Steam is a Windows, Linux and Mac OS X social platform for the digital distribution of games.
88
votes
5answers
54k views
How do I continue downloading a game in Steam while playing?
I have many games on Steam and many more I will buy, but I have a problem and I hope you can point me a solution.
When I download a game, is it possible to launch and play a single player game under ...
75
votes
6answers
88k views
How do I move Steam games to a new computer without re-downloading them?
I have just bought a new computer and I have everything migrated over except for my Steam games.
I looked in Program Files/Steam/ and I found a folder full of the games I have downloaded, but I do ...
52
votes
4answers
1k views
Free Games on Steam?
Is there anywhere I can look at a list of all games steam is offering for free?
50
votes
4answers
11k views
Retail boxed Steam activated games: can they be resold?
I recently purchased retail boxed versions of
Dead Island (which is awesome)
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (not so much)
I finished both games and I was thinking of reselling them or giving them to ...
50
votes
1answer
66k views
What is Steam rating and what does it do?
I just noticed that apparently Steam has a rating and mine is 0.6:
0.6 what? Is that good? Bad? Should I be forever embarrassed for having posted a screenshot?
46
votes
6answers
16k views
How do you get your Steam games to run on Ubuntu through Wine or something similar?
Ok, I was kind of surprised that this hadn't been asked here before, but maybe it's too technical for this site. You guys decide.
I've heard lots of different stories about setting up Wine on Ubuntu, ...
43
votes
8answers
4k views
Can I trust Steam-powered games? Is there any unwanted behavior installed with Steam?
So – I just bought the new game Supreme Commander 2. This question is not about the game, but about the online software installation platform that it seems to require. I haven't bought a game ...
42
votes
5answers
7k views
Why is Steam saying my friends are playing Hello Kitty: Island Adventure when I know they aren't?
I frequently see that my friends on Steam are playing Hello Kitty: Island Adventure. I know that this is not accurate. Why is Steam reporting that they're playing a game that isn't on Steam? Is Steam ...
37
votes
9answers
15k views
Is it possible to install Steam games to two different locations?
I want to build a new PC with a smallish SSD. I'd like to be able to install some of my games onto the drive (those I care about loading quickly or I play frequently), but have the rest of them on a ...
34
votes
1answer
10k views
Can I safely uninstall games purchased from Steam?
Can I uninstall purchased games from my computer and then later download them through Steam without having to re-purchase if I'd like to?
I'm running short on space on my laptop, looking to free up ...
33
votes
5answers
82k views
How do I remove a Steam game from my library?
I like how Steam presents my library to me. However, there is one thing that keeps irritating me every time I open Steam: the Team Fortress 2 Beta. I don't want it, yet it is always in my games ...
33
votes
4answers
42k views
Is it possible to limit the download bandwidth used by Steam?
Is it possible limiting the download bandwidth used by Steam in some way? When I am downloading a game it greatly speed down or even block all internet activities in my house.
33
votes
1answer
61k views
Is there any way to start Steam in offline mode without logging in first?
I recently find myself needing to start Steam in offline mode rather frequently (my wife is hogging my account to play Plants Vs. Zombies, and most of what I play doesn't really need to be online).
I ...
31
votes
5answers
19k views
Can I tell Steam which monitor to open a game on?
I have two monitors and Windows 7. Is it possible to tell Steam to open a game on my second monitor instead of the main monitor?
If that's not possible through Steam itself, is there some other way ...
27
votes
7answers
10k views
Is it possible to play two different Steam games on the same account at the same time?
I own a lot of games on Steam, and I'm overall a big fan of the service.
However, one thing about it really bothers me, and I'm wondering if anything can be done about it.
Let's say I have two ...
26
votes
4answers
3k views
How does Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) work?
Many Source engine games are run on servers that are "VAC-Secured". How does the VAC really work? What is it looking for? If it finds something "bad", what does it do?
Is there any way a user can ...
