client and the server side, because steam contacts home everytime you run or shutdown a game to allow for cloud synchronization as well as to keep track of achievements, play time, and a whole slew of things related to a player's profile. It's very likely the latter. If it doesn't get a clean handshake it may think the game is still running in steam even though it definitely isn't running locally. When you're on steam any action you perform most likely is mirrored in some way server side, the integrated community wouldn't work if it didn't.

I did not have to restart though. I ended the steam process and then restarted, the last of us was still saying running, only this time when I clicked stop, the process said stopping, then the green play button showed up. Prior to killing the steam process it just said stopping on the button and never actually finished. That's why I think it's an issue that is both client and server side. I mean think about it when one of your friends is playing it tells you what game they're playing. So I do not believe this is a game related issue.

[EvilHimuchacha]

i still have this problem and i've been having it for the past year; I would love to use the task manager solution or anything like that except... I'm on a mac. the closest thing I have to an in-depth task manager is activity monitor, and I've looked everywhere; couldn't find a single mention of the game. i'd always have to quit and relaunch steam for EVERY single game I play; any suggestions or solutions?

[Nanami]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.