VAC Error - I've tried every solution on the internet

[Deekbag]

Steam used to work fine until lately it started acting up. I can only play VAC-protected games like CS:GO and Dota 2 right after restarting. After closing the game, I can no longer play. I get a VAC Error saying that there is something in my computer blocking VAC or something like that.

I've tried:
-running Steam as admin
-uninstalling antivirus
-disabling Windows Defender
-disabling Windows Firewall
-uninstalling useless software
-checking task manager for suspicious software and closing useless processes
-repairing Steam
-verifying game files
-did the command prompt thing

I also noticed that in Event Viewer, I have two errors regarding Steam
-"Error: Failed to add firewall exception for C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe"
-"Error: Failed to add firewall exception for C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\cef\cef.win7\steamwebhelper.exe"

Yes, Steam is allowed in Windows Firewall. I've checked that, too.

I don't wanna have to wipe my hard drive. This is getting annoying.

Steam pls fix thanks kbye

[Kietan]

Which Windows Firewall did you do this in?
Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
That might help you get more control if it's down to a firewall issue.. hope it helps anyway.

[Deekbag]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

try this too... https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

:qr:

Originally posted by Obey Insects:

Which Windows Firewall did you do this in?
Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
That might help you get more control if it's down to a firewall issue.. hope it helps anyway.

Yep, already tried those. Still not working

[The Giving One]

Currently, you are in game Dota 2. Is the issue corrected now ?

If not, is your Steam/game installed on an external drive by any chance ?

Do you have any other security software installed also ? I can see you say you disabled processes in your OP and uninstalled your antivirus. Some antivirus programs have child processes/programs that may be leftover after you uninstall the parent program.

Do this, please......

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

EDIT...

You can try this also.........(save or backup steamapps folder first !!!)

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/348293122110863080/#c348293292501049005

(from another thread where users are "failing to add firewall exception for Steam) Read that thread from the beginning. The OP seems to have corrected the Firewall issue.

You need to save/backup your steamapps folder before you uninstall Steam. Then, if you use CCleaner as suggested there to clean registry, make sure you uninstall CCleaner or set all monitoring modes to disabled in CCleaner, as that can also conflict with VAC authentication.

[Deekbag]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Currently, you are in game Dota 2. Is the issue corrected now ?

If not, is your Steam/game installed on an external drive by any chance ?

Do you have any other security software installed also ? I can see you say you disabled processes in your OP and uninstalled your antivirus. Some antivirus programs have child processes/programs that may be leftover after you uninstall the parent program.

Do this, please......

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

EDIT...

You can try this also.........(save or backup steamapps folder first !!!)

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/348293122110863080/#c348293292501049005

(from another thread where users are "failing to add firewall exception for Steam) Read that thread from the beginning. The OP seems to have corrected the Firewall issue.

You need to save/backup your steamapps folder before you uninstall Steam. Then, if you use CCleaner as suggested there to clean registry, make sure you uninstall CCleaner or set all monitoring modes to disabled in CCleaner, as that can also conflict with VAC authentication.

Yeah I was in Dota 2 but I couldn't play. My Dota 2 game files are installed on my D drive and Steam is installed on my C drive. They're from the same internal drive, just in different partitions. I'll move Dota 2 to the original Steam install folder and I'll let you know if it works. Thanks

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by ONION RINGS ARE RACIST:

Yeah I was in Dota 2 but I couldn't play. My Dota 2 game files are installed on my D drive and Steam is installed on my C drive. They're from the same internal drive, just in different partitions. I'll move Dota 2 to the original Steam install folder and I'll let you know if it works. Thanks

The game folders have to be in the common folder, and that common folder in the steamapps folder. You cannot just move games around like that, if I understood you correctly. It has to be the whole steamapps, because there are .acf files in steamapps that you need also.

[Deekbag]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by ONION RINGS ARE RACIST:

Yeah I was in Dota 2 but I couldn't play. My Dota 2 game files are installed on my D drive and Steam is installed on my C drive. They're from the same internal drive, just in different partitions. I'll move Dota 2 to the original Steam install folder and I'll let you know if it works. Thanks

The game folders have to be in the common folder, and that common folder in the steamapps folder. You cannot just move games around like that, if I understood you correctly. It has to be the whole steamapps, because there are .acf files in steamapps that you need also.

Okay so I tried the last suggestion you gave (uninstall steam, restart, clean using ccleaner, reinstall) and same thing. Dota 2 worked only right after restarting but I got the vac error again after opening Dota 2 the second time.

Here's the list of programs:
http://imgur.com/a/zeADr

[The Giving One]

uTorrent (its disabled but surely can conflict with VAC authentication. Same for Skype)

MegaDownloader 1.7 (is this a download manager ? If so, it is covered here)

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

Some of those processes you have disabled in msconfig should not be, pretty sure. Processes such as ASUS and others may be vital. I suggest you more carefully go through those, and re-enable the ones necessary, in batches or one at a time.

Then restart the computer and verify the game files for any games affected.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2037-QEUH-3335

Do you still have the firewall rule issue ?

If so, did you search the result I linked for you above ?

EDIT..Also, your msconfig shot shows Steam itself is disabled, the client service. Surely you did that by accident maybe ? That needs to be checked in msconfig. Not disabled. (shows 'running' now, but will not launch on reboot, if left disabled and applied as a change)

[Deekbag]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

uTorrent (its disabled but surely can conflict with VAC authentication. Same for Skype)

MegaDownloader 1.7 (is this a download manager ? If so, it is covered here)

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

Some of those processes you have disabled in msconfig should not be, pretty sure. Processes such as ASUS and others may be vital. I suggest you more carefully go through those, and re-enable the ones necessary, in batches or one at a time.

Then restart the computer and verify the game files for any games affected.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2037-QEUH-3335

Do you still have the firewall rule issue ?

If so, did you search the result I linked for you above ?

EDIT..Also, your msconfig shot shows Steam itself is disabled, the client service. Surely you did that by accident maybe ? That needs to be checked in msconfig. Not disabled. (shows 'running' now, but will not launch on reboot, if left disabled and applied as a change)

I uninstalled MegaDownloader, uTorrent, and Tunngle. I also enabled Steam in msconfig and enabled the necessary processes.

The firewall issue is still there.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by ONION RINGS ARE RACIST:

The firewall issue is still there.

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Do you still have the firewall rule issue ?

If so, did you search the result I linked for you above ?

[Deekbag]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by ONION RINGS ARE RACIST:

The firewall issue is still there.

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Do you still have the firewall rule issue ?

If so, did you search the result I linked for you above ?

Yes I did that earlier

[✨Hot Soup✨]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

EDIT...

You can try this also.........(save or backup steamapps folder first !!!)

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/348293122110863080/#c348293292501049005

(from another thread where users are "failing to add firewall exception for Steam) Read that thread from the beginning. The OP seems to have corrected the Firewall issue.

You need to save/backup your steamapps folder before you uninstall Steam. Then, if you use CCleaner as suggested there to clean registry, make sure you uninstall CCleaner or set all monitoring modes to disabled in CCleaner, as that can also conflict with VAC authentication.

dont use any registry cleaners, they cause more problems than they fix.

[✨Hot Soup✨]

Im having the same issue in the last few days, getting VAC error, dropped me from a winning game in CSGO only to get a nice cooldown because i couldnt reconnect.

ive done the standard steps on

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2117-ILZV-2837

[Deekbag]

Thanks everyone for your help!

I found a (possible) solution. I'll have to wait a bit longer to confirm if it actually fully works.

I did a clean boot and it worked. To others out there who are dealing with this, try this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows