Steam disk write error: you can do that
Installing or upgrading a game through Steam can rarely abort due to a hard drive write error. In this practical tip, we explain what you can do in such a case.
Disk write errors in Steam - correct bad sectors
In most cases, the message indicates existing hard disk errors. You should therefore check whether the drive contains bad sectors:
- Start the command prompt as an administrator. If you need help with this, this practical tip will help you.
- Now enter the command "chkdsk x: / f / r" (without quotation marks). Replace the "x" with the letter of the drive to be checked. If chkdsk finds errors, they will be corrected automatically.
Disk write error in Steam - defragment disk
A data fragment on the hard drive that is too fragmented may simply prevent the game from being successfully installed. To defragment your hard drive:
- Press the key combination [Win] + [E] to open Windows Explorer.
- Right-click on any drive and select "Properties".
- In the "Tools" tab click the "Optimize" button, which opens a new window.
- Here you select the drive on which you install your Steam games and click on the "Optimize" button.
Disk write error in Steam - restart installation
Start the installation of the game again from scratch within Steam:
- First, you should make sure that there is enough free space on the installation drive.
- Delete the already downloaded game data by right-clicking on the game title within Steam and then selecting "Delete local data ...". Then start downloading the game again.
- If possible, install the game on a different hard drive. At the beginning of the installation you can select the target directory / drive. This link also tells you how to install the game on an external hard drive.
