Steam isn't recognizing previously installed files and is redownload the game no matter what i do

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SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 18h10

Normally, if a game i have installed wants to be installed again, it recognizes the existing files and breezes straight through it. NOT THIS TIME HOWEVER!

This time is started the download - without being prompted to - and is advising me it will take 4 hours to download the 50gb game, i played yesterday no less

> I have gone into properties and can browse the files, their all there,
> I have verifed the integrity of the game files, all files successfully validated.
> I have relaunched steam
> I have restarted my machine
> I have looked through the support pages and found nothing relevant
- In fact the only thing i could find, is instructions on adding the steam library (steps below)
- And if that was my ♥♥♥♥ing issue i wouldn't be looking for technical support, i'm a ♥♥♥♥ing technician for god sake, i literally work as a technical adviser!
> I have checked under steam>settings>downloads>steamlibraryfolders
- and the steam library is present there
>Am i missing something? is there a simple fix, besides redownloading 50gb and wasting 4 hours of my one ♥♥♥♥ing day off this week?
>And is steam going to reimburse me for that 50gb it is forcing me to redownload? (stupid question)

If anyone can help it would be much obliged, and if not, is there any way of submitting a formal complaint?
Because the fact that there is no support line for steam, a multi-million dollar company is ♥♥♥♥ing disgusting!
The company i work for (confidentiality agreement) is a big tech company, and i can not imagine a world where they wouldn't have a ♥♥♥♥ing support line, this is absolutely ♥♥♥♥ed.

50gb is no small thing and i'm never getting this 4 hours of my life back, any help would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

Dernière modification de SUNSOAR; 18 aout 2017 à 18h17

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Affichage des commentaires 1 à 15 sur 34

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 18h14

SUNSOAR a écrit :
Normally, if a game i have installed wants to be installed again, it recognized the existing files and breezes straight through it. NOT THIS TIME HOWEVER

This here suggests that you do this all the time, or very often. You should not have to be doing that at all.

From reading your post, it sounds like problematic software causing the games to be seen as uninstalled.

For example only......

A bad or misconfigured antivirus or security program is quarantining the .exe for games, and therefore, making them be seen as "missing" or not installed.

Or, the .acf files in steamapps are going missing for same or similar reasons.

What is your antivirus program and other security software you may be using ?

Dernière modification de The Giving One; 18 aout 2017 à 18h14

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 18h24

The game is installed on an external HDD, sometimes the external shuts off, when not in use and steam can't recognize the files.

When i click play, it goes through recognizing existing files and launches the game no problems, takes 2 seconds.

This time however, when i launched steam, the game started downloading, it is currently downloading and there is no way to stop it.

I can pause it, sure, but then if i click play, it just unpauses the download.... obviously

As for experiencing this issue in the past, its only with the 3 games installed on that external, all of my other 70 somethings games work fine.

They are installed on a different external HDD, that doesn't power itself off when not in use.

It is not my anti-virus software causing steam not to locate the game files and even if it was, steam should have tried to recognize the files and fixed the issue itself like it normally would.

But to answer you question: i use the free version of AVG

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 18h27

Dernière modification de The Giving One; 18 aout 2017 à 18h28

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 18h34

They are set up just fine, I have never had any issues with either AVG or my external HDDs in the past. I have been a steam user for almost a decade and have used this exact same set up the entire time without issue.

Regardless, none of this helps me find a solution for the particular issue i'm experiencing at the moment.

Can we stop trouble shooting AVG and start troubleshooting the issue please.

PS: Sorry if i'm coming across a bit short, i am "p i s s e d" off right now. I work 6 days a week as a technical adviser, i don't enjoy spending my ONE day off dealing with technical issues.

I'm sure you can appreciate that.

Dernière modification de SUNSOAR; 18 aout 2017 à 18h36

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 18h36

Ummm..we are not troubleshooting AVG..we are troubleshooting Steam and games.

If I had a dollar for every time I had seen it posted "I have never had that problem before....."

"But I never had a problem with that antivirus before..."
http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/9/357288572126129212/?ctp=2#c357288572128593748
http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/364040961444986179/#c364040961449364808
http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/392184289303449855/?tscn=1458512553#c392184289303484833
http://steamcommunity.com/app/730/discussions/0/364042063114127030/

You do know how to properly troubleshoot using process of elimination, do you not ?

You eliminate known possibilities and move on to unknown possibilities. The external drive and AVG are Known possibilities. Remove them from the process of elimination, so they are therefore eliminated from the possibilities.

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 19h00

I appreciate you trying to help, really i do.

But please understand, i wouldn't be here right now if i could have found a fix myself. I am telling you that for about 10 years i have used this EXACT same set up without issue..... without issue.

Now i have no choice but to use the externals, that's just how it is, and its worked fine for me all this time.

so we can rule that out because A: never caused this issue in the past and B: can't do anything to change that now period.

so while i appreciate it is a contributing factor, hence me mentioning it in the first place, it isn't going to lead to a solution.

And how is installing a different anti-virus or modifying the settings on my current anti-virus going to stop steam from downloading this 50 gb?

More then happy to try, but i am confident that steam will still be downloading this 50gb and i won't be any closer to a solution.

>Your 1st link is a disconnection issue, not relevant
>2nd link is a launching issue, don't see the connection
>3rd is about freezing and crashing - neither of which i'm experiencing
>4th is also about freezing on start up - also not my issue

I'm happy to try anything if you think it will help, but i can't see the connection between trying to cancel or stop steam from redownloading a game, and these above issues.

