[SOLVED] Steam client repeatedly fails to update

[Daniel]

Long post with lots of geeky information ahead. Buckle up.

I recently bought a new computer with NVMe SSD. Since I intend to dual-boot Windows 11 and Kubuntu Linux on it, I decided to change the SSD default sector size from 512 bytes to 4096 bytes (4K, so-called "Advanced Format"). I know for a fact that Linux has no trouble with 4K sector sizes, and the Windows install also went smoothly.

However, that's when I noticed that every time I started Steam, it would attempt to apply a client update, and fail. The error message was only visible briefly, but said something like "Failed to apply update; reverting"

The contents of the the Steam log file (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\logs\bootstrap_log.txt) showed the following:

[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Startup - updater built Nov 22 2021 14:06:22
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Loading cached metrics from disk (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package\steam_client_metrics.bin)
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Failed to load cached hosts file (File 'update_hosts_cached.vdf' not found), using defaults
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Using the following download hosts for Public, Realm steamglobal
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] 1. http://media.steampowered.com, /client/, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1, source = 'baked in'
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] uninstalled manifest found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package\steam_client_win32 (1).
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Found pending update
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Installing update...
[2021-12-12 04:43:52] Extracting package...
[2021-12-12 04:44:04] Installing update...
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Committing NTFS transaction (1360 non-transactional backup files)
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Failed to apply update, reverting...
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Verifying installation...
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Unable to read and verify install manifest C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package\steam_client_win32.installed
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Verification complete
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Downloading update...
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Checking for available updates...
[2021-12-12 04:44:18] Downloading manifest: http://media.steampowered.com/client/steam_client_win32
[2021-12-12 04:44:19] Downloaded new manifest: /client/steam_client_win32 version 1637624439, installed version 1637624439, existing pending version 0
[2021-12-12 04:44:19] Download complete.
[2021-12-12 04:44:19] Extracting package...
[2021-12-12 04:44:30] Installing update...
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to rename package\tmp\.\tenfoot\resource\images\library\controller\cropped_controller_config_lines_3.png_ -> ./tenfoot/resource/images/library/controller/cropped_controller_config_lines_3.png (error 6701)
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to process ./tenfoot/resource/images/library/controller
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to process ./tenfoot/resource/images/library
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to process ./tenfoot/resource/images
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to process ./tenfoot/resource
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to process ./tenfoot
[2021-12-12 04:44:43] Failed to apply update, reverting...
[2021-12-12 04:57:02] Shutdown

Various workarounds that I had read in various forum posts, including disabling antivirus, disabling firewall, running Steam as Administrator, all failed to make any difference.

I eventually stumbled across the meaning of "error 6701".

Error 6701 is a low-level Windows system error code, which means this:

ERROR_TRANSACTION_NOT_ACTIVE

6701 (0x1A2D)

The requested operation was made in the context of a transaction that is no longer active.

Transactional NTFS (TxF) ensures that multiple changes can be applied in an atomic way, i.e. "all or nothing".

This feature has been deprecated by Microsoft, and may not be present in future versions of Windows (although it is still available in Windows 11). Developers are encouraged to use alternate methods of ensuring atomic updates.

On a punt, I decided to try setting the SSD sector size back to 512 bytes. This of course formats the drive, and I had to reinstall Windows, but since this was a new machine with nothing else on it, I was fine with that.

To my surprise, Steam Client updated without a hitch. So this appears to suggest that NTFS TxF does not play nicely with 4K sector "Advanced Format" drives.

I also stumbled across a way to disable TxF, using the "fsutil" command in Windows, and decided to try it on a 4K-sector install again.

C:\Windows\system32>fsutil behavior query disableTxF C:\
The volume TxF state is: 0 (TxF is ENABLED)

I disabled it temporarily:

C:\Windows\system32>fsutil behavior set disableTxF C:\ 1
Successfully DISABLED TxF on volume "C:\"

This operation takes effect immediately (no reboot required)

With TxF disabled, the Steam Client updated without any problem. Note that Microsoft do not recommend disabling TxF on the C: drive, so it is advisable to re-enable it after the Steam Client update succeeds, by replacing "1" in the command above with "0".

So in summary, the Steam Client updater appears to use an outdated API (TxF) to ensure consistent / atomic updates, which appears to be buggy if the disk is Advanced Format (AF), i.e. uses 4K sectors.

