The Steam servers are too busy to handle your request for....

[donkeyboy]

I've purchased half a dozen new games in the past few days and now that they are downloaded I can't play them. Every time I try to open them, it gets to 100% installation completion then I get this error message: "The Steam servers are too busy to handle your request for INSERT GAME TITLE HERE. Error Code (53)".

Every single new game does this and it's been going on for at least 12 hours. I looked up Error Code 53 - "IOLO System Mechanic Professional and F-Prot Antivirus are known to interfere with Steam and cause this error. " This doesn't apply to me as I don't use either of these programs.

I can still play my previously installed games, just not my new ones. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it just Steam dropping the ball again? (Because I had trouble purchasing some games....and after waiting about 24 hours, it was fine again.)

[zeker_5]

Same thing is happening with Me Grrrrrrrrrr

[Neonwarrior]

Launch in Big Picture mode

[donkeyboy]

Originally posted by Neonwarrior:

Launch in Big Picture mode

Thanks for advice....but I just tried it and the same error came up. I have a feeling it's just Steam - once again biting off more than they can chew during their big sales.

[supertrooper225]

Restart your computer. That is how I fix it when it happens to me. Restarting the computer after downloading is a good idea anyway.

[donkeyboy]

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

Restart your computer. That is how I fix it when it happens to me. Restarting the computer after downloading is a good idea anyway.

I've tried that. I've pretty much tried everything - rebooting, verifying game caches, etc. Nothing seems to work. I did just find that a couple of my games are now working - Total War: Rome 2 and Lords of the Fallen (and that's without changing any settings or rebooting). However, LOTR: War in the North and Sniper Elite 3 still don't work. And what really annoys me is that LOTR: WITN was a game I bought hardcopy....but I can't play it because it goes through Steam.

I don't know what Steam is doing but it's starting to piss me off. It's like they don't plan ahead and their servers can't handle the sales, because stuff like this happens every sale - people can't purchase games, games don't work because servers are down, purchases don't appear in inventory, different games appear in inventory.

[supertrooper225]

Originally posted by donkeyboy:

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

Restart your computer. That is how I fix it when it happens to me. Restarting the computer after downloading is a good idea anyway.

I've tried that. I've pretty much tried everything - rebooting, verifying game caches, etc. Nothing seems to work. I did just find that a couple of my games are now working - Total War: Rome 2 and Lords of the Fallen (and that's without changing any settings or rebooting). However, LOTR: War in the North and Sniper Elite 3 still don't work. And what really annoys me is that LOTR: WITN was a game I bought hardcopy....but I can't play it because it goes through Steam.

I don't know what Steam is doing but it's starting to piss me off. It's like they don't plan ahead and their servers can't handle the sales, because stuff like this happens every sale - people can't purchase games, games don't work because servers are down, purchases don't appear in inventory, different games appear in inventory.

Welcome to PC land. It is not plug in and play. You will encounter problems eventually. At any time, somewhere out there, there is a person having an issue with their computer. That does not automatically mean it is Steams fault. Like I said, I was having the same issue and a computer reboot solved it in no time. Don't know why it didn't fix it for you. But I ran into that very issue and fixed it in no time. You must have something else going on or something.

[donkeyboy]

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

Originally posted by donkeyboy:

I've tried that. I've pretty much tried everything - rebooting, verifying game caches, etc. Nothing seems to work. I did just find that a couple of my games are now working - Total War: Rome 2 and Lords of the Fallen (and that's without changing any settings or rebooting). However, LOTR: War in the North and Sniper Elite 3 still don't work. And what really annoys me is that LOTR: WITN was a game I bought hardcopy....but I can't play it because it goes through Steam.

I don't know what Steam is doing but it's starting to piss me off. It's like they don't plan ahead and their servers can't handle the sales, because stuff like this happens every sale - people can't purchase games, games don't work because servers are down, purchases don't appear in inventory, different games appear in inventory.

