Many people getting “missing file privileges” error during downloading and install games on Steam. Steam directory that differ depending upon the user/group using the PC. In Essence, permissions restricted to read won’t enable Steam to write new Data (game/update documents ). To skip this, then run the Steam client as an admin.
Error getting on steam.
- “An error occurred while installing <game> (missing file privileges)”
- An Error occurred while updating ARK: Survival Evolved (missing file privileges)
Fix 1: End igfxEm Module in Task Manager
igfxEm.exe is an executable file and is a component of Intel Common User Interface developed by Intel Corporation. It is an Intel installation package provided while installing Microsoft Windows for Intel graphics card. It’s a middleware between Intel graphics and the user. It enables the display resolution settings to persist and remain saved even when it’s turned off.
igfxEm stands for Intel Graphics Executable Main Module. It brings no harm to your computer and is from a trustworthy source. It is stored in C:\\Windows\System32\igdxEm.exe. If this file is found somewhere else, then it is probably a Trojan or a malware and may be harmful to the computer. It’s digitally signed.
It has been observed by many users that stopping this module and restarting Steam have fixed the steam missