The issue means that the steam cannot access/modify the local files inside the game folder. This might be because of various issues from antivirus to corrupted filesystem. So in this article, we are going to provide a solution to the issue. These fixes make no mess up anything if followed correctly. Let’s begin.
5 Best Ways to Fix the Content File Locked Error on Steam:-
Follow these fixes one by one to fix the “steam content file locked” error.
5 Best Ways to Fix the Content File Locked Error on Steam:-Fix 1: Run Steam as AdminFix 2: Verify the integrity of local filesFix 3: Flush steam configsFix 4: Check disk for errorsFix 5: Disable Antivirus and Controlled folder accessFrom Editor’s Desk
Fix 1: Run Steam as Admin
1.) So, running steam as admin will give some missing privileges for the program. To do so, 2.) Right-click on the Steam shortcut, and click on Properties. 3.) Under the Compatibility tab, put a tick mark on “Run this program as an administrator.” 4.) Hit Apply and hit OK. 5.) Else you can click start, search for Steam, right-click on it and select “Run as admin”, but this runs as admin for once.
6.) Now try opening steam and updating the game. If this fix did not work, you might proceed to the next one.
Fix 2: Verify the integrity of local files
Now the game files may be altered externally, say because of malware or the antivirus software. Hence we have to verify its integrity. To verify the integrity of local game files, 1.) Open steam, and Open Library. 2.) Now right click on the game and click on Properties. 3.) Under the Local files tab, click on Verify Local files.
Since this will fix or repair any corrupted files by comparing your local files to the files on the server, let it complete. Upon completion, try updating the game and check if the error occurs again.
Fix 3: Flush steam configs
Flushing steam cache files will remove any redundant files and hopefully will fix the issue. Hence, to flush caches in steam follow these steps. Firstly open Run by pressing the Windows key and R at the same time. Alternatively, you can right-click on the start menu (or press Windows and X keys at the same time) and click on Run from the list. 1.) Now type in steam://flushconfig and hit enter. 2.) Now let it run, and steam will start updating itself first.
Once this gets finished, check if you can update the game without the content file locked error popping out.
Fix 4: Check disk for errors
If there are some issues with your Hard disk (HDD), it might have caused the Content file locked error to appear. So, to scan and fix errors on HDD, you can use the built-in tool in windows, and there is no need for any third-party tools. Follow these steps to scan and fix the issue: 1.) Firstly right click on start and open cmd as admin. Alternatively, you can use the Run box by entering cmd to the box and pressing the enter key. 2.) Now on cmd, type sfc /scannow, and hit enter.
3.) Let it complete as this operation would take several minutes, depending upon the size of the drive. Once this phase completes, you can run the fix steps 1, 2, and 3 again just in case and check if the problem is solved.
Fix 5: Disable Antivirus and Controlled folder access
Antivirus may be causing this error. So, we have to temporarily disable the antivirus software and check if it works. Although the procedure will change based on the software, you use. But basically, you can disable by right-clicking on the icon, on the taskbar, and clicking Disable protection or disable real-time protection or even Quit. Once you do this, go to steam and try to update the game.
So, in windows 10, there is a controlled folder access option to prevent ransomware from modifying files without authorization. So, if you have enabled controlled folder access, either you have to disable it temporarily or add the steam program to the exclusion or allowed app list. To do so, 1.) Click on Start, and search “Controlled,” from the results, click on Controlled folder access.
2.) From the settings, click on Allow an app through controlled folder access. 3.) Click on Add an allowed app and select, browse for all apps. 4.) Now navigate to the location where you’ve installed steam and select steam.exe.
5.) Now check if you can update the game from steam. 6.) Go to the game folder, right-click on it and click on Properties, click on Security and click on Advanced. 7.) From the tab, click on Change owner if you see another name instead of your name under the owner, follow the instructions, and take ownership of the folder. 8.) Now reboot your PC, and check.
From Editor’s Desk
So, to sum up, these were the steps you can try out to fix the Content Locked error on steam. So you can see, these steps are easy and will not cause any loss in files or data. Although if nothing works, you can try moving the game to a different folder or reinstall the game to another location. But this requires additional bandwidth consumption. Nonetheless, the above-mentioned steps should work without any issues.
