How to Fix Steam Error Code 2 (Servers are Too Busy)

Having trouble trying to fix Steam error code 2?

Steam has been one of the most iconic companies for game distribution for over a decade. Though the extremely popular platform has a ton of other rivals, like Epic Games, Steam still manages to come out on top for most gamers.

However, you’re having a hard time opening your games or even launching the program. What is Steam error code 2, and what does it mean? In this article, we’ll be going over why this issue happens as well as guide you through multiple methods to try and fix this problem.

The Steam error code 2 is most likely due to a network problem that’s either from your internet or from another setting on your computer. Without further ado, here’s how you can fix Steam error code 2.

Let’s dive in!

• • 1. Disable The Family Sharing Feature.
  • 2. Verify Your Game Files.
  • 3. Change The Download Server.
  • 4. Add Users To Your Steam Properties.
  • 5. Reinstall Steam.

1. Disable The Family Sharing Feature.

A great feature that a lot of gaming-families can use is the ‘Family Library Sharing’ feature. This is a great way to allow other members of your family to access games that are stored in your Library.

This way, even if your siblings or children didn’t buy the game, they’ll still be able to play the game through your Steam library. Unfortunately, the transfer of data between devices can sometimes mess with certain games.

Here’s how you can disable the ‘Family Library Sharing’ feature:

1. First, open up the Steam app and click on Steam. You’ll find this button at the top-left corner of your screen.

2. Now, move your mouse down and select Settings then go to the Family tab.
3. Finally, disable Authorize Library Sharing on this computer.

With this feature disabled, your game should no longer confuse itself with other devices. Try opening up your game to see if the error still pops up.

2. Verify Your Game Files.

A really cool feature that was semi-unique to Steam for a while is being able to verify your game files. Through this method, Steam will be able to check your local files and assess whether or not you’re missing any data.

Missing files can result in errors like this, especially if your network files were the ones compromised. If Steam finds any incomplete folders, the process will automatically download the necessary files to complete your game files.

Here’s how you can verify your game files:

1. Start by opening the Steam app and going to Library then Home.
2. Then, look for the game that you’re having a problem with and right-click the program. Select Properties and navigate to Local Files.

3. Lastly, just click on Verify integrity of game files… to begin the process.

Steam will download any missing files, so be aware that this can use up the necessary bandwidth. Once your game has been fully verified, try running it and see if the error persists.

3. Change The Download Server.

To speed up downloads, Steam has a set of servers that are meant to cater to specific geographical locations. This way, even if you’re from Asia, you’ll only need to download the game from the Asia server.

With this, your downloads should be much quicker since the servers are physically closer to you than, let’s say, America. Unfortunately, these servers can sometimes bug or have network problems that result in errors like this. We’ll be changing your download server to another location to see if that helps fix this network issue.

Here’s how you can change the download server:

1. With the Steam app already open, click on the Steam button at the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Then, move your mouse down and click on Settings.

3. From there, go to the Downloads tab and change your Download Region to another location that’s also close to you. Press OK to save your changes.

Whenever you run the program now, any downloads hindering the game should continue downloading.

4. Add Users To Your Steam Properties.

If you’ve exhausted all the Steam-related methods above, we’ll be moving on to fiddling with your Windows settings. There’s a built-in setting that limits a program from interacting with other users on your computer.

By default, Steam should be allowed to run on the user profile it was installed in, but here’s how you can double-check and reconfigure that setting. Doing this will enable and add your account to the list of accounts that have full permission to use Steam.

Here’s how you can add Users to your Steam properties:

1. Start by locating the Steam directory on your computer. You can do this by opening up the File Explorer and navigating to the directory listed below.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam

2. Once you’re there, look for the steam application and right-click the file. Select Properties, you’ll find this at the bottom-most part of the pop-up menu.

3. Go to the Security tab and try to look for a ‘Users’ entry under Group or user names. If you don’t find one, click on Edit.
4. Finally, look for Users there and select Add.

When you’re done with that, go ahead and try to run the Steam program again.

5. Reinstall Steam.

You may have already tried to reinstall Steam, but we’ve included a couple of other details in this method to help you properly uninstall the program. Without these extra steps, Steam may not have been completely uninstalled from your computer.

With residual files on your computer, any future reinstallations of Steam can be compromised. Additionally, we understand the concern that comes with uninstalling Steam: losing all your installed game files. 😟 Here’s the safest way to go about safeguarding your Steam games.

Other than that you can also save and transfer these files to another folder so that you won’t have to download them again. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to guarantee that this easier method will work 100 percent. Regardless, here’s how you can do that:

1. First, open up the Start menu and search for ‘This PC’. Click on the first result and you should be directed to a window that displays all your hard drives.
2. From there, navigate to the directory provided below. You’ll find all your installed Steam games in this folder.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common

3. Select all these folders by left-clicking and dragging your mouse over all the folders. Alternatively, you can also just press CTRL + A keys to completely highlight all the folders. Right-click any of the game files and select Cut.
4. Finally, either make a temporary folder on your Desktop or go to any folder of your choice. Right-click on the folder and select Paste to move all your apps somewhere safe.

After doing all these steps, your games should be safe, guaranteeing that they won’t be uninstalled together with Steam.

Uninstall Steam.

Moving on, we’ll be properly uninstalling Steam to make sure that the program is completely removed from your computer. Doing so will make sure that your next installation will proceed without problems or complications.

Don’t make the mistake of just looking for the Steam folder and pressing ‘Delete’. This will leave residual files and do a bad job at thoroughly removing Steam from your computer.

Here’s how you can properly uninstall Steam:

1. Go ahead and bring out the Start menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Now, search for ‘Add or remove programs’ then click on the program returned from your query.
3. You should be directed to a window with a list of all your installed programs. Look for ‘Steam’ by using the search bar to see if your computer still considers it installed.

4. If you find Steam, click on the program and select Uninstall. Go through the necessary prompts to completely uninstall the program.

Remove All Registries.

Finally, despite uninstalling the program, Steam has a tendency of storing multiple files all throughout your computer. We’ll be getting rid of these files through the Registry Editor, which is a catalog of all level-one settings on your computer that you have access to.

You can refer to Steam’s official support thread to figure out how you can do this. Once that’s done, you can finally reinstall Steam by downloading the official installer on their website. Run the installer to start installing Steam.

After all these steps and with a fresh installation of Steam on your computer, don’t forget to transfer your games back to the steamapps folder. That should complete this method and hopefully, fix the Steam error code 2.

Now that you’ve reached the end of this article, we hope to have helped you fix Steam error code 2. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment down below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