This unnerved me a little bit, and since the vast majority of consumer grade SSDs still ship configured as 512 byte sectors by default, I decided to revert the sector size to 512 bytes also.

Until more people run into these weird corner cases, obscure bugs such as these are not likely to get much attention from developers (although hopefully Steam developers see this thread).

I hope this thread helps anybody else who runs into this issue. I saw another thread that reported the same error, and the person reported that it was solved by switching to a different SSD. It's quite possible that they were experiencing the same issue as I have just described.

[techie1]

Thank you! Disabling TxF temporarily allowed me to update steam on my Advanced Format 4K sector SSD.

[Daniel]

Yay! I'm very glad that this information was useful / helpful to somebody. The long write-up was worthwhile!

[techie1]

I reported the issue to steam support. Here's the response I got for reference:

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue. I am sorry, but I do not have a fix for you at this time.

Along with reports submitted directly to Support, the Steam team uses a number of community sources to help investigate the frequency and severity of issues like this. These issues are continually being addressed through Steam Updates. Support does not provide any information on upcoming or planned fixes.

Again, I am sorry that we do not have a fix for you at this time.

Steam Support
Charles

[opikko]

I also reported the issue to steam support and they directly refered me to the post (lol) :D

[BlackSpoke]

I had a similar error that was fixed by temporarily disabling TxF:

[2022-01-02 20:51:21] BCommitUpdatedFiles: failed to rename ./bin/audio.dll -> ./bin/audio.dll.old (error 32)

Please note that you need to run "fsutil" as admin!

[techie1]

I discovered a side effect of leaving txf disabled all the time. I was unable to install .net framework 3.5 and the error message 0x80070002 was shown. After enabling txf again, I was able to install .net.

[georgir]

News: Steam Client Update Released 

Client Update, Dec 16, 2021

A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.LibraryFixed game images being truncated by a couple of pixels in shelves and collectionsSteam CloudFixed issues related to switching between two apps that use shared cloud storage, such as Terraria and tModLoaderFixed issues...

has some 700 people with the issue, and counting, so this is a very useful post. It allowed me to get the update as well.
The only thing to note is that my disk has 512byte sectors but 4096byte clusters, idk if you meant clusters instead of sectors above.
TBH "deprecated, but still enabled, but works only for this or that" still seems like a problem in windows 11 itself to me, but whatever. Now it's up to steam and ms to figure it out.

[2tallcurtis]

Ok so I just figured out how to disable via fsutil behavior set disableTxF C:\ 1 but what the hell did I just disable...

[autimatik-]

So i found the file i mean the fsutil But how can i disable or whats next??

[techie1]

Originally posted by 𝙠𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙖-:

So i found the file i mean the fsutil But how can i disable or whats next??

Open command prompt as admin and run the following command to disable TxF:

fsutil behavior set disableTxF C:\ 1

Update Steam, then run the following command to reenable TxF again:

fsutil behavior set disableTxF C:\ 0

[techie1]

Originally posted by georgir:

News: Steam Client Update Released 

Client Update, Dec 16, 2021

A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.LibraryFixed game images being truncated by a couple of pixels in shelves and collectionsSteam CloudFixed issues related to switching between two apps that use shared cloud storage, such as Terraria and tModLoaderFixed issues...

has some 700 people with the issue, and counting, so this is a very useful post. It allowed me to get the update as well.
The only thing to note is that my disk has 512byte sectors but 4096byte clusters, idk if you meant clusters instead of sectors above.
TBH "deprecated, but still enabled, but works only for this or that" still seems like a problem in windows 11 itself to me, but whatever. Now it's up to steam and ms to figure it out.

Interesting that so many people are having this issue now. Sounds like it's happening on Windows 11 for everyone and not just on Advanced Format drives since you said yours has 512 byte sectors. The original issue seemed to be only with 4096 byte sectors but it seems the solution is the same.

[jyräpalli]

i have this on windous 10

[phrög ♡]

Originally posted by Eebinson ツ:

i have this on windous 10

Same here. Not sure if this has something to do with the fact that I recently reverted from Windows 11. (The requirement of secure boot actually makes me unable to use my modern GPU, so yeah... suffice it to say I'm getting very fed up with tech companies as of late.)

[L0rdMada]

You helped me get this steam update to finally install!
Thanks a lot!

[FraSyZ]

S