Here's how to solve a validation loop/infinite update loop

[sir_deadlock]

I've been running into these a lot lately. I found a solution for one game, but it seems to work for all of them.

What you're going to need to do is...
- First, pause the update.
- Go to the folder where you have Steam installed. For me that's: This PC / Local Disk (C) / Program Files (x86) / Steam
Yours might be somewhere else, but you get the idea.
- Open the "Logs" folder.
- You're going to open the "Content_Log" text document file. If you're having trouble finding it, you can sort the files by date modified and it will jump right near the top of the list.
-Scroll all the way to the bottom of the text document and look around for a file address. It's probably going to be where your game is installed. There might be multiple addresses to multiple files, and the log will say something like " Update Required,Fully Installed,Update Queued,Files Corrupt,Update Started" and "blah blah chunks missing of such and such total in file yada yada."
- Go to the folder where your game is installed.

If you don't know how to find your game's folder, there are two ways:
1) Go to your Library menu, right click on the game title or click the cog button in the more detailed looking side, select "properties", select "installed files" on the left side, then select the "browse files" button on the right. That should pop open the game folder.
2) Go back to your Steam folder. If you chose to have you games installed on a different drive, then go to that drive and open the "SteamLibrary" folder. Then open "steamapps", then "common". That's where all your games are installed. The folders are alphabetical by default, but you can sort them by date modified, where they'll then be in descending order of the most recently used games, including playing a save file or the game being updated.

- Find the files mentioned in the content_log. It should have told you what folder it's in and what file it is. Probably the shortened address after the "missing chunks" description.
- Delete those mentioned files.
- Unpause the update.

For whatever reason, those corrupted files weren't getting replaced.
I'm guessing that Steam kept checking for a problem, seeing the files were corrupted, but whenever it tried to download them it saw they already existed. So it loops over and over through that process.
By going in and deleting them, the Steam validation process will see the files are missing and download them fresh.
No need to reinstall your game. No need to lose your save files. Precise surgical removal of corrupt files by an educated human being.

Good luck!

[Fleabitemyboobs]

The one and only time I needed help, and the solution really worked! Plain and simple, well explained, problem fixed, good job. Thank you.

[Sadismo]

Thanks. Fixed my issues with Cyberpunk 2077.

[Shade the Wolf]

Diposting pertama kali oleh sir_deadlock:

I've been running into these a lot lately. I found a solution for one game, but it seems to work for all of them.

What you're going to need to do is...
- First, pause the update.
- Go to the folder where you have Steam installed. For me that's: This PC / Local Disk (C) / Program Files (x86) / Steam
Yours might be somewhere else, but you get the idea.
- Open the "Logs" folder.
- You're going to open the "Content_Log" text document file. If you're having trouble finding it, you can sort the files by date modified and it will jump right near the top of the list.
-Scroll all the way to the bottom of the text document and look around for a file address. It's probably going to be where your game is installed. There might be multiple addresses to multiple files, and the log will say something like " Update Required,Fully Installed,Update Queued,Files Corrupt,Update Started" and "blah blah chunks missing of such and such total in file yada yada."
- Go to the folder where your game is installed.

If you don't know how to find your game's folder, there are two ways:
1) Go to your Library menu, right click on the game title or click the cog button in the more detailed looking side, select "properties", select "installed files" on the left side, then select the "browse files" button on the right. That should pop open the game folder.
2) Go back to your Steam folder. If you chose to have you games installed on a different drive, then go to that drive and open the "SteamLibrary" folder. Then open "steamapps", then "common". That's where all your games are installed. The folders are alphabetical by default, but you can sort them by date modified, where they'll then be in descending order of the most recently used games, including playing a save file or the game being updated.

- Find the files mentioned in the content_log. It should have told you what folder it's in and what file it is. Probably the shortened address after the "missing chunks" description.
- Delete those mentioned files.
- Unpause the update.

For whatever reason, those corrupted files weren't getting replaced.
I'm guessing that Steam kept checking for a problem, seeing the files were corrupted, but whenever it tried to download them it saw they already existed. So it loops over and over through that process.
By going in and deleting them, the Steam validation process will see the files are missing and download them fresh.
No need to reinstall your game. No need to lose your save files. Precise surgical removal of corrupt files by an educated human being.

Good luck!

Saved me when trying to update Cyberpunk 2077 to 2.2 lol

[Dani]

Hey. What should I do if in the text file there is no Paths mentioned? There are only a few paths to EA app folder. What should I do?

[sir_deadlock]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Dani:

Hey. What should I do if in the text file there is no Paths mentioned? There are only a few paths to EA app folder. What should I do?

If your EA game uses the Origin launcher, these steps probably won't help. Sorry.
My experience trying to use these steps for games with launchers has been unsuccessful. When I did it, the game was Warframe. It sent me to the folder with the launcher in it. I tried doing the steps with the launcher and it didn't really help.
Unfortunately I had to reinstall my game. The only bright side was that because it was a launcher game, my progress was saved online.
You'll probably have to either reinstall the launcher or reinstall the game.
If your progress is saved on your computer you might be able to extract those files and put them back in after you reinstall. I'm sorry I can't help.

[Fan]

Thank you! ATS can finally rest till next update.

[Wasal]

Sir, you deserve a medal. Just happened to me today (21st Dec 2024) with SWTOR what was annoying that CPU was melting due to this. Thankfully your thread was 1st thing that pops up in google search.

THANK YOU. Still works.

[headdock]

Today it`s 27th of december 2024 and your solution still works. In my case it was Elden Ring that was having an infinitive loop validating. Thanks for sharing your solution!

[jeke]

when im launching a game it will validate its files every time, is this what the thread is about?

[sir_deadlock]

Diposting pertama kali oleh jeke:

when im launching a game it will validate its files every time, is this what the thread is about?

No. This thread is about a solution I found for when the validation process never ends, but not if the game has a launcher.
If your game validates every time it launches, but it finishes the process, then that's something else.

[Shade the Wolf]

Diposting pertama kali oleh sir_deadlock:

Diposting pertama kali oleh jeke:

when im launching a game it will validate its files every time, is this what the thread is about?

No. This thread is about a solution I found for when the validation process never ends, but not if the game has a launcher.
If your game validates every time it launches, but it finishes the process, then that's something else.

Still probably something to do with a corrupt file, though. But yeah, that's a different problem.

This thread is for an issue wherein you download an update to a game, but Steam isn't able to get an uncorrupted file (or it fails to properly patch a corrupted file with a fresh copy, rather) so you have to go in and delete the corrupt file then let it validate to properly download a new file.

[Filype Smith]

jan/2025 still works (one file only and now the patch got aplied)

[Iceira]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Filype Smith:

jan/2025 still works (one file only and now the patch got aplied)

Ask yourself this , how come a corrupted files cant get replaced, or fixed with clear DL cache already a option in steam settings, this mean steam lost rights to do it.

And somehow look into log and do this your self , and it work means you have right to delete your files, dont expect other to even comment how this is possilbe , unless you have fiddle with UAC or other security or system has been tamped with, by what we other learn from the past addware.

Problem is how to proof it, when all this go away then new OS is installed that my point here , what cause this in the first place.

And you also have another issue with it, seem to rest of steam user do not have this issue at all
this happend to few ppl over time and look like a big issue then its not.

I'm not after OP here, excelent idea to try do what steam can't , but all seem to forget here why steam can't do it. ( and you also have another issue why do you get Corruption files in the first place. ( so tecnicaly no one here have solved anything at all, why do ppl keep get them. )
and it dont make it better then you can't re-produce the error.

And be happy you get a reply with other then half fixed a issue. but not what cause this or why steam can't fix this.

gl with it.

ps.
many ppl forgot why steam made clear DL, exatly why it was made for thing go wrong, but this look like lost rights in top of this.

[sir_deadlock]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Iceira:

seem to rest of steam user do not have this issue at all
this happend to few ppl over time and look like a big issue then its not.

It was never really a big issue. It's always been one game at a time, the rest of them update just fine. Even the games causing trouble normally update fine.

Personally, I don't mess with game mods or permissions, so it's not me causing the issue.
When the corrupted file(s) get deleted it goes back to updating just fine, so maybe it's not Steam or my computer or even the developer's update. Usually the next update goes through fine too. If it was anyone's fault or a permissions issue the inability to perform the update would happen again when trying to resume the process even after deleting the corrupted files.

The source of the corrupted files and the inability to replace them initially undoubtedly has an explanation, but I don't know what it really is.

I put it up to the simple tech support explanation of "did you turn it off and on again?" Sometimes there's nothing anybody did wrong, but it still doesn't work. Then you restart the system and it works again.

[Iceira]

Diposting pertama kali oleh sir_deadlock:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Iceira:

seem to rest of steam user do not have this issue at all
this happend to few ppl over time and look like a big issue then its not.

It was never really a big issue. It's always been one game at a time, the rest of them update just fine. Even the games causing trouble normally update fine.

Personally, I don't mess with game mods or permissions, so it's not me causing the issue.
When the corrupted file(s) get deleted it goes back to updating just fine, so maybe it's not Steam or my computer or even the developer's update. Usually the next update goes through fine too. If it was anyone's fault or a permissions issue the inability to perform the update would happen again when trying to resume the process even after deleting the corrupted files.

The source of the corrupted files and the inability to replace them initially undoubtedly has an explanation, but I don't know what it really is.

I put it up to the simple tech support explanation of "did you turn it off and on again?" Sometimes there's nothing anybody did wrong, but it still doesn't work. Then you restart the system and it works again.

I agree with you, same BS happend to me in the past i could never reproduce a error, i wipe the game own install folder and wola i could reinstall it. problem here , this was before clear DL cache button or we try get master dl and not reuse local cache as we call it way back, but that many steam version later and very odd. ( past OS and maybe even wayback then UAC was more a trouble in vista again so long ago and never seen this again.

Even validate game intergrity of files should actual work. to replace whatever corupted files.
and it actual still require steam has the right to do it.

But yes its a odd bug, maybe we will never figure out what happend here.

But you post has a half Solution thats better then nothing, but it dont explan why stream cant fix it.

Feel free to make steam support ticket, i think its odd checksum here can fail and not start over or resume.

Can we agree on steam validating intergroty of files should have cover this. ( maybe they should look into zero byte files or whatever this is. ) checksum issue here.


ps.
Dont forget only them with the problem can make steam ticket, or get help.
and only them with the corupted files, maybe steam want to know them files and put them in the a setup to see if they can figureout what happend here.


gl understand the issue then we dont kwow what the problem is. and its might need steam tech ppl to look at it.

And then even i can see a increas of steam user get this issue, and im only a steam user here. ( but with steam 1 billion user , gl try reproduce the error, it could be a random issue but here, it will look like more ppl seem to get this issue. )