Many of us use computers to entertain ourselves through video games ; Steam is a platform to enjoy them, but sometimes errors can arise. Therefore, today we will explain to you, how to download and solve the STEAM_API.DLL error in Windows 10, 8 and 7.
What is STEAM?
For those who do not know it yet, STEAM is an online platform to distribute a wide variety of video games ; made by independent developers or by dedicated software companies.
The platform and some games were made by Valve Corporation; They have been available to the public since the end of 2003. It also offers you additional services, for video broadcasts , a social network with groups and chat, and even sharing games on Steam with family mode .
To be part of this community, you need to register on the official steam page . The process is free and will give you access to their services, to link the games you buy in their online store and also some that can be purchased in some physical stores.
Although it is an online platform, it requires an installation on our computer , to save various types of files that will help us with the automatic updates of the games, as well as the registration of statistics, saved games, etc.
What is the STEAM_API.DLL and why is it necessary?
There are many files that are saved on our computer , after installing Steam. It may happen that Steam does not open games in Windows 10 ; the STEAM_API.DLL library is a famous file, for presenting an annoying error when the platform cannot start.
STEAM_API.DLL is therefore one of the main DLL libraries. Since it allows access to many Steamworks functions; such as game statistics, saved achievements, user authentication, searching for servers and connecting with other users.
When this file is damaged, it may be because the file is corrupted by a virus, has been deleted, or accidentally moved from its location. But luckily, there are a couple of ways to solve this problem ; that we will explain to you now.
How to fix STEAM_API.DLL error in Windows 10, 8 and 7
The first solution, we have it from the same Steam platform. Since it has a file checker ; that checks the integrity of the files used by our games. It is also recommended to delete temporary files for Steam games .
We start Steam and right click on the game that gives us the Steam_api.dll error; In the contextual menu we select “Properties” and then the “LOCAL FILES” tab. Further down, we press the option “VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME CACHE” .
If all goes well, the problem will correct itself automatically; otherwise we must download and fix the STEAM_API.DLL error in Windows 10, 8 and 7 , manually. To obtain this file, we go to the DLL-Files website .
It is a website where we can download all kinds of DLL files for free. However, we must be a little careful when choosing the correct version for our computer; that will depend if our architecture is 32 or 64 bits.
Once the file is downloaded, we must unzip it from the ZIP in which it is included; then we just have to copy and paste it in the correct location. If our computer is 32 bits, we must go to the path “C: \ Windows \ System32” and if it is 64 bits in “C: \ Windows \ SysWOW64”.
If the problem persists, we do the same in the game location . We just have to find the Steam folder on our hard drive and then go to “\ steamapps \ common \ Game name \”, or “C: \ Program files (x86) \ Game name”.
Although the methodology is the same for all versions of Microsoft Windows , the paths may vary. If you are not sure which one corresponds to you, you can check it in the same Steam option that we mentioned before, but selecting the option “SEE LOCAL FILES”.
With this, we already solve our headache . Now that you know how to download and fix the STEAM_API.DLL error in Windows 10, 8 and 7; It only remains to enjoy this platform and pass this valuable information to your friends.
