SOLVED: Computer Hangs/Lags When Downloading From Steam

A few Windows 10 users have reported experiencing an issue where their computer starts hanging and lagging uncontrollably when they start downloading games, game updates or other content from Steam – the leading gaming source for PCs in the world. Users affected by this issue see that everything from programs to even their mouse pointer hang an awful lot when their computers are downloading from Steam. In addition, another behavior observed in computers affected by this issue is their total CPU usage shooting up to dangerous levels, often going up to a whopping 100%.

In addition, users affected by this issue not only experience it when downloading content from Steam but also experience it when downloading anything from other applications or programs, such when downloading drivers from the GeForce Experience application. However, neither lagging/hanging nor a dangerously high CPU usage is seen by affected users when downloading files directly off the internet. Through the rigorous hard work and, of course, the trial and error of Windows 10 users who have been affected by this problem in the past, the culprit behind this problem has been identified as no more than a simple bcedit value that had been set to true in the past. In most cases, the bcedit value that has to be set to true in order to give rise to this problem is set to true by none other than the user affected by this problem themselves, although they are not aware of the consequences of doing so in most cases.

In order to fix this issue, all that needs to be done is to reset the bcedit value causing this problem back to false. In order to do so, you need to follow steps as stated below

Right-click on the Start Menu button to open the WinX Menu.

Click on Command Prompt (Admin).

Type the following into the elevated Command Prompt and then press Enter:

bcdedit /set useplatformclock false

useplatformclock

Restart your computer, and try downloading something from Steam once it boots up. You should no longer experience any lagging/hanging or high CPU usage when downloading content from Steam or any other application on your computer.

Also, it is recommended to disable the Antivirus or add an exception for the folder in which the game is being downloaded. For that:

  1. Click on the Antivirus’ icon in the system tray.
  2. Click on the settings option and then select Scan.
  3. Click on “Add an Exception” and add the folder where the game is being downloaded.
  4. Check to see if the issue persists.

Change Power Options

Setting the right power options just might be the solution for you especially if you are gaming on a laptop. Therefore, in this step, we will be selecting the High-Performance profile as the default for our computer. Make sure to plug in your laptop as well before trying this fix.

  1. Press ‘Windows’ + “R” buttons on your keyboard to open Run and type in “Control” to launch the control panel.
    Accessing the Classic Control Panel interface
  2. Click on the “Hardware and Sound” button and then select the “Power Options” button from the list.
  3. Select the “High Performance” option and save your changes.
    Changing Power to High Performance
  4. Try to launch the game and check if making this change has fixed the issue on your computer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamil Anwar


Kamil is a certified MCITP, CCNA (W), CCNA (S) and a former British Computer Society Member with over 9 years of experience Configuring, Deploying and Managing Switches, Firewalls and Domain Controllers also an old-school still active on FreeNode.