How to Restore Missing Downloaded Files Steam

A brief guide on how to restore Steam missing downloaded files:

Open Steam and click on the Library button at the top of the window. Right-click on the game that doesn't run, and click on Properties. Click on Local Files, then click on Verify the integrity of the game cache. Re-try running/updating the game with the issue.

The following table displays the outlines of all the effective methods on how to restore missing downloaded files Steam. Go to each part to check details.

Steam Games have gained a high reputation for that this powerful platform has brought so many wonderful games to worldwide game players. Windows users may carelessly delete or removed Steam game files or installing patches from their computers under Windows 10/8/7 etc. 

Fortunately, you can follow multiple Steam Game file recovery solutions provided by the Steam support team, experienced YouTubers, and Qiling software here to bring all your lost Steam games back immediately. 

Steam Game Files Lost Problems

Q 1. Steam doesn't recognize my games, help.

"It seems that the Steam stops working after I upgrade the computer system into Windows 10. It's located in D: drive, but it just cannot recognize my game files, what can I do?"

Q 2. Steam games appeared uninstalled, how do I get Steam to locate my games?

"Steam seems to lose the track of my installed games on my computer. I opened Steam but the game itself appears grayed out and I've checked that it's right there. How to make Steam to find my game files again? Do I need to download and reinstall the game again?"

Q 3. How do I restore deleted Steam game files?

"It seems that I lost my game files on Steam after a reboot of my computer. I tried to play the Dota 2 on Steam, it warned me that no game files were found. I don't know where to find the game files? Any solutions?"

You need to calm down when the Steam stops working or cannot read your Game files on your computer. And here below are detailed solutions for you to apply to recover lost Steam game files again.

Solutions for Lost Steam Games Recovery

The solutions towards different Steam games lost issues are varied. You need to be careful to choose the right solution to bring lost games back on your Steam.

Method 1. Restore Lost Games from Steam Library

Applies to: Resolve Steam games shows greyed out or not recognizable issue.

Provider by: YouTubers, Steam game players

If Steam stops you from playing games, warning you that no files were found, or Steam games greyed out in Steam LIBRARY, you may follow steps below to verify game files and make your games playable again:

Step 1. Open up Steam game player on your device and go to Library.

Step 2. Find the lost game name on the left panel, such as Dota 2, right-click on it and select "Properties".

Step 3. On the Properties window, click "LOCAL FILES" and select "VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES...".

Wait for the verifying process to finish, then you can open your beloved game and play it on Steam again.

Method 2. Add Installation Libraries/Folders to Steam and Make Game Playable

Applies to: Steam games appear uninstalled when Steam no longer recognizes the installation files.

Provided by: Steam support team, Steam game players.

As long as the game folders are still in the right location, when you try to launch a game, Steam will redownload the game for you. You can follow the below path to check if the game folders are in the proper location on your PC:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steamapps\Common

If the game folder is in the Steam file location, you can relaunch the game to redownload it on your Steam. Or you can follow the steps below to add alternative installation libraries or folders to Steam:

Step 1.Launch Steam and go to Steam > Settings > Downloads > Click "Steam Library Folder".

This will open all your current Steam Library folders.

Step 2. Click "Add Library Folder" to select the folder with your installed games.

Wait for the adding process to finish, your installed games that appeared uninstalled will show up in your Steam Library. And you can play games again.

If this doesn't work, try the following tips provided by a Steam player to make Steam game show up in Steam again:

Step 1.Move everything from the original steam folder to a new folder, rename the original (empty) parent folder into a library folder.

Step 2.Move everything from the new folder back to the library folder and restart the client.

Step 3.Start Steam, go to Steam > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders.​

Step 4.Click "Add Library Folder" and select the newly renamed library folder.

Wait for the process to finish, your disappeared games would show up again.

Method 3. Rename the ClientRegistry.blob File to Restore Missing Steam Games

Applies to: Restore missing Steam game files that cause Steam games lost.

Provided by: Geeks, Steam game players.

The ClientRegistry.blob file contains information related to your steam installation and game installations. Once you reset the file, Steam will reset various settings to default, making missing games show up in Steam and work again.

Step 1. Open your Steam installation folder by right-clicking on the Steam shortcut on your Desktop and selecting "Open file location".

Step 2. Locate the ClientRegistry.blob file in the Steam folder, right-click on it and select "Rename".

Step 3. Change the ClientRegistry.blob to ClientRegistry.old.blob and confirm the changes.

Step 4. Restart your Steam client and check if your games are back.

Method 4. Restore Lost Steam Game Files - Recordings & Screenshots

Applies to: Restore lost or missing Steam game files, such as game installation files, or recordings, screenshots.

Provided by: Geeks, Qiling software.

Usually, when Steam fails to read or recognize your game files, there might be something wrong with the files in the Steam file location. You may manually check the location of the Steam game files to find out whether those game files are there or apply Qiling file recovery to fully scan and restore all lost game files.