Welcome to PC land. It is not plug in and play. You will encounter problems eventually. At any time, somewhere out there, there is a person having an issue with their computer. That does not automatically mean it is Steams fault. Like I said, I was having the same issue and a computer reboot solved it in no time. Don't know why it didn't fix it for you. But I ran into that very issue and fixed it in no time. You must have something else going on or something.

Lol. I've been alive long enough to know that I'll encounter problems eventually. And in this case - it was Steam's fault. Because surprise, surprise - the games are now working without me changing any setting on my computer.

The most annoying thing about Steam is they never tell you when their system/servers go down....so you don't know if the problem is with your computer or with them. (And you can usually tell when the problem is them - because when you send them a Support question, they take forever to answer it.).

[supertrooper225]

Originally posted by donkeyboy:

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

Welcome to PC land. It is not plug in and play. You will encounter problems eventually. At any time, somewhere out there, there is a person having an issue with their computer. That does not automatically mean it is Steams fault. Like I said, I was having the same issue and a computer reboot solved it in no time. Don't know why it didn't fix it for you. But I ran into that very issue and fixed it in no time. You must have something else going on or something.

Lol. I've been alive long enough to know that I'll encounter problems eventually. And in this case - it was Steam's fault. Because surprise, surprise - the games are now working without me changing any setting on my computer.

The most annoying thing about Steam is they never tell you when their system/servers go down....so you don't know if the problem is with your computer or with them. (And you can usually tell when the problem is them - because when you send them a Support question, they take forever to answer it.).

I didn't even tell you to change any settings. I said you might want to try restarting your computer or try reconnecting to your internet. Neither of which are changing any settings. Glad you got it figured out. I was just trying to help maybe speed the process a bit since I was able to. And worrying about who's "fault" it is does nothing to help you.

[donkeyboy]

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

Originally posted by donkeyboy:

Lol. I've been alive long enough to know that I'll encounter problems eventually. And in this case - it was Steam's fault. Because surprise, surprise - the games are now working without me changing any setting on my computer.

The most annoying thing about Steam is they never tell you when their system/servers go down....so you don't know if the problem is with your computer or with them. (And you can usually tell when the problem is them - because when you send them a Support question, they take forever to answer it.).

I didn't even tell you to change any settings. I said you might want to try restarting your computer or try reconnecting to your internet. Neither of which are changing any settings. Glad you got it figured out. I was just trying to help maybe speed the process a bit since I was able to. And worrying about who's "fault" it is does nothing to help you.

Actually - knowing who's fault it is, is the whole point. Because if the fault lies with me, then I would obviously have to change my settings. If the fault lies with Steam, then it means I just need to wait until they sort themselves out. Which is why I posted the topic in the first place - to see if others were having the same problem. In fact I think most of the time, problems with games and purchases are all that seems to be posted during these seasonal sales. Lol

And thanks for the advice and I'm glad it worked for you. It just didn't work for me. And that just means that even though the symptoms were the same, the "diseases" were different.

[supertrooper225]

Originally posted by donkeyboy:

Originally posted by supertrooper225:

I didn't even tell you to change any settings. I said you might want to try restarting your computer or try reconnecting to your internet. Neither of which are changing any settings. Glad you got it figured out. I was just trying to help maybe speed the process a bit since I was able to. And worrying about who's "fault" it is does nothing to help you.

Actually - knowing who's fault it is, is the whole point. Because if the fault lies with me, then I would obviously have to change my settings. If the fault lies with Steam, then it means I just need to wait until they sort themselves out. Which is why I posted the topic in the first place - to see if others were having the same problem. In fact I think most of the time, problems with games and purchases are all that seems to be posted during these seasonal sales. Lol

And thanks for the advice and I'm glad it worked for you. It just didn't work for me. And that just means that even though the symptoms were the same, the "diseases" were different.

It could have been server traffic. That would explain why it just got better with time. It is now Monday morning. Less people flooding the store. Eh, doesn't really matter. You are welcome. Have a good holiday.