Steam constantly freezes on library

[Revon]

When I go to the page of a game in the library, Steam will periodically start "Not responding". It'll do this briefly, then after several seconds, it will happen again, and the longer this continues, the shorter the interval between freezes and the longer the freezes themselves. This seems to inevitably lead to crashes while the game is running. I'm on Windows 10.

Update #1: Valve got back with a request:

引用自 mikela：

Hi all, sorry you're running into this issue with the beta update. We've tried a few ways to reproduce this with the information provided but haven't seen any similar behavior in our tests.

It may be helpful to record a video of this happening as well as capturing additional debug output from the Steam client.

If you open a command prompt, you can run the following (if Steam is installed to the default directory)

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -dev

This will start Steam in developer mode with extra output written to the command prompt.
You can then press Control-M in the command prompt to enter highlight mode, click and drag to select the output and press Enter to copy.

Additionally, Steam in developer mode allows you to open the browser developer tools which may also have useful information. If the Library browser is not functioning this may not work but you can press F12 to open the developer tools window, then switch to the Console tab at the top of the window. You can then Right-Click within the log entries and "Save as..." to export the log output.

Feel free to post any information directly to this thread or create a help ticket to send over the information (please note here if you have so we know when to look).

Update #2: Someone suggested this may be caused by having a lot of screenshots, and I do have a lot of screenshots. ANyone else with this issue, 1. Can you see your screenshots for a game on the library page? and 2. Do you have a lot of screenshots?

[mikela]

Hi all. Thanks very much for all of the feedback. We were able to identify and fix a regression in screenshot handling in the beta Steam Client that matches the symptoms of "library freezing intermittently for certain game pages".

The fix is available in the client beta released today if anyone affected would please update to that version and report back whether it seems to fix this issue properly.

Thanks!

[Ghost25]

引用自 mikela：

Hi all. Thanks very much for all of the feedback. We were able to identify and fix a regression in screenshot handling in the beta Steam Client that matches the symptoms of "library freezing intermittently for certain game pages".

The fix is available in the client beta released today if anyone affected would please update to that version and report back whether it seems to fix this issue properly.

Thanks!

Thank you for your work towards fixing this issue! Unfortunately, the patch doesn't appear to resolve the issue on my end.


I've noticed the issue happens even on games with few or no screenshots. From the testing I've done, it seems that the client will fetch all screenshots (or at least handles to screenshots) each time a new library item is selected or each time a new screenshot is taken. The client is slow to respond during this time. If I select another library item while screenshots are still loading, the client will fetch all screenshots again in parallel - this might explain why clicking though multiple items will cause the client to freeze entirely. If I wait long enough, the screenshots will all load and the client will be responsive again - but only until I select another item.


If I remove the call to SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsRange the client no longer freezes nor slows down - with the drawback of screenshots not loading.

[mikela]

Hi Ghost25, thanks for the additional data. We've identified and fixed a similar but separate issue in screenshot handling when switching between game pages and have updated the current beta with the fix.

[Bumbefly (we/All)]

Not completely fixed for me, though on many game pages the client now works better.
Writing this on a test-attempt that previously would've lost log-in connection.


On first opening of a game page with DEV/Publisher news, the lag still happens. On such a page with just a few DEV/Publisher news messages, Client still lags at UGC. It’ll lag about 6 to 10 times in total, barely noticable.
However, it now does so only on one page, not on every such page as was the case before the fix. Going from there to other pages this does not happen anymore, not even on the same page. Compared with Arid, Galactic CIV III, Tabletopia & This War Of Mine.

Horizon: Zero Dawn page still lags a lot more severe then any other game page i have tested, now almost immediatly. After a while, it scrolls down once more and then freezes to eventually close the main Steam window. Friends/Chat window now asks for new log-in after 1 minute (was 5 minutes), 3 out of 4 instances that i checked this par5t of the issue.
The 4th instance i pllayed a Youtube Vid posted in Steam Music chat. Actually 3:23 min. long but i kept it going for about 10 minutes. Now i write this it’s already 30 minutes since the Horizon page closed - 13 minutes after i ended playing the video - but still the friends/chat window doesn’t ask for new log-in. Nor do Store, Community and Account settings pages, opened from the taskbar icons. I could go to other chatrooms and open new chat-tabs 6 minutes after ending the video.
Going back to the Horizon: Zero Dawn library page, it didn’t freeze immediatly. Did show lag, more severe then on the pages with DEV/Publisher News (Horizon: ZD doesn’t have News messages). No Freeze this time, and the main Steam window didn’t close.


