How to permanently fix the Content file locked Steam error?

Throughout the world, many users reported the Content File Locked error in Steam which is frustrating sometimes. It is a minor glitch that mainly happens while trying to update certain games and can be easily fixed. To solve this problem, use the following solutions and try out which one works for you.

Reset Winsock

Sometimes to fix Content file locked Steam errors you just need to reset Winsock, as simple as that. To do this, follow the steps below.

• Press the Windows Key + R keys.
• Enter netsh winsock reset and click OK.
• Restart your computer to check if the issue has vaporized or is still in existence.

Change Steam and game files location

To change the Steam and game files location, follow these steps:

• Go to Stream Client, click Settings, and click Downloads.
• Now, select Steam Library Folders and then select the Add Library folder.
• Select the new location for Steam and close the Steam Client.
• After that, go to your Steam directory, using the default location:

C:\Program Files\Steam

• Delete all the files except UserData and SteamApp folders and move these files to the location you specified in Step 3.
• You are now done and can open Steam and log in again to see if the issue has been resolved.

If the error remains, follow these steps:

• Close Steam and go to the new Steam location.
• Move the SteamApps folder from the directory to your desktop.
• Uninstall Steam and then install Steam again to the new location.
• Move the SteamApps folder in the Steam directory.
• Open Steam and log in to check if the error remains.
• To have Steam move the files automatically, follow these steps:
• Right-click on the game and click on Properties.
• Go to Local Files and select Move Install Folder.
• Browse to the new location and select it to make Steam take care of the rest.

Check your antivirus

In some cases, the antivirus on your computer can also cause the Content file locked Steam error. One way you can try is to disable the antivirus while you update the game. However, it is not an overall solution and differs depending on the antivirus you use. For that, you can look for instructions online on how to disable your antivirus to check if the error has been resolved.

If disabling doesn’t help, you can uninstall your antivirus too.

Conclusion

With these, we have reached the end of our article that we hope you have found useful. The discussed fixes are some simple solutions that you can use to fix the Content file locked Steam error and have been tried and tested.