# 1. Find Steam Game Files on PC

Where to find the Steam game files in PC? Here is the location that you can follow to check if the game files are there:

C:\Steam\Userdata\55230\Remote

C is the DriveLetter of the volume where Steam is installed onto.
Steam is the directory where Steam is installed into.
55230 is just the number Steam has assigned to your account.

If the files were not there, you may need to re-download the game files or follow the next tip to recover the lost Steam game files.

# 2. Recover Lost Steam Game Files (Including Game Videos, Screenshots)

Reliable file recovery software like Deep Data Recovery can find the lost Steam game files, including game videos, screenshot on your PC by fully scanning your computer hard drive. 

You can try Deep Data Recovery to scan and restore lost Steam game files in 3 steps. All Windows systems including Windows 10 are supported.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Note: To guarantee a high data recovery chance, install Qiling data recovery software on another disk instead of the original disk where you lost files. 

Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery on your Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 computer. Select file types and click "Next" to start.

Step 2. Select the disk partition or storage location where you lost data and click "Scan".

Step 3. This recovery software will start scanning the disk to find all lost and deleted files. When the scan process completes, click "Filter" > "Type" to specify lost file types.

Step 4. Preview and restore lost Windows files. You can double-click to preview the scanned files. Then, select the target data and click the "Recover" button to save them to another safe spot in the PC or an external storage device.

You can choose a safe location to save found Steam game files and then move the found game files back to the original Steam Game file location. After this, you can restart the Steam client to make your games playable again.

# 5. Remove Local Content and Reinstall Lost Steam Games

If you've tried or found lost Steam Game files, but it turned out that it still fails to work. You can try to remove the local content and reinstall the game on Steam:

Step 1.Remove local content on Steam

On Steam Library > Right-click it and select "Delete Local Content".

Step 2.Reinstall beloved Steam games

Locate greyed out games in Steam LIBRARY, right-click on a specific game and select "Install".

Repeat the process until you have all the desired games installed. You can restart the Steam client to play games on your PC again.

Bonus Tips: Back Up and Restore Steam Games

Besides knowing remarkably efficient ways for lost Steam games recovery, you should also acquire reliable ways for backing up Steam games.

You can always survive whenever you lost Steam games or local saved game files including recordings, screenshots, etc. on your computer. Two reliable tips will help you fully back up Steam games and related game files on your own. Let's see the details:

# 1. Manually Back Up Steam Games

Step 1.Launch Steam on your PC, and go to the LIBRARY > Right-click on downloaded games that you want to back up and select "Backup Game Files...".

Step 2.Check the box in front of the games that you wish to backup, and click "Next" to continue.

Step 3.Select the location to save your Steam games backup and click "Next" to continue.

Usually, the default backup location is C:/programs files (x86)/steam/Backups/. If you want to specify another location for saving the games, click "Browse" to choose a new location.

Step 4. You can rename the backup files or keep the default generated name, and click "Next" to continue.

Wait until the backup operation finishes. The backup speed is based on the size of your selected games.

When you need to restore the Steam backups of your favored games, you can simply go to Steam > Backup and Restore Games and follow the onscreen guidelines to finish the backup recovery process.

# 2. Back Up Local Saved Steam Game Files

Don't forget to back up your saved files of Steam games on your local drive. To do so, you should first learn what files need to be backed up on your PC?

First. Find Game Files Location for Backup

• Game folders: C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\(including the below listed folders)

• ​/cfg/ - Custom configurations and configuration scripts
• /downloads/ - Custom content for multiplayer games
• /maps/ - Custom maps which have been installed or downloaded during multiplayer games
• /materials/ - Custom textures and skins
• /SAVE/ - Single-player saved games

• Game recordings and screenshots in My Documents, Videos, Pictures, etc. (You should make sure the exact location where you saved all your games' recordings and screenshots.)

Next. Back Up Game Files

You need now specify another secure drive or an external hard drive to continue the backup process.

After this, you can manually copy each folder one by one the target device or use reliable file backup software such as Qiling Backup to fully backup all files at one time.

This backup software enables you to selectively back up all desired files in only 3 steps:

Step 1. Click the "File backup" button to start backup.

Step 2. Both local and network files will be listed on the top. You can expand the directory to select the files to be backed up.

Step 3. Follow the on-screen guide, select the destination where you want to save the backup.

Click "Options" to encrypt the backup with password in "Backup Options". There are also many other options you can explore, customize the backup task according to your need.

Set the backup schedule and choose to start back up at certain event in "Backup Scheme".

Step 4. You can store the backup to local drive, Qiling's cloud service, and NAS.

Step 5. Qiling Backup enables users to back up data to both third-party cloud drive and its own cloud drive.

Step 6. Click "Proceed" to start backup. After the backup task is completed, it will be displayed in the form of a card on the left side of the panel. Right-click the backup task to further manage it.

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