No noticable change from flushconfig.
Q: Did the effects of steam://flushconfig change since 2018, and/or in between Windows 7 and Windows 11? (as far as i remember i didn’t use steam://flushconfig in Windows 10 as i was not much present at the Steam Client Beta forum, & used Windows 7 up to summer 2018).
I noticed cookies were not deleted - no need to re-verify device as being trustworthy, verify age at adult rated game store pages - and also the device settings (dropdown menu left top corner) did not revert to default - f.e. who can see my Broadcast, showing URL in address bar or being opted in to the Steam Beta branch.
I did remove old shortcuts to the launcher from taskbar and desktop to start with the launcher from the Steam installation directory, and rebooted PC in between.

[Ghost25]

Thanks for the update!

The latest patch has partially fixed the issue. Selecting an item in my library for the first time results in about 6 minutes of slowdown while screenshots are being fetched, but selecting subsequent items works as expected - except if said game has a lot of screenshots associated with it.

When the screenshots are loading, the navigation elements at the top don't respond, but I am able to scroll through the library with no issues.
Once they are loaded, both the library and navigation elements work well- I'm able to use the library as expected.

If I select an item with a lot of screenshots, the library page will freeze up - but the navigation elements at the top will remain functional. This issue seems to be new to the July 25 update - in the prior beta update I was able to (eventually) load games with many screenshots.

Edit: Not sure if this is related, but the number of screenshots reported for some games is off by a factor of 50. One game will report 5800 despite having 116, another 3588 instead of 69, a third 43393 instead of 844, for example. This doesn't appear to happen to all games though.

[Ghost25]

引用自 Bumbefly Sony Test םו：

Horizon: Zero Dawn page still lags a lot more severe then any other game page i have tested, now almost immediatly.

How many screenshots do you have for Horizon: Zero Dawn?

[Ghost25]

I've been able to narrow down the issue on my end. It might be related to this loop:

const t = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsCount();
let n = [];
for (let e = 0; e < t; e += 500) {
    const r = Math.min(t - 1, e + 500 - 1);
    n.push(...yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsRange(e, r))
}

I've replaced it with the following:

const t = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsCount();
const n = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsRange(0, t-1);

As a result, the slowdown after selecting an item in the library has gone down from 6 minutes to about 12 seconds. Additionally, screenshots appear to load even for games with many screenshots, albeit after about a 10 second freeze.


I don't think this is an ideal fix though, since the slowdown/freeze isn't present in the stable client release. But hopefully this info can help towards finding a resolution.

[Eisen]

+1 on Windows 10

[Timtee [CVHN]]

引用自 Ghost25：

I've been able to narrow down the issue on my end. It might be related to this loop:

const t = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsCount();
let n = [];
for (let e = 0; e < t; e += 500) {
    const r = Math.min(t - 1, e + 500 - 1);
    n.push(...yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsRange(e, r))
}

I've replaced it with the following:

const t = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsCount();
const n = yield SteamClient.Screenshots.GetAllAppsLocalScreenshotsRange(0, t-1);

As a result, the slowdown after selecting an item in the library has gone down from 6 minutes to about 12 seconds. Additionally, screenshots appear to load even for games with many screenshots, albeit after about a 10 second freeze.


I don't think this is an ideal fix though, since the slowdown/freeze isn't present in the stable client release. But hopefully this info can help towards finding a resolution.

Heh, well then. Weird that this is the source. Something tells me tho that whatever calls that code in particular into action, ends up triggering it for all games. At least with that code, you've reduced potential lagspikes for a majority of users down quite a bit in terms of time. But, hey, if you can find the source of why it calls to the screenshots of all the game, and see why it's doing it, then hey, that'd help a ton for Valve to fix this issue once and for all.

[Garsupial]

引用自 Eisen：

+1 on Windows 10

I have disabled the beta for now and use the normal version of Steam. It has been solved for me.

[mikela]

Hi all, thanks again for all of the excellent data. We found and fixed the issue referenced by Ghost25 earlier this morning and is in the beta client update re-release that just went out.

