Can't Click On the Top Menus

[NotGamer]

When I start up Steam, there will be a period of time where I can't click on the top menus. It normally fixes itself after a few minutes. I have to wait a few minutes to access the top menus and it's annoying.

[Mixairian]

I have the same issue. This occurs when Steam automatically launches at startup. Additionally, the Store page loads straight into a black screen. I can select my Library but the top Steam, View, Friends, Games, and Help are not accessible.

One solution I've found is to right click my Steam icon in the taskbar, close it out, and then reopen Steam. Everything is immediately accessible.

[SgtNye]

I'm experiencing this as well. I've found that force closing one of the multiple "Steam Client WebHelper" subprocesses had worked for me.

[[RSD-NL]Boris]

It fixed it for me by clicking the "view notifications" button. After that, all UI elements, including the top menus, started working again.

[feath]

I have a similar problem. Of the five menus (Steam, View, Friends, Games and Help) only one menu item works: Friends. The other four menu items seem unresponsive.

OS: Windows 10 version 22H2
Steam version: Unknown. (Can't access Help/About)
Device: Lenovo Thinkpad T520
Graphics device: Intel HD3000

[feath]

Addendum: Killing one/some of the WebHelper processes can restore functionality to some menus but it appears random. Now I can access the Steam menu, but not Friends anymore. People's mileage may evidently vary.

[Raserei]

cool cool, since I'm experiencing all of these problems on the current live client I guess no one cares about bug reports for beta clients

[feath]

I have a fix, but it's not ideal. Disabling hardware acceleration makes the menus usable.

I don't particularly expect the bug to be fixed any time soon though. As you noted, not many seem to read/notice bug reports of issues on the beta client before it's pushed live, and the same bugs persists on the live build. Oh well.

[Rinnegan]

Originally posted by feath:

I have a fix, but it's not ideal. Disabling hardware acceleration makes the menus usable.

I don't particularly expect the bug to be fixed any time soon though. As you noted, not many seem to read/notice bug reports of issues on the beta client before it's pushed live, and the same bugs persists on the live build. Oh well.

I'm experiencing it on the live build for weeks. They don't care or don't know about this problem.

[SentientRain]

Hi guys! I had the exact same problem since the last big Steam update. Not only I couldn't click on the menus as you said, but overall the app ran like crap. I did as "feath" said and disabled GPU hardware acceleration and now it works fine again. I'm gonna assume my laptop, that's a bit on the old side, can´t support the newer versions of the app too well. Regardless, it's ridiculous that I have games I bought on Steam that the laptop runs just fine, and the Steam app itself runs like a rotten potato. It's a shame that nowadays support for older machines is almost non-existent. I'll tell you how I acessed the Steam options when I couldn't even click the menus: click "Manage Downloads" and then the tiny gear icon on the top right. There you go! Hope I helped someone!

[Rinnegan]

Originally posted by SentientRain:

Hi guys! I had the exact same problem since the last big Steam update. Not only I couldn't click on the menus as you said, but overall the app ran like crap. I did as "feath" said and disabled GPU hardware acceleration and now it works fine again. I'm gonna assume my laptop, that's a bit on the old side, can´t support the newer versions of the app too well. Regardless, it's ridiculous that I have games I bought on Steam that the laptop runs just fine, and the Steam app itself runs like a rotten potato. It's a shame that nowadays support for older machines is almost non-existent. I'll tell you how I acessed the Steam options when I couldn't even click the menus: click "Manage Downloads" and then the tiny gear icon on the top right. There you go! Hope I helped someone!

Thank you! It worked! I have 11 year laptop but menus were working before, then it ceased working. Now they work again!

[=Axton=]

Here's a twist, I have hardware acceleration off and this happens every time I install something now. They work fine before a a game is installed then stop as soon as you initiate a download. Even the top level menus don't respond: "Steam, View, Friends, Games, Help".

Have to restart the client via right clicking the system tray icon then quit, or go into Settings, Interface, and opt out of the beta.

Valve please don't lock this just because "it's quite old"

[feath]

+1. Definitely don't lock this thread down.

Is your GPU Intel 3000? Mine is anyway. Old, but at the same time, many games I bought are old.

If there comes a point I cannot access games I purchased through Valve because they have increased the requirements for their platform beyond what my machine is capable of using, then I will have to seek monetary compensation. It might well require legal redress. I don't know, and I hope it doesn't come to that point.

[76561199250406308]

Originally posted by feath:

I have a fix, but it's not ideal. Disabling hardware acceleration makes the menus usable.

I don't particularly expect the bug to be fixed any time soon though. As you noted, not many seem to read/notice bug reports of issues on the beta client before it's pushed live, and the same bugs persists on the live build. Oh well.

Thank you, I had this problem for a while and finally managed to fix it.