Windows 11 / 10 Steam Store won't load

If you play PC games, you probably have a collection of games from the Steam store. If the Steam Store doesn't load, you can't pre-order a new game or even get information on your old ones. Sometimes this happens because of a one-time bug or an incorrect configuration file. You might be able to resolve this issue by flushing the configuration file.

Workarounds –

1. If the Steam Store doesn't load when you launch it for the first time, just close Steam once and relaunch it.

2. Try disabling your third-party antivirus.

 Fix 1 – Reboot Steam.

Restarting Steam completely should fix the issue.

1. Open Steam on your system, if it isn't already open.

2. Then, close the app.

Steam will not close, it will just be minimized to the system tray. It must be manually closed.

3. So, click on the upward arrow icon (*) on the taskbar and then right-click on the Steam icon, then choose “Exit“.

Sometimes Steam processes still run in the background.

5. So, select Windows from the menu.

6. Then, tap on the “Task Manager” to access it.

7. Open Task Manager to find Steam processes running in the background.

8. Tap "End task" when you right-click the Steam process.

The Steam processes will be ended one by one.

Close the Task Manager. After completing all these steps, relaunch Steam and check if the Steam Store is loading.

Fix 2 – Flush the configuration

If you still encounter problems, try flushing the Steam configuration.

1. on your keyboard , press the Windows key + R key together at once from the keyboard.

2. Paste this line into Run and click OK.

"steam://flushconfig"

A prompt will appear.

3. Select "OK" for confirmation.

Steam will then be flushed.

Try launching Steam again and seeing if the Store loads.

Fix 3 – Run Steam with administrative rights.

This may resolve the issue.

1. Make sure an administrative account is logged on.

2. Enter "Steam" in the search bar.

3. After you've done that, right-click on "Steam" and select "Run as administrator" to open Steam as administrator.

 Upon opening Steam with administrative privileges, check if the store is loading.

Fix 4 – Force Steam to update.

Force Steam to be updated if the problem is caused by corrupted Steam files.

Step 1

1. At first, shut down Steam.

2. Then, press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together to open the Task Manager.

3. Select "Steam client" from Task Manager and tap on "End task" to end that process.

 Navigate to the Task Manager screen and terminate all Steam-related processes.

Exit the Task Manager.

Step 2 

1. At first, press the Windows key and R simultaneously.

2. Copy-paste this line and tap "OK".

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam

3. Upon opening the Steam folder, select all files and folders EXCEPT these and tap on the "Delete" icon.

Close the File Explorer.

"steamapps

steam.exe

ssfn files

userdata"

4. Start Steam.

By downloading and installing missing files/folders, the program will determine what files/folders are missing.

We appreciate your patience. Once Steam opens, log in with your Steam credentials. Verify that the Store is working.

Fix 5 – Retain compatibility settings

If Steam is launched in compatibility mode, it must be disabled.

1. At first, press Windows+R at the same time.

2. After that, copy and paste the following line, then click “OK“.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam"

3. Right-click on the Steam folder and choose “Properties“.

4. Now, go to the “Compatibility” section.

5. Uncheck all the boxes under 'Compatibility mode', 'Settings'.

6. Select "Change settings for all users".

7. Finally, tap on “Apply” and “OK” to save the changes.

Close File Explorer.

Start Steam.

Fix 6 – Create a Steam shortcut and launch it

with the shortcut.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and tap on “Run“.

2. Then, type this location in the Run terminal and hit Enter.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam"

3. When the Steam location opens up, right-click on the “Steam” app and tap on “Show more options“.

4. Then, tap on “Create shortcut“.

5. Now, right-click on the “steam – Shortcut” and tap on “Properties“.

6. After that, just go to the “Shortcut” tab.

7. Here, in the ‘Target:’ box, just input space at the end and paste this modifier.

"-no-cef-sandbox"

It will look like this –

""C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe"-no-cef-sandbox"

8. Finally,  tap on “Apply” and on “OK” to save the changes.

9. Once you have done that, double click on the “steam- Shortcut” to launch Steam.

This time Store should load without any further issues. 

Fix 7 – Launch Steam using Big Picture.

The Steam Store will fill when Steam is launched in Big Picture mode.

1. Launch Steam on your computer.

2. Once you have done so, tap on "View" in the menu bar and select "Big Picture Mode".

Click "Apply" to apply.

The Steam interface will open in Big Picture mode. Click "Apply" to apply.

You can launch Steam in Big Picture mode from outside the app, if Big Picture mode can't be launched directly from the app.

1. At first, tap on the arrow icon (˄) on your taskbar to reveal the hidden icons.

2. Right-click the "Steam" and choose "Big Picture".

Check whether it works or not.

Fix 9 – Don’t save account details

Don't store your Steam credentials on Steam. The issue should be resolved.

1. Launch Steam at the beginning.

2. Then, tap "Steam" on the menu bar and select "Settings".

Steam Settins Min

3. Tap "Account" on the left side of Settings.

4. After that, select "Don't save the account credentials on this computer".

5. Finally, tap on “OK” to complete this change.

Steam will need to be closed after this. Relaunch it. Enter your Steam credentials again after signing in.

See if the Steam Store issue has been resolved.

Fix 10 – Remove all browser cache

Steam won't load Store properly if the Steam browser cache is corrupted.

1. At first, open the Steam client.

2. When the program is launched, click "Steam" in the menu bar and select "Settings".

3. When the settings panel appears, select "Web Browser" from the left.

4. After that, tap on “DELETE WEB BROWSER CACHE” to empty the web cache.

5. Then, click on “DELETE ALL BROWSER COOKIES“.

Click “OK” to confirm.

Click “close”. Launch it again.

The Steam Store should be back up and running after this step.

Alternative Tip –

1. If none of these fixes worked, reinstall Steam with the latest version.

2. Steam can be accessed via any web browser. Log in with the Steam credentials and Steam will open.