How to Fix Critical Steam Component (steamwebhelper) Not Responding on Windows 11

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Preliminary Fixes

Fix 1: Delete steamwebhelper.exe to Re-Download It

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Ekeyboard shortcut to open File Explorer.

Step 2:Click on theaddress bar, paste the following path, and pressEnter:

Step 3:Find thesteamwebhelper.exefile and click on it. PressDeleteto remove the file.

Step 4:Close theFile Explorer.

Step 5:Press theWindowskey, typesteamin the search box, and pressEnter.

Steam will identify that the steamwebhelper.exe file is missing and will re-download it the next time you launch the Steam app.

Fix 2: Whitelist Steamwebhelper.exe in Antivirus Software

Overprotective antivirus programs can block Steam or its associated programs from running on your PC. Here’s how to whitelist steamwebhelper.exe in Windows Defender.

Step 1:Press theWindowskey, typevirus & threat protection, and pressEnterto open Windows Security.

Step 2:Scroll down to the Virus & threat protection history section. Click onManage settings.

Step 3:Scroll to the Exclusions section and click onAdd or remove exclusions.

Step 4:When the User Account Control window appears, click onYes.

Step 5:Click onAdd an exclusion> selectFile.

Step 6:Browse the Steam installation folder and double-click on thesteamwebhelper.exefile to select it.

That’s it. You will see that the list now includes the steamwebhelper.exe file.

If adding the steamwebhelper.exe file to a whitelist does not work, try adding the entire Steam folder to the whitelist.

Fix 3: Run Steam Executable With Modified Permissions

Many users faced the steamwebhelper.exe crashing issue with the newer version of the Steam client. You must launch the steam.exe file with modified permissions to fix the issue. Here’s how:

Step 1:Press theWindowskey, typesteam, and click onOpen file location.

Step 2:Right-click onSteam>Properties.

Step 3:Navigate and click on thetarget field. Press theSpacebarkey once and type-vguiin it.

Step 4:Click onApply>OK.

This should fix the critical Steam component not responding error. Launch Steam and check if the error message appears.

Fix 4: Disable Browser Sandboxing in Steam

Step 1:Press theWindowskey, typecmd, and pressEnterto open the Terminal app.

Step 2:Type the following command and pressEnterto execute it:

Step 3:Steam will launch without browser sandboxing. Close the Terminal app window.

This should fix the steamwebhelper not responding error. If the issue persists, we recommend contactingSteam Support.

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Last updated on 20 August, 2024

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