If you play on PC, then you are probably a Steam user too. Steam is still one of the best digital distribution platforms for PC games with thousands of games and millions of users. It offers million dollar AAA games and small indie games for one person that users can play and enjoy.
However, like all PC apps, the Steam client can sometimes run into issues. For example, if the game is not updating, Steam may need administrative access to fix this. If you trust Steam enough to do this, knowing how to run Steam as an administrator can fix some of these minor issues, which you can do by following these steps.
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Running Steam as administrator: Pros and Cons
Before we begin, it’s important to know that there are certain pros and cons that you should consider before opening Steam or running a Steam game as an administrator on Windows.
To begin with, running any application as an administrator gives it more authority on your PC to edit, run, or otherwise change important system files and settings. Windows has been designed over the years to prevent applications that don’t necessarily need access to the sensitive parts of your operating system.
Granting Steam Administrator rights will overcome these obstacles. While Steam itself is not necessarily a risk in nature, undetected bugs or other security holes can be exploited to abuse a Steam client running with administrator access enabled. The same can happen with games that you launch from Steam itself.
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However, in certain situations it can be helpful to know how to run Steam as an administrator in order to fix problems with installing the game or with Steam updates. Older games can also win if they are launched from the admin-enabled Steam client, especially if they were developed for older Windows platforms.
Running Steam as an administrator is ultimately a judgment. Steam is software that you can probably trust, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any bugs or security holes to exploit. Our tip is one caveat: if you need to run Steam as an administrator, do so, but only if you really need to.
How to run Steam as administrator on Windows
If you’ve considered the risks, there are several ways you can launch the Steam client or launch a Steam game as an administrator on Windows 10. The same methods apply to any game or application you want to run with an administrator. also privileges.
For many users, Steam launches automatically when the computer starts up. Before you start, make sure Steam is not already running on your computer so that you can run it as administrator.
While there are several ways to start Steam as an administrator, the easiest way to do this is from the Windows Start menu.
- To do this, go to the start menu and find Steam in the list of applications. , then right-click the entry. From the Advanced submenu, select the Run as administrator option.
- If you have UAC enabled, Windows will ask you to confirm that you want Steam to be able to make changes to your computer. Click “Yes” to confirm. At this point, Steam will run with administrator rights.
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Another way to enable Steam with administrator privileges is to create a shortcut to Steam, and then configure the shortcut so that Steam starts with administrator privileges when it starts.
- To do this, right-click in Windows Explorer or on the desktop. In the menu that appears, click New> Shortcut.
- In the Create Shortcut window, click Browse to locate the steam.exe executable for the Steam client. By default, it is usually installed in the C: / Program Files (x86) / Steam directory. Once selected, click Next.
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- Give the shortcut a name, then click Finish to create the shortcut.
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- After creating a shortcut, right-click it and select Properties.
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- In the Properties window, click the Compatibility tab. In the “Settings” section, select the “Run this program as administrator” checkbox, then click “OK” to save.
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- After saving the shortcut, double-click it to launch Steam with administrator access enabled.
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You can also run the steam.exe executable directly from the Steam installation directory with administrator rights enabled. This is similar to the same method as above, but instead of creating a shortcut, you do it directly with the executable.
- To do this, open the Steam installation directory in the Windows Explorer file (by default C: / Program Files (x86) / Steam
- If UAC is enabled, you will need to confirm that you want the Steam client to work with the ability to make changes. Click Yes to confirm your choice and launch Steam as an administrator.
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- If you want to run the Steam client as administrator every time you start it, right-click the steam.exe file and select Properties. In the Properties window, select the Run this program as administrator check box on the Compatibility tab, then click OK to save.
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Run Steam as root on macOS
While it is technically possible to run Steam as a superuser on a Mac (similar to granting administrator rights on Windows), this is unnecessary and in fact not recommended. MacOS handles applications in a completely different way than Windows, and you don’t need to run Steam this way.
Any permissions required by Steam are requested the first time you launch Steam You can view, add, or revoke these permissions yourself in the System Preferences under Security & Privacy.
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So yes, it is technically possible to run Steam as superuser on macOS, but you shouldn’t be thinking about it. It cannot be used to troubleshoot the Steam client for macOS in the same way as the Windows version, so if you run into problems you will need to learn another method to fix them.
Playing on Steam
If you know how to run Steam as an administrator on Windows, you can quickly fix some of the smaller Steam issues and go back to where you installed Steam for: PC gaming. If you need new games, you can try new Steam games for free thanks to free weekends and trials of popular games.
Steam Link owners can stream their PC games from Steam to their TV. If you want to showcase your gaming skills, you might even consider using Steam Broadcasting as an alternative to other platforms like Twitch and share your gameplay with other enthusiasts.
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