[FIXED] Steam not launching/starting/opening and unable to re-install/uninstall.

[Adriaen]

[FIXED] Credit to user Forcen

Steam client will not start.

I have restarted my laptop multiple times without result.
Tried re-installing in the same location but it tells me to "Close Steam to continue installation" despite having restarted and not clicking the Steam application.

I checked to see if anything Steam related was running in the Task manager Processes tab and nothing was there.
I checked the Task manager Processes tab when clicking the Steam application and "Steam Client Bootstrapper (32 bit)" appears briefly for a couple of seconds, only to disappear without any result.

After that I checked the Details tab in the Task manager where I found "Steam.exe" denoted as running.
I tried starting Steam to see what it would say so I clicked the application again and there appeared a second instance of the "Steam.exe".
This second instance came with a different PID and used significantly less memory as seen in the picture, the rest was identical.
After a couple of seconds, as with the first attempt, this instance disappeared without effect.

After this I tried ending the remaining "Steam.exe" with PID 10132, only to receive the message that "The operation could not be completed." saying "Access is denied.".

I also deleted some software that was suspect according to the list on the Troubleshoot page (had IObit Advanced System Care, never really used it but deleted it anyway), as well as check permissions of Firewalls. Everything seems to be in order.

I found this suggestion on the forums: https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/864970668173450825/
Renaming did nothing sadly.

[Forcen]

https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithSteamIssue/?issueid=707
Click the first two buttons and try everything listed. if nothing does it use the third button.

[Adriaen]

Originally posted by Forcen:

https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithSteamIssue/?issueid=707
Click the first two buttons and try everything listed. if nothing does it use the third button.

Already went through those, contacted support and waiting.
Thought I'd post here in case someone had a quick fix and will post any possible fixes!

[Forcen]

Did you try everything or did you skip stuff?

[Adriaen]

Originally posted by Forcen:

Did you try everything or did you skip stuff?

Everything, from restarting, to re-installing what I could and updating where needed.
Deleted/disabled possibly conflicting applications.
Checked all permissions etc. Even defragged my disks.

This has taken up most of my day so far and am at a loss.

[Forcen]

Hmm, the last step is maybe to shut down all software that runs in the background. Everything you don't need to start steam or games should be shut down as a test.

Or do "safe mode with networking" and see how it works then.
If that does it then it's something running in the background screwing stuff up.

I would run a scan with https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/ and regular malwarebytes.com also, both free. Especially since you had iObit stuff.

Check windows errors: http://www.howtogeek.com/222532/how-to-repair-corrupted-windows-system-files-with-the-sfc-and-dism-commands/

[Adriaen]

Originally posted by Forcen:

Hmm, the last step is maybe to shut down all software that runs in the background. Everything you don't need to start steam or games should be shut down as a test.

Or do "safe mode with networking" and see how it works then.
If that does it then it's something running in the background screwing stuff up.

I would run a scan with https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/ and regular malwarebytes.com also, both free. Especially since you had iObit stuff.

Check windows errors: http://www.howtogeek.com/222532/how-to-repair-corrupted-windows-system-files-with-the-sfc-and-dism-commands/

Downloading Malwarebytes right now, will try a safe mode with network restart as well.

Thanks for taking the time by the way!

[Forcen]

No problem, you should run adwcleaner also just in case. They kind of find and do different stuff.

[Adriaen]

Originally posted by Forcen:

No problem, you should run adwcleaner also just in case. They kind of find and do different stuff.

Despite being thorough with my deletion of iObit, it did find a couple of things!

From the log:

Deleted: C:\ProgramData\IObit\ASCDownloader
Deleted: C:\ProgramData\Application Data\IObit\ASCDownloader
Deleted: C:\Users\All Users\IObit\ASCDownloader
Deleted: C:\ProgramData\{BAF091CA-86C4-4627-ADA1-897E2621C1B0}
Deleted: \Downloaded Installers\{90140000-0011-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}_Office14.PROPLUS_{6104DF6C-690B-4C88-826B-0552142A91D5}
Deleted: \Installer\{90140000-0011-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}_Office14.PROPLUS_{6104DF6C-690B-4C88-826B-0552142A91D5}

Prompted me to restart after the scan and fix, and I immediately tried to start Steam, which worked!
Not sure if it was actually stuff by them or that the scan and fix rectified something else, but I'm happy.

Thanks a lot Forcen!

[Forcen]

Nice!
Don't forget to remove that ticket you created!

[Adriaen]

Originally posted by Forcen:

Nice!
Don't forget to remove that ticket you created!

Already done, thanks again! (: