There are three ways to completely remove Steam from a computer running Windows 10, 8 and 7. Read more about each of them below.
Please note that instead, all games, saves and downloaded add-ons will be deleted from Steam. These files can be saved by copying the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps folder to another location (for example, the root) of your hard drive.
The path to the steamapps folder on your computer may vary. Right-click on the Steam shortcut and open properties. In the properties window, look at the working folder - this is where you need to look for steamapps.
Now let's move on to uninstalling Steam.
Partial removal
In this way, we will remove Steam, but leave its working files and saves on the computer.
1) Go to the Control Panel on your computer;
2) In the “Programs” section, select “uninstall a program”;
3) In the list of programs that appears, select Steam, then double-click on it with the left mouse button, and then confirm deletion.
Blocked friends
Finally, we’ll tell you how to clear messages in Steam if you have the “Unread” label and you can’t view the correspondence.
- Log in to your account and go to the tab with your username;
- Open the "Friends" menu;
- Click on the Manage Friends List icon;
- Click on the “Remove from blacklist” button that appears;
- Now click on the envelope icon at the top and go to unread - the inbox from the previously blocked user will appear in front of you;
- Wait a few seconds - the information will be updated automatically.
We described in detail how to delete messages in Steam on a computer - act within the established rules, as far as possible. Let's hope that in the near future the developers will add a function for managing your own messages - this would be a great addition!
Complete removal
We completely delete the application with all working files and game save files.
1) Open Start on your computer;
2) In the search, enter the following word (without quotes) – “regedit”;
3) Next, follow the following path – HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\;
4) Delete the Valve folder;
5) Now again delete the Valve folder along the path – HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\;
6) There will no longer be a trace of the Steam client on your computer.
Method number 2: blocking
1. Open in the application: Settings → Account → Change password…
2. Enter your current password. Click Next.
3. Log in to the e-mail specified in the service profile.
4. Wait for a letter from Steam.
5. Click the phrase “follow this unique link” at the bottom of the text.
5. On the new page, sign in to your account.
6. In the menu, with a mouse click, indicate that you cannot access your account (even though you have credentials).
7. Copy the code. You will need it to restore your account (in case you were unable to create a new one, or just want to use your old profile again).
8. Select a way to save the verification code (for example, “I wrote down...”).
9. Click "Lock account".
10. Upon completion of the operation, the message “You have successfully blocked...” will appear.
Enjoy using the platform comfortably!
We delete Steam, but keep the games
To uninstall Steam without deleting games, you must save the downloaded library files to your hard drive. To do this, before deleting, move the SteamApps folder to any other directory (it contains all the library files). SteamApps is located at Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps. Just copy and paste this folder somewhere else on your D drive.
You can also find out where the SteamApps folder is stored by right-clicking on the Steam shortcut, then “Properties”, “File Location”. Here, find the SteamApps folder and move it to another location.
You can now uninstall Steam.
Important ! All games purchased on Steam are tied to this platform. Therefore, without Steam, none of them will start.
Cancel contacting support
Let's talk about the other side of the online platform - sometimes you may need to delete Support messages in Steam. Have you written a request, but were able to solve the problem yourself? Did you write the description incorrectly and send the message by mistake? Whatever the reason, the situation can be improved.
To delete messages from Steam support, you need to do the following:
- Log in to your account and find the “Support” section on the top panel;
- The requests you created will be displayed on the screen;
- Inside each branch there is a small button “Has the issue been fixed? Click here to close this ticket» ;
- Click on it to automatically complete the request. Ready!
Let us remind you that if a user does not respond to support for more than 14 days, the thread will be deleted automatically.
Restoring games
Once you've finished reinstalling the client, you can restore all games. For this:
- Copy the SteamApps folder and paste it to the default path (you should have Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps or something similar)
- Go to Steam - Library.
- Select the game you want and click the “Install” button
- By following the instructions below, you can easily restore the game and all saved data.
- The game will check the data and cache integrity in 5 minutes.
- The game has been restored!
You can search for a specific game in the Games\Steam\SteamApps\common or Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common folder
How to completely remove Steam from your computer
Hello. I’m sure true gamers don’t need to explain what Steam is. Some users began to complain that the game client began to “glitch” after some time of use (not all elements were displayed, buttons did not work). In this case, you will need to reinstall the software. That's why you need to know how to completely remove Steam from your computer. Today’s publication on the IT Technician website is devoted to this topic.
Uninstallation procedure
Removing Steam is no different from cleaning any other application in the Windows operating system.
- If you are using Windows 10, the easiest way is to open the “This PC” folder and click on the change/remove programs button at the top right:
- You can go the other way (also relevant for earlier versions of the OS): go to the control panel and in the “Small icons” view mode, click on the “Programs and Features” link:
- Now we find an unnecessary object in the list of software and easily get rid of it:
- During the uninstallation process, just click on the “Next” button until everything is finished. How to completely remove Steam from your computer? You also need to clean the registry. For this purpose, the CCleaner optimizer is best suited (instructions and download are available at the link) or any other “cleaner”:
Saving games
It’s one thing when you intend to completely “demolish” the client, and quite another thing when reinstalling it. Most likely, you will want to leave the games. But how to find them?
