How to Fix the 'New Steam Library Must be Writable' Error

'New Steam Library Must be Writable' Error

Steam is a popular gaming platform, which hosts tens of thousands of game titles. It is used by millions of users on a daily basis, and many of them encounter issues that they have no idea how to fix. One of the common errors that Steam users search for online is 'New Steam library folder must be writable.' This typically happens when they try to create a new Steam Library folder on a different drive or partition.

While the message is very self-explanatory, Steam does not provide a fix at all. This is where the tips below can help you:

Render the Steam Library Writable

Typically, the default Steam Library is found under the directory C:\Program Files\steam\steamapps\common. Navigate to the Steam folder, right-click on steamapps -> Properties. Make sure to uncheck the Read-only box

You might want to restart Steam to make sure that the changes are in effect.

Clear the Steam Download Cache

Another way to troubleshoot the 'New Steam Library Must be Writable' Error is to clean the download cache of Steam. To do this:

  1. Open Steam and select the Steam menu from the top-left.
  2. Go to Settings -> Downloads.
  3. Press CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE.

Repair the Folder to Fix the 'New Steam Library Must be Writable' Error

Steam has a built-in tool to try to identify and fix issues with the Steam Library. To use, you need to follow these steps:

  1. Open Steam and go to the Steam menu.
  2. Select Settings -> Downloads.
  3. Click on STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS on top.
  4. Left-click the gear icon and select Repair Folder.

'New Steam Library Must be Writable' Error

September 24, 2021
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