[Ghost25]

Thanks for all the work on your end! I think the latest patch has fixed about 90% of the problem - at least for me. There's still a ~15 second slowdown after selecting a library item for the first time, but I can live with that since it only happens once per session.

There's also a ~10 second freeze after selecting a game with many screenshots. I'll continue to poke around to see if I can't find out more.

Other than those two exceptions, selecting games / switching between games seems to be working pretty smoothly now!

[Timtee [CVHN]]

Hmmm... Seems that some games still cause the tab in the client for the Library to freeze. Not the entire client tho luckily as I can still go between the library tab and the community tab and other tabs too just fine. But... Otherwise not entirely sure.
Then again I'm not entirely sure what would cause this particular issue I'm having now either.

[Elensar]

Still doing it for me, steam is becoming as bad as epic for it's poor client it's very tiresome.

[Bumbefly (we/All)]

Thanks for the fix. Improved the issue on most pages including Galactic CIV III, and FallOut 4 where lag was already well noticable with NVIDIA driver from the month May installed.
No lag noticable nbow with update to v.1658865232.

These 2 games are among those where screenshot count still is of, but giving different numbers then given with previous relaunched Steam Client update 1658797147
Yesterday, there also was a difference between wrong screenshot counts of games from which i currently have screenshots in the Steam User Data folder, and on the other hand wrong screenshot counts from games where i uploaded screenshots previously but currently do not have any screenshots in the Steam User Data folder (fairly new computer, so those games don't have their own folder for screenshots).

Mostly, count was of for games with 50+ screenshots uploaded and/or in Steam User Data.
However, none of the actual screenshot counts from games without a current Steam User Data Folder was above 50. Games with no User Data folder would not show either-or, they would show a fixed number.
f.e.

• GALACTIC civ III. 24 currently in Steam User Data folder, either 50 or 74 mentioned on game page, 215 all-time total uploaded to Steam
  
• App ID 289070, Sid Meier's CIV VI. 675 currently in Steam User Data folder, 4 mentioned on game page, 4 all-time total uploaded to Steam
  
• App ID 355760, Drizzlepath. 18 currently in Steam User Data folder, 16 mentioned on game page, 16 all-time total uploaded to Steam
  
• App ID 377160, FallOut 4. 330 currently in Steam User Data folder, either 50 or 423 mentioned on game page, 352 all-time total uploaded to Steam
  
• App ID 1151640, Horizon: Zero Dawn. 0 currently in Steam User Data folder, either 50 or 56409 mentioned on game page, 108 all-time total uploaded to Steam

Note, with Steam Client Beta update v.1658440720 wrong screenshot count for Horizon was 56359 : 50 = 1127,18 with Ghosts observation screenshots counts are off by a factor 50 might be about the correct number but to much to verify just like that.
However, other screenhot counts are, for me, not off by a factor 50 but other factors.

The observed count for Horizon zero Dawn was sheer luck for the page to land there while scroll request was given during severe lag.
I moved (to a personal Desktop Wallpaper folder) all Horizon: Zero Dawn screenshots while still on Steam Client Beta update v.1658440720 and rebooted (no difference) and then removed all thumbnails and rebooted pc. Removing thumbnails improved the performance of the Horizon library page significantly yet with more randomness (randomness including loosing log-in connections). At least it granting me the option to more often check screenshot count for this page.

Both with Steam Client Beta update v.1658440720 & v.1658797147 screenshot manager pop-up window would continue to present "all" screenshots be it as as black page with a warning triangle. And it still does with latest update v.1658865232.
Yet it now says 5964 screenshots in stead of 56.000+

Rebooted after update to v.1658865232, Horizon still froze immediatly closing the main Steam window soon after, on a first attempt. But now, the 2nd time opening the Steam Client, no lag at all for Horizon: Zero Dawn, let alone freezing.
But... well.... i had that once yesterday too, where i thought everything being OK with the Steam Client although otherwise the Horizon page would collapsed, only to much later suddenly mloose log-in connection.

Alas no time to check that now, i need to sign off.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Related issue perhaps? Thanks for this fix too: I notice i can again use the Page Back arrow and Page Back mouse button while on the Library Home page. Previously i couldn't do that at least since i have my new computer back from the shop
(first time in a 30 year carrier that the shop owner/technician had a motherboard and adaptor shortfuse at the same time, on a rig that he build).