Top 5 Ways to Fix ‘Steam Stuck on Verifying Installation’ Error in Windows

Quick Tips

• At times, Steam cannot verify installation files due to a server outage.
• The issue could also arise from missing administrator rights, a meddlesome anti-virus program, or a corrupt cache.
• If nothing works, there’s a simple way to repair the Steam installation.

Basic Fixes

• Check Your Internet Connection: As a starting point, it’s important to ensure that your internet connection is working. Even after downloading the installation files, Steam requires an active internet connection to verify them. Check your connection quality with an internet speed test on your computer or mobile.
• Check the Status of Steam Servers: If Steam servers are down or under maintenance, you will experience Steam being stuck on validating errors. You can use websites like DownDetector, and Steam Status, or monitor Twitter for a widespread outage in your region. If that is the case, you must patiently wait for the servers to come back live again.
• Terminate and Restart the Steam App: Sometimes, a simple restart can do the trick for you. Just force quit the steam.exe file from the Task Manager, and launch it again.

Fix 1: Change Download Region

In case there is an outage of Steam in your location, you can try manually switching the download region to complete the file validation. This can fix the Steam “Stuck on Verifying Installation” error.

Step 1: Open the Steam app, and navigate to Steam > Settings.

Step 2: Click on the Downloads option from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click the drop-down for the Download Region and select another region.

Step 4: Click on the OK button at the bottom to apply the changes and close the Settings window.

Fix 2: Clear Download Cache

The outdated or corrupt Steam download cache can cause a ton of problems with the Steam app, including the “Stuck on Verifying Installation” error. Rather than manually deleting the cache from the Steam folder in File Explorer, you can use the Settings section of the app to wipe the download cache.

Step 1: Open the Steam app, and navigate to Steam > Settings > Downloads, as done previously.

Step 2: Here, click on the Clear Download Cache button.

Step 3: Lastly, click on the OK button.

Steam will close automatically and relaunch. You will have to sign in again. You can then try to verify your installation files.

Fix 3: Temporarily Disable the Anti-virus Program

If the Steam verifying installation process is still stuck, you might want to turn off the Windows Defender or any other third-party anti-virus program on your PC to fix this error. You can turn it back on after Steam can successfully verify the files. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start menu, type Virus & threat protection in the search bar, and press Enter.

Step 2: Click on the Manage settings option under Virus & threat protection settings section.

Step 3: Click on the toggle below the Real-time protection to disable it.

Step 4: When the User Account Control window shows up, click on the Yes button.

Step 5: Close the Windows Security app.

Alternatively, if you use a third-party anti-virus program on your PC, go to the System tray icons area on the bottom-right corner and disable it temporarily or until the next reboot. Then, open the Steam app and check if the verification completes successfully.

Fix 4: Repair the Steam Library Folder

Corruption of the Steam library folder items can also produce Steam stuck on validating error. So, you can repair the folder using the Settings section in the Steam app. Here’s how:

Step 1: Launch the Steam app, and navigate to Steam > Settings > Downloads.

Step 2: Here, click on the Steam Library Folders button from the right pane.

Step 3: Click on the three horizontal dots (…) button in the right corner and select the Repair Folder option.

Step 4: When the User Account Control window appears, click on the Yes button.

After the repair completes, click on the Close button.

Note: If you have installed games on another drive, you’ll need to repair it using the same Steam Library Folder repair process.

Fix 5: Repair Steam

As a final step, you can try reinstalling Steam. However, simply uninstalling Steam will remove all the installed games as well. Thankfully, you can preserve your installed games and reset Steam to fix the Steam ‘verifying installation’ error. Here’s how.

Step 1: Completely close the Steam app from the Task Manager.

Step 2: Now, press the Windows key + E to launch the File Explorer. Navigate to the following path.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\

Step 3: Apart from the steamapps folder and the steam.exe application file, delete everything in the folder.

Step 4: Once deleted, the folder should look something like this.

Step 5: Now just relaunch the Steam app. It will download the latest updates and recreate all the removed folders. You will have to sign in to your account again.