All elements are stored inside the SteamApps folder, located in the Steam directory along the path that you specified when installing the application:
When you reinstall the Steam client, you will need to return the previously moved folder to its original location. Then in the “Library” select the desired object and click on the “Install” button:
The utility will check the serviceability of all files and the presence of the necessary signatures. This way you will recover all your games without any loss.
I explained in sufficient detail how to completely remove Steam from your computer without losing your favorite games. If you have any questions on the topic. Be sure to ask them at the end of the article using the comment form.
Account deleting
If you want to delete not only the Steam client, but also your account, then you will have to use the help of Support. To do this, go to Steam support and fill out a special form in which you indicate in English confirming your account information (game keys, if any, the last four digits of your credit card number, etc.) and a message where it should be indicated that you want to delete your Steam account. After some time, you should receive an email from Valve.
Application to delete an account
Unfortunately, there is no easier way to delete your Steam account.
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Interesting facts about Steam
In our country, Steam is called the “Valve Browser”. To some extent, these people are right, because Steam is made to search for information about Valve and download it. But in the opinion of 80% of gamers, this is a useless project. They believe that Steam was created for those who simply have nowhere to put their money. After all, on Steam, in order to download a game, you need to pay, and sometimes a lot. But there are advantages: games downloaded through Steam for money have no viruses or malware, they are always licensed.
But some games that are on Steam can be played without it. For example, the same “Counter-Strike”, “Halfe-Life”. You don't have to pay for these games; you can download them from disk and play them on the Internet. The downside is that no one is responsible for the game servers, but everything is free.
"Pro" option
There is a second method to remove the agent of our program from your computer. With all this, you will be guaranteed complete removal. Yes, such that there will not be the slightest sign of the presence of the program on the computer. If you are thinking about how to remove Steam from your operating system, you can use the control panel. To do this, go to the Start menu. There, select “Control Panel” - “Add or Remove Programs”. Now you need to wait a little - a list of installed content will be generated. We will continue to work with him. After a long list of programs appears in front of you, find Steam there. Now right-click on the desired line, and then select “Delete”. A window will appear in front of you that will inform you of your actions. Carefully read everything that is written there, and then you can safely wait for the process to complete. That seems to be it. But no. Now we will see what can help you get rid of all the remaining files of this program.
Preliminary preparation
In order not to lose the collection of games and game history, the user must make preliminary preparations.
First, he must find out in which folder on the computer the Steam content is stored. To do this, you need to place your mouse on the program shortcut and press the right mouse button. In the loaded menu, you must select the “Properties” line. On the “Shortcut” tab, you need to pay attention to the “Working Folder” field. The path that is entered there will indicate where the application launch file is located.
The next step is to check the free disk space. To do this, you need to open “My Computer” (“Computer”, “This Computer”), then find the drive where Steam is installed. Next, you need to right-click on it and go to “Properties” in the same way, open the “General” tab and see how much free space is left on the computer’s disk.
One of the reasons for Steam not working may be a lack of disk space, which prevents the application from starting. Cleaning the disk of unnecessary programs and information can solve the problem of starting a program.
The next step is to restart the computer. As a rule, a reboot solves a million problems. But if in this case a miracle did not happen and Steam did not start, then you will still have to reinstall the program.
Delete your Steam account in a few simple steps!
Regardless of the reasons why you deleted your Steam account, this detailed guide will help you make sure you're all set. Although, if you ask us, Steam gives users enough reasons to stick around. With features like Steam Remote Play unlocking massive multiplayer gaming potential for Steam's many free-to-play games, the digital games service knows how to keep gamers happy. So make sure you know what you're doing. Are there any other questions? Ask us a question in the comments below.
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Another reinstallation option
There is an alternative way to reinstall Steam without fear of losing installed games and account settings.
To do this, you need to open the folder in which Steam is installed. How to find it is described in the first paragraph of this instruction. In this directory you need to find the steamapps folder, cut it and paste it onto the computer desktop or any other location that the user chooses.
Next, you need to go to the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “Programs and Features” (or the “Start” menu => “Settings” => “Applications”). In the list of programs you need to find Steam and, highlighting it with the mouse, click on the “Delete” button.
Then you need to create a storage location for games on one of the drives - C or D. When choosing the path for games, it is important that the names of all folders contain only English letters. Next, you need to move the steamapps folder, which is on your PC desktop, to the final folder.
The next step is to open your browser, go to the official Steam website and download the distribution package for the desktop version of the application. After downloading the installation file, you need to run it. When installing the program, the user must select the installation language. At the stage when the installation wizard offers the user a directory for installing Steam, the user must click on the “Browse” button and select the folder that he created earlier and where he moved the steamapps folder. Next, you need to complete the installation of the program.
That's it, the program is installed, and the previously saved content will be loaded into the Steam library. All that remains is to launch the application, log in to the system and continue enjoying the gameplay. I hope that this article was useful to you and now you know how to remove Steam without deleting games.