I just need to kick start steam into recognizing the files that are already present on the HDD.
> is there anyway to cancel the download and relaunch the game?
- that would prompt steam to identity the files
>Is there a way i can locate where steam is trying to download the 50gb, cause its not to either of my steam directories
- if it is, then should it not breeze straight through the download?
- or be locatable on the other directory?
> If it is my Anti-Virus, which i have no doubt COULD be a contributing factor
- could you explain how it could be causing this issue, and how modifying it would resolve it?
- if i uninstall the antivirus, do you believe steam would recognize the files?
- And if so, why hasn't the antivirus caused this issue in the past?

>Also, i made a mistake, i'm running Avast not AVG, just as bad i know, i used to use AVG, but i switched to Avast right around the time i started using steam, once again, about 10 years back

Dernière modification de SUNSOAR; 18 aout 2017 à 19h09

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 19h10

Antivirus programs update, operating systems update, other programs update, things change on your computer otherwise such as drivers and other processes/programs.

Things are not as they were "before".

If a program is missing the .exe file, then Windows will show that program as not installed. Same logic for Steam, as in the .acf files.

If you don't have the .acf files for a game, then Steam will not see that game as installed.

You don't want to look at other threads where other users have posted here about the same exact situations you are in now...a bad antivirus program as well as using an external drive for your games.

Both have been seen here many times to cause issues just as you have now. I cannot say that those are surely the cause of your problems and I cannot say that they are your only problems, but I can say that they have been seen many times here to be problems........and you can too by using the forum search.

That is troubleshooting at its core, not "fixing". If we were fixing and not troubleshooting, then we would already know what the problem is. If you are not willing to keep an open mind to possibilities, then you may find it more difficult to solve this problem, or it may be much more time consuming than necessary.

Troubleshooting takes an open mind to possibilities. Even ones you are so sure are not possibilities. Until they are eliminated from the equation, they are just exactly that........possibilities.

I could have literally uninstalled AVG Protection, AVG, and moved my Steam and games to an internal drive by now, instead of all this typing. I know you said that is not possible, the internal drive instead, but that means you are missing covering a possibility.

EDIT...Well, now I see you have Avast instead, and not AVG anyway. But do you have also AVG Protection due to that program not being a core of AVG itself ?

msconfig in Windows will show what is running on boot and now in services.

Dernière modification de The Giving One; 18 aout 2017 à 19h14

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 19h25

I do have an open mind, i'm just F U CK ING frustrated, which i made clear in the very beginning.

And the links you gave me were to people experiencing entirely different issues then the one i am describing, so i failed to see the connection i'm sorry.

i tried using the steam search found nothing relevant, just kept telling my to check steam>settings>downloads>steam libraries

Where would i locate the .acf files, in the common folder for the app?

I can uninstall Avast, but move the game files? to where? my other external? cause thats my only option.

PS: As a technical adviser its also important to identify the communication style of the person you are trying to help, are they a director, an entertainer a feeler or a thinker? and adjust your troubleshooting appropriately

for eg: a thinker isn't going to trust any advise you give if you don't explain why it is relevant or how it could help.

Not to mention if the person you are helping has made it clear they are angry, why would you not take that into consideration when trying to help.

thats just some friendly advise to avoid push back from people you are trying to help and i do appreciate you trying to help me.

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 19h29

Don't you think our time is better used here to actually work the problem, instead of explaining the "why" you are suggesting this or that ?

And the next time you post profanity here or any other offensive language, I am done. Maybe you want that, but I will state that anyway. It is not appreciated, necessary, and is against the forum rules.

.acf files are normally in the steamapps folder. If they are not, Steam will try to redownload that game, because without those files, Steam cannot see those games as installed.

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 19h30

no AVG and all its elements have been completely removed, i am on Avast the free version, if that helps

#10

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 19h33

Avast and all its element have now also been completely removed

Fair point on the profanity, i'm Australian, its just normal speak to us.

Dernière modification de SUNSOAR; 18 aout 2017 à 19h39

#11

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 19h33

Avast is not the only possible form of conflicting software. But that maybe is not relevant. I have seen many cases of .acf files becoming missing due to being on an external drive, or in cases where a user was using an external drive and the games appeared as uninstalled and Steam wanted to redownload the game.

If you wish, you can do the following.........

1. 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))

2. 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.

3. 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 links to the above screenshots here, using a file hosting site such as imgur.com

If you reply with " I have not had any issues with those programs before." or anything similar, I will wish you well and not post again to try to help.

EDIT..Please make one post at a time. I cannot see the next post as I am typing my reply to the other post. That causes confusion.

Dernière modification de The Giving One; 18 aout 2017 à 19h33

#12

SUNSOAR 18 aout 2017 à 19h47

Ok its going to take me awhile. i'm going to have to sign up to it etc.

PS: 25 gig of the game has already reinstalled, 2 hours and 25 gig to go

#13

The Giving One 18 aout 2017 à 19h52

SUNSOAR a écrit :
Ok its going to take me awhile. i'm going to have to sign up to it etc.

PS: 25 gig of the game has already reinstalled, 2 hours and 25 gig to go

No, you should be able to use imgur.com for free. To upload images saved to your computer.

EDIT..Click "new post" on top.

Dernière modification de The Giving One; 18 aout 2017 à 19h52

#14