Users may start to experience Steam Missing File Privileges error when they are trying to Update or Install a game. According to the users, an error message pops up saying that There Are Missing File Privileges and also shows the path to that file.

Steam Missing File Privileges Error

Steam Missing File Privileges error can occur due to several reasons which depend on a Player’s Hardware and Software configuration. If you are facing Steam Missing File Privileges error, don’t worry as a large number of people to have this headache.

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7 Ways to Fix Steam Missing File Privileges Error

This error can be quite troublesome, but the good part is that it can be solved quickly with the tried and tested methods we provide you below. Let’s take a look at them.

Solution 1 ⇒ Giving Administrator Privileges To Steam

Sometimes, Steam doesn’t have full permissions to read and write on your PC, and the error pops up. To give Steam the required permits, follow the steps below:

Step 1 ⇒ Press the Windows Key + R and then copy & paste %ProgramFiles(x86)% in the text field and click Ok.

Step 2 ⇒ Right-click on the Steam folder and Click Properties.

Step 3 ⇒ Click Security, and go to Advanced.

Step 4 ⇒ Make sure that the first two rows have been granted full control. If not, click edit to make the changes.

Step 5 ⇒ Next, Run Steam as Administrator and check if the issue is solved.

Solution 2 ⇒ Stop The igfxEm Process

On computers with Intel Graphics Card, Steam shows the error mentioned above when the igfxEm process is running.

igfxEm here stands for Intel Graphics Executable Main Module. It is an exe file and doesn’t harm the computer if it’s stopped as it’s from a trustworthy source. However, it is not a Windows Core file and is not visible to the user.

Many users reported that stopping this service and restarting steam helped them solve the issue. So I’ll tell you how to do that with the steps below:

Step 1 ⇒ Press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time and open Task Manager.

Step 2 ⇒ Go to the Processes tab, Right-click on the igfxEM module, and click End Task.

(Windows 10 users, if you don’t see Processes tab, click on More Details)

Step 3 ⇒ Close the Task Manager.

Step 4 ⇒ Restart Steam and try to download/update the game, which had the Steam Missing File Privileges Error.

Solution 3 ⇒ Changing The Download Region

Making a minimal modification in Steam can solve the error. And that modification would be to Change the Region in the Steam app. It is one of the most convenient and easy methods to solve the Missing File Privileges error.

The reason behind this is that the Steam Content System is divided into different regions. Your steam client auto-detects your location and sets the Region accordingly.

Sometimes, what happens is that your region’s servers might be overloaded, and hence, the Missing File Privileges error occurs. To change the region, follow the steps below:

Step 1 ⇒ Open the Steam Client. Next, click on Steam on the top-left corner and then on Settings.

 Step 2 ⇒ Click Downloads, then under Downloaded Region in the drop-down list, Change your region, and click on OK.

 Step 3 ⇒ Start the download/update process of the game again and check if the issue is still present.

Solution 4 ⇒ Reboot PC

You might be thinking, is this even a solution? Yes, as sometimes, the most challenging issues require a simple Reboot of your PC. It can be an effective solution as the system sometimes comes across minimal issues that are hard to take care of directly.

Also, when the system is updating/downloading the game, it has more than one process running at the same time.

Now suppose you have game files of 1GB each and you have 4 of them. Now, an update rolls out with the size of 4MB, 1MB for each file. What Steam will do now, is that it will download the 1MB and will copy the 1023MB that is remaining. Now, it does the same process for all 4 game files.

It turns out that there is a lot of copying of data and very less downloading. Steam does this to save you some bandwidth and avoid corrupt downloads.

What happens is that Steam may face some errors while the copying process and ultimately, the Missing File Privileges comes up. To solve this, a Simple Reboot of your PC can solve the error. If this does not solve the error, proceed to the next method.

Solution 5 ⇒ Granting Full Control To The Affected File

Solution 1 helps you grant full access to all the folders and subfolders of the Steam Directory. If you face any problems with that method, you can directly give full access to the particular file which is causing the error. Follow the steps below:

Step 1 ⇒ To find that Particular File, take a look at the error. The location of that file will be mentioned in that error.

Step 2 ⇒ Go to that location using the Run application (Windows + R) or navigate to the Steam Directory yourself.

Step 3 ⇒ After you have reached the location, follow the same steps as in Method 4 to grant full access to the file.

Step 4 ⇒ Restart steam and check whether the issue has been solved or not.

Solution 6 ⇒ Repairing The Library Folder and Verifying Its Integrity

If the error still hasn’t gone, there is a high possibility that your Steam Library Folder may be corrupted or not configured properly, or there may be incomplete game files present on your PC.

The Verify Integrity of Game Files will try to fix the install if there are any corrupt or missing files. Follow the steps below:

Step 1 ⇒ Open Steam. Click on Steam on the top left corner and then click on Settings.

Step 2 ⇒ Go to the Downloads tab and click on Steam Library Folders.

Step 3 ⇒ Now, a small window will open, which will show you all the locations where Steam is installed and the spaces it is using — next, Right-click, and select Repair Steam Library.

Step 4 ⇒ Now, we will verify the integrity of the files. Exit settings and click on the Library tab.

Step 5 ⇒ Now Right-click on the game that is having the error and click on Properties.

Step 6 ⇒ Navigate to the Local Files tab and click on Verify Integrity Of Game Files.

Now, Steam will start to verify the integrity of the game files and will download any files that are missing/corrupted and will replace them.

Solution 7 ⇒ Deleting The Files In Safe Mode

If none of the above methods worked for you, we will boot into safe mode and delete all the files related to Steam so that it downloads and installs the game files from scratch.

We will boot into safe mode because it will disable all the extra software and processes so that nothing will interfere with the Deletion Process. Keep in mind, do note the location of the file that is causing the error.

Use Method 5 to pinpoint the exact location of the file.

Step 1 ⇒ Get your computer to boot into safe mode by selecting amongst the number of options available. Now, select the Enable Safe Mode With Networking option and boot the PC.

Step 2 ⇒ Once booted into safe mode, navigate to file location, which we noted earlier.

Step 3 ⇒ Once you have located the file, click on the Downloads folder and Delete all the contents of it.

Step 4 ⇒ Restart your PC and Run Steam as Administrator. Now follow Method 6 again to verify the integrity of the game files before starting your download again.

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Conclusion

We have provided you the best tried and tested methods to solve the Steam Missing File Privileges error. Be sure to perform all the steps correctly of every method so that you carry out the whole process in a perfect manner. We hope that one of the methods above will solve your issue once and for all.