Resolve Steam.exe Error

Steam.exe – File Information

The steam.exe utility is used to download the latest Valve games, such as HalfLife and CounterStrike, as well as the latest patches from Valve’s servers.

By default, the file steam.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Program Files. The most common size of the steam.exe file is 1,249,280. The steam.exe file is also known to exist in 1,269,760, 1,241,088, 1,258,744, 1,271,032, 1,266,936, 1,259,000, 1,410,296, and 69,632 bytes sizes.

Steam.exe – Excessive CPU Usage

At times, you may notice steam.exe to be consuming disproportionate amounts of system resources even when you are not playing a steam game. In such situations, you can safely terminate the steam.exe process.

To terminate the steam.exe process, perform the following steps:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del.
2. Next, in the Windows Task Manger window, click Processes.
3. Locate and select steam.exe.
4. Click the End Process button.
5. Close the Windows Task Manager window.

Steam.exe Error

While installing or updating Steam, you may receive an error message, similar to the one displayed below:

“Steam.exe (Main Exception): ERROR: delete of steam.exe failed, Win32 Error 5 'Access is denied'.”

Typically, the above error occurs because of the following reasons:

• Insufficient user permissions.
• Steam.exe file attributes being set as Read Only.
• Interference of another program with Steam’s installation process.
• Malware infection.

Depending upon the cause of the above issue, you may perform the following steps to fix the error:

• Log on with administrative rights: You need to be logged in as an administrator to install or update steam.

• Verify file attributes: To do this, perform the following steps:
  • Right-click Steam.exe and click Properties.
  • If Read Only is selected, clear the checkbox and clickApply.
  • Double-click the steam.exe file.

• Disable programs that are interfering with Steam: Certain programs, especially as protective software, such as firewall, antivirus and antispyware may interfere with Steam’s installation process. To repair the issue, disable such programs until Steam’s installation or update completes.

To know about the name of the programs that may interfere with Steam, we recommend you browse through Steam Support webpage.

• Perform malware scan: Malware programs, such as virus, worms, trojans, rootkit, adware and spyware if present may also interfere with the Steam’s installation or updation process. If the above error is occurring due to malware infection, to remove malware, run a malware scan on your entire computer using reliable and robust antimalware software, such as Antivirus Plus and StopZilla.

Steam.exe – Can you trust this file?

The genuine steam.exe is a safe file. However, certain Internet threats are known to use a file by the same name. If you are concerned that a malicious steam.exe file may be running on your computer, perform a thorough malware scan on your entire computer. If malware threats are reported, promptly remove them.

The following Internet threats are recorded to be associated with steam.exe:

Constructor.Win32.Agent.fx [Kaspersky Lab]
Trojan Horse [Symantec]
Mal/Generic-A [Sophos]
Generic.dx [McAfee]
Constructor.Win32.Agent [Ikarus]
Backdoor:Win32/Poisonivy.E [Microsoft]
Backdoor.Rbot.Gen [PC Tools]
Backdoor.Win32.Rbot.gen [Kaspersky Lab]
Constructor.Agent!sd6 [PC Tools]
Constructor.Agent [PC Tools]
Constructor.Win32.Agent.fx [Ikarus]
Constructor/Agent.52736 [AhnLab]
W32.Spybot.Worm [Symantec]
WORM_RBOT.CLX [Trend Micro]
W32/Sdbot.worm.gen.h [McAfee]