Steam fails to start

Steam may fail to start and silently terminate, or it may continue running in the background without loading the Login dialog.

To determine whether Steam has silently terminated or is still running, please check the Windows Task Manager:

1. Press the CTRL, ALT, and DEL keys simultaneously
2. Click the Task Manager button and select the Processes tab
3. If you can locate Steam.exe under the Image Name column, Steam is running in the background
   • Steam continues running in the background: This issue is most commonly caused by a third-party application interfering with Steam. Please see the Programs Which Interfere with Steam topic and the Spyware, Adware, and Viruses Interfering with Steam topic for instructions to ensure any conflicts are resolved.
   • Steam has silently terminated: Please ensure your System Clock is set to a valid date (the date must be within 48 hours of the actual date and time for your region) - an invalid date will prevent Steam from loading.