When reinstalling Steam many people think they need to fully uninstall Steam and delete all of its related folders and files, but that is not true, and this guide will show you the quick, easy and safe method to quickly reinstall Steam, whether for troubleshooting purposes or otherwise.

Non of your games, save files, library categories, local screenshots or any other important configs will be deleted, however I can make no guarantees that you will not make a user error, therefore I recommend you make a backup of the Steam folder.

To back up the Steam folder simply make a copy of your Steam folder and place it elsewhere, like on your desktop or on a secondary drive. This way, although by all likelihood nothing will go wrong, you know that you have a safety net to fall on.

This following method will NOT delete your games or any other important things like save files, local screenshots, library categories, etc.

The following method is recommended if you're reinstalling Steam for troubleshooting purposes.

1. Exit Steam.
   
   
2. Head to the Steam Program Files folder, commonly located at C: > ProgramFiles(x86) > Steam.
   
   
3. Delete everything within the folder except for steamapps, userdata and Steam.exe.
   
   
4. If you have no game save files, local screenshots or any configs like custom library categories or important Steam settings that you care about you can optionally delete the userdata folder as well.
   
   
5. Run Steam.exe.
   
   
6. Wait while Steam downloads the required files and reinstalls.

That's it! You're done with your reinstall. Non of your games will be deleted and all your settings will be saved.

NB: If you are opted into the Steam Beta you will need to opt back into it after you reinstall Steam.

You can also view this as a video, which also shows how to opt into the Steam Beta Client.

• You can use Depressurizer[github.com] to backup Steam configs.
  
  
• You can use GameSave Manager[www.gamesave-manager.com] to backup game save files.
  
  
• Steam Download Issues and How To Fix Them
  
  
• Webpage and Connection Issues and How To Fix Them
  
  
• How To Transfer Steam Game Files and Save Files

This guide was originally created by me for /r/Steam in the form of a wiki page. You can view the original wiki page here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/wiki/index/uninstallreinstallsteam

If you have feedback regarding the guide, feel free to comment below! If you need help or have support questions feel free to post in the /r/Steam Monthly Support Thread.