24
votes
4answers
10k views
How do you force Steam to use a different account for each Windows user account on the same machine?
I just built a PC because my son wants to play PC games. I installed Windows 7, and created 2 user accounts, one for each of us. Within my Windows user account I installed Steam, and downloaded some ...
24
votes
4answers
11k views
Why are Steam's “hours played” numbers wrong for so many games?
For many games on my game list, the number of hours I am "on record" for playing are much less than I've actually played.
According to Steam, I have not logged any hours playing the games that I ...
23
votes
3answers
21k views
Can I play Steam games without running Steam in the background?
Is there a way I can play without having Steam running in the background?
23
votes
7answers
17k views
How can I sort/organize my Steam game library?
My game list is approaching 100 games and it is starting to get difficult to sort them. I've categorized them by genre but it's still difficult to find them (and my backlog is getting bigger).
I also ...
22
votes
3answers
7k views
Can I register a retail boxed copy of a game with Steam?
I personally do not like to purchase games digitally. There's just something magical about going to the store, picking up a boxed game, staring at the amazing box art, bringing the game home and ...
21
votes
3answers
10k views
Is there any point in adding a non-Steam game to Steam?
Is there a point in adding a non-Steam game to Steam?
Are there any advantages besides being able to launch the game from within Steam?
21
votes
1answer
934 views
How can I clear Steam achievements for Portal 2?
My brother has played Portal 2 on my account and got a decent chunk of the achievements without specifically trying for them. Shamefully, I haven't yet played it, but I want to of course. I really ...
21
votes
3answers
53k views
Does Steam work on Windows 8?
I am considering installing Windows 8 RTM on my gaming PC. Has anyone tried installing and using Steam on Windows 8?
Is Windows 8 supported by Valve/Steam in the first place? Is there any known ...
21
votes
1answer
2k views
What are the dangers of accepting gifts from unknown accounts on Steam?
A user named 'steamfairy1' gifted me a game on Steam. I don't know this user, his profile shows no games, no friends and zero hours played. The profile of 'steamfairy1' was created the day I received ...
20
votes
5answers
6k views
20
votes
2answers
3k views
What kinds of things happen when I link Steam and Facebook?
I really hate Facebook apps. I've probably blocked a few hundred or so. Mostly the reasons are twofold:
I don't want to spam my friends with random crap that I'm doing
I find that most gaming is ...
19
votes
2answers
13k views
What's the difference between “Full controller support” and “Partial controller support?”
Within Steam's "Big Picture Mode," games are shown with a half- or full-controller to signify partial- or full-controller support, respectively.
However, many of the games listed as "partial ...
19
votes
4answers
6k views
How can I stop Civilization 5 from asking me twice which DirectX mode to play in?
I (pre) downloaded and installed Civilization 5 through Steam, on Windows 7. When I start it, Steam asks me if I would like to start:
Civilization 5
Civilization 5 (DirectX 9)
Then, Civilization ...
19
votes
1answer
486 views
How can I stop invitation spam?
Occasionally, I receive invitations to join a Steam group from people I've never met, and which are most likely just sock-puppet accounts to begin with. However, 99% of the time, none of my friends ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Is it possible to split a Steam account?
I have been collecting games in my Steam account for a while (I can't resist those 75%-off sales!)
Now my son wants to play a few of the milder games, but I don't want him to have access to my FPS ...
18
votes
3answers
4k views
What happens if I activate a product key on Steam for a game I already own?
I have a Steam product key for Just Cause 2 I got for free with the purchase of my video card. However, I already have a copy of this game attached to my Steam account. What will happen if I try to ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Reliability of Steam's off-line mode
What are the general experiences with it? I've only tried it once, on one game, and it did work, but I am used to hearing that it is very unreliable and very unlikely to work in most cases.
...
18
votes
1answer
17k views
Is there any way to stop Steam downloading updates?
How can I get Steam to stop downloading updates automatically as soon as an update is released for a game like CS:S?
It's just that I am running on mobile broadband at the moment and Steam loves to ...
