What is ‘Windows cannot find steam.exe error’ in Windows 10?
In this post, we are going to discuss on How to fix Windows cannot find steam.exe error in Windows 10. You will be guided with easy steps/methods to resolve the error. Let’s starts the discussion.
‘Windows cannot find steam.exe’ error: It is common Windows Problem considered as Steam Client error. This error is usually appeared when you try to launch or run Steam Client in your Windows 10/11 computer. When you double-click on Steam Client shortcut in order to launch/open it, you may notice ‘Windows cannot find steam.exe’ error. In sort, this error prevents you from opening and using Steam Client in your Windows computer for some reasons.
There could be several reasons behind the issue including required administrative permissions are not given to Steam Client, malware or viruses attacks in computer, interference of third-party software like third-party antivirus/firewall, interference of Windows built-in Windows Defender/antivirus, corrupted temporary files of computer, and other reasons. Sometimes, this type of error is occurred due to some temporary issues in your Windows computer. You can just restart your computer in order to fix temporary issues and this error as well.
It might possible your third-party antivirus/firewall program installed in Windows computer is interfering or blocking Steam Client in your Windows computer. You can disable your antivirus/firewall program temporarily in order to fix this error. Also, you can clean temporary files in computer in order to remove corrupted/junk files and resolve this error. Let’s go for the solution.
How to fix Windows cannot find steam.exe error in Windows 10?
Method 1: Fix ‘Windows cannot find steam.exe error’ with ‘PC Repair Tool’
‘PC Repair Tool’ is easy & quick way to find and fix BSOD errors, DLL errors, EXE errors, problems with programs/applications, malware or viruses issues, system files or registry issues, and other system issues with just few clicks.
Method 2: Add Steam Client to Exception List on your Antivirus Software
If you are antivirus software is blocking Steam Client and that’s why you are facing the issue, you can add Steam Client to Exception List of antivirus in order to fix the issue.
Step 1: For Avast Antivirus. Open Avast antivirus in your computer and click ‘Menu’ button and select ‘Settings’
Step 2: Go to ‘General’ tab and click ‘Exceptions’ and click ‘Add Exception’, and click ‘Browse’ button and navigate following path
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
Step 3: Select Steam Folder and click ‘Add Exception’ button and save the changes, and restart your computer, and check if it works.
Method 3: Uninstall third-party antivirus
After adding Steam Client to Exception list of antivirus, if the issue is still persist, then you can uninstall your antivirus and check if it works.
Step 1: Open ‘Settings’ App in Windows 10 via Windows Search Box and go to ‘Apps > Apps & Features’
Step 2: Find and select your antivirus in list of software, and click ‘Uninstall’ option to uninstall it
Step 3: Once done, restart your computer and check if the error is resolved. Once resolved, you can try another antivirus software in your computer that doesn’t conflict with installed programs and services.
Method 4: Remove Admin permission from Steam Client
You can also try to fix the issue by removing administrative permission from Steam Client.
Step 1: Find and right-click on Steam Client icon and select ‘Properties’
Step 2: Click ‘Compatibility’ tab, untick ‘Run this program as an administrator’ checkbox and hit ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ button to save the changes. Once done, restart Steam Client and check if the issue is resolved.
Method 5: Fix Windows cannot find steam.exe error using Registry Editor
Step 1: Open ‘Registry Editor’ in Windows PC via Windows Search Box and navigate to following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
Step 2: Double-click on ‘Image File Execution’ options, search for Steam.exe from located list
Step 3: Right-click on Steam.exe and select ‘Delete’ option to delete it and then close Registry Editor, and check if the error is resolved.
Method 6: Rename steam.exe file
You can also try to fix the issue by renaming the executable file of Steam Client in your computer.
Step 1: Open File Explorer and navigate to following path
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
Step 2: Find and right-click on Steam.exe, and select ‘rename’ option, name the file to something else like Steam1.exe. Once done, re-launch Steam Client in Windows computer and check if the issue is resolved.
Conclusion
I am sure this post helped you on How to fix Windows cannot find steam.exe error in Windows 10 with several easy steps/methods. You can read & follow our instructions to do so. That’s all. For any suggestions or queries, please write on comment box below.
