Error encountered when trying to end the task for Steam.exe: Access Denied.
Error encountered when trying to end the task for Steam.exe: Access Denied.
Hello!
I hope someone can assist me with this troublesome issue I'm facing right now.
I'm a programmer with strong technical skills, and I think I've covered as much ground as possible when it comes to fixing problems.
Recently, my Steam application isn't closing correctly, which stops it from restarting properly.
In Task Manager, the Steam process appears, but when I click End Task, I receive an "Access Denied" message.
I installed MalwareBytes the day before these problems started. It seemed to cause issues when trying to connect Steam, as it blocked certain IP addresses.
Despite that, I uninstalled it without success.
Other actions I've tried include:
- Using Process Hacker 2 to close the Steam process with an "Access Denied" error.
- Using Process Explorer from Sysinternals to terminate the process.
- Running `taskkill` with a force flag.
- Setting Steam in Compatibility Mode for Windows 8.1.
- Reinstalling Steam after a restart, while preserving my Steamapps and userdata folders.
- Reinstalling from a different location (my C:\), after hearing some users resolved similar UAC issues).
These attempts haven't worked consistently. The only times it seems to function are when I forcefully shut down the Steam web helpers, though even then it often fails after restarting twice.
Additionally, I've noticed that the RAM usage remains stable—only a slight change of about 0.3MB observed so far (from 61.3MB to 61.0MB).
It also seems to operate normally in Safe Mode, suggesting there might be something interfering.
Anyone have experience or suggestions on this?
I'm eager to explore all options, as this is becoming increasingly frustrating.
I usually start coding and take a break by playing games, but sometimes I need to log out of Steam for another account. It's hard not to want to restart completely after a full session in Command Prompts.
I'd really appreciate any advice!
🙂
I was really excited because I had applied that particular adjustment with BlueStacks on Windows 11, but sadly it didn't succeed.
🙁
EDIT: After waiting a few minutes, it functioned again without me having to end any processes. I'm planning to try this once more tomorrow and will update you on the result!
😀