How do I completely uninstall Steam?

To completely uninstall Steam, you can follow the standard uninstallation process for your operating system, which involves going to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Steam and clicking “Uninstall” on Windows, or dragging the Steam icon to the Trash and then deleting the Steam library from the “Library/Application Support” folder on a Mac. Additionally, you may need to re-install Steam to repair the installation before removing it, and then use the Steam uninstaller to ensure all files and folders are properly deleted.

Introduction to Uninstalling Steam

Uninstalling Steam can be a bit tricky, but with the right steps, you can completely remove it from your computer.

Why Uninstall Steam?

There are several reasons why you might want to uninstall Steam, such as freeing up space on your computer, removing unused programs, or troubleshooting issues with the Steam client.

Uninstalling Steam on Windows

To uninstall Steam on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features.
2. Find Steam in the list of installed apps and click on it.
3. Click the “Uninstall” button to start the uninstallation process.

Uninstalling Steam on Mac

To uninstall Steam on a Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open Finder and go to the Applications folder.
2. Find the Steam icon and drag it to the Trash.
3. Go to the “Library/Application Support” folder and delete the Steam library.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about uninstalling Steam:

1. Why can’t I fully uninstall Steam?: If the normal process to uninstall Steam does not work, you may have inadvertently damaged your Steam installation. To uninstall Steam, you may first be required to re-install Steam to repair the installation before it may be removed.
2. Does uninstalling Steam remove all game files?: When you uninstall Steam, your game files and saved games will remain on your computer, and you can reinstall Steam at a later time to access them again.
3. How do I completely uninstall Steam from my Mac?: To uninstall Steam from a Mac, open Finder > Applications and locate the Steam icon, then drag and drop the Steam icon into your Trash folder.
4. How do I completely remove a game from my computer?: To completely remove a game from your computer, select the Search icon on the taskbar, type settings, and then select Settings > Apps > Apps & features, and choose the game you want to uninstall from the list and then select Uninstall two times.
5. How do I completely remove all traces of a program?: To completely remove all traces of a program, use the Control Panel to uninstall the program, then delete the remaining files and folders, remove app keys from the Windows Registry, and empty the Temp folder.
6. How do I uninstall a Steam game?: To uninstall a Steam game, go to the game you want to remove from the left list of games, and then right-click the unwanted game and select Uninstall from the drop-down menu.
7. Does reinstalling Steam delete everything?: Reinstalling Steam will not delete your game files or saved games, but it will reset the Steam client to its default settings.
8. Does uninstalling Steam delete progress?: When you uninstall Steam, your game progress will be saved to the Steam cloud, so you can access it again if you reinstall Steam.
9. How do I clear Steam cache?: To clear Steam cache, open the Steam Client, go to Settings > Downloads, and click the “Clear Download Cache” button.
10. What is a clean uninstall?: A clean uninstall refers to using the regular uninstaller plus performing steps to ensure any bad files or registry entries are removed.
11. How do I get rid of leftover files after uninstalling?: To get rid of leftover files after uninstalling, navigate to the AppData and Program Files folders, examine the files, and remove them.
12. Does uninstalling an app remove all files?: When you uninstall an app, the default behavior is to delete the app’s cache and data, but there are some exceptions to this rule.
13. How long does it take to delete a Steam account?: After you request to delete your Steam account, Steam Support will restrict the account for 30 days and queue it for deletion.
14. Does Steam slow down your computer?: Steam can slow down your computer to an extent, as it uses the CPU, GPU, memory, and storage, but you can disable Steam from running at startup to improve performance.
15. How do I remove Steam from startup?: To remove Steam from startup, open the Steam app and go to “Steam” > Settings, and uncheck the box to launch Steam on startup, or open Task Manager and go to “Startup” > Steam > Disable.