18
votes
2answers
4k views
Can the Steam achievements be gained also offline?
If I play, for example, Plant vs Zombies or Toki Tori on Steam when I am offline, can I get achievements? Are these re-synchronized when Steam returns online?
18
votes
3answers
10k views
Will Steam remember my saves if I uninstall Deus Ex: HR?
I couldn't run DX:HR with the graphics up all the way so I took them down a notch until I got a new computer.
Do I have to move my save files to my new computer to keep my character?
Or do they ...
18
votes
1answer
2k views
Is it possible to force Steam to convert all games to 'the new format' in one go?
I just tried to start a game I haven't played in some time, and Steam has informed me that I need to wait for an unspecified period of time while it converts the game data into a 'new, more efficient ...
17
votes
9answers
35k views
How can I use an Xbox 360 controller to play Steam games?
I bought BioShock 2 on Steam in the sale a couple of weeks ago, but I'm better at playing FPSs with an Xbox 360 controller than with mouse and keyboard.
Is there any way for me to use an Xbox 360 ...
17
votes
2answers
33k views
Can I play Civ 5 without having Steam installed?
Is there anyway to remove Steam and still play Civilization V? I am very particular about what gets installed on my computers and what is allowed to advertise at me and run background processes. So ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views
Can I share Steam updates between computers?
I've got two computers in my home network, both with Steam installed. If there's an update to Steam itself or the kids install a game it has to be downloaded to both. At the moment this happens twice, ...
17
votes
3answers
28k views
Does uninstalling Steam also uninstall games installed through steam?
If anyone caught me in chat, I'm currently having problems with Steam, which is keeping me not only from playing Portal 2, but also from accessing any of the other 28 steam game shortcuts on my ...
17
votes
4answers
16k views
Can I run a steam game without updating it first?
Is is possible to install a steam game and then play it without having to download a huge update file?
I'm temporally on super slow broadband at my parents and want to play a game I got now, not in ...
17
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there a way to NOT share gaming statistics with friends on Steam?
I really like how I can jump into the same game / server as my friend is currently playing on Steam, so I definitely like the "friends" feature.
However, I dislike the fact that steam exposes my ...
17
votes
1answer
268 views
How to restrict Steam games to X hours per day? [duplicate]
I would like to know if there is a program that will restrict my gaming time to X amount of hours per day. However, all of the programs I have found are designed to be 'Net nannies' as well, and ...
16
votes
1answer
1k views
Mass Effect 3 will be on Origin, how will this affect me with my two other Mass Effect games being on Steam?
As you know EA had a fall out with Steam earlier this year (2011). This meant that any newly released games by EA would only be available through Origin and not any other source.
This is troubling ...
16
votes
1answer
30k views
How do I copy Team Fortress 2 to other computers?
Since Team Fortress 2 is available for free, many of my friends have downloaded the game. Can I copy the game on a digital media (USB stick or external hard drive) without creating a problem with ...
16
votes
4answers
463 views
Can steam create an overview of all my achievements?
I play several games on Steam and I love the achievement system. It would be great to get an overview of all the achievements ever gained in Steam games. Does Steam support this? I haven't found such ...
16
votes
1answer
5k views
Portal 2 Co-op with a single Steam account?
I picked up Portal 2 and wanted to try co-op with my son. We have two computers, but just one Steam account. Usually this is fine since I just leave the family computer in offline mode. Unfortunately ...
16
votes
3answers
16k views
How can I disable Steam from starting up with Windows without logging in to Steam?
Is there a way to disable Steam from starting up automatically with Windows (XP/Vista/7) after installing it?
I fix systems for people and some of them request or have Steam, so I reinstall it for ...
16
votes
1answer
1k views
How can Steam be prevented from downloading a billion copies of DirectX?
As a follow-up to my question regarding the first-time installation, I noticed Steam stores the DirectX and vcredist etc files individually in each games directory. That means, those sometimes up to ...
