Fatal Error: Failed to load platform modules

The cause of this error may vary, depending upon when the error is encountered. Please follow the instructions which correspond to the situation and see the Contacting VALVe Billing and Support topic for instructions to contact Steam Support if the issue persists after you have applied the recommendations listed here.

Error Occurs while Steam is Updating

The error is being caused by a crashed Steam process interfering with the Steam update process.

1. Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys on the keyboard
2. Briefly press the Delete (Del) key and then release the other keys
3. Click the Task Manager button
4. Select the Processes tab
5. Right-click and select End Process for any instances of Steam.exe which are listed
6. Start Steam

Error Occurs when Starting Steam

1. Ensure that Steam is not running (close any error dialog windows)
2. Go to the Start button and select Run...
3. Enter regedit and press OK
4. Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Steam registry folder
5. Locate and double-click the Language registry key
6. Enter english in the Value data field and click OK
7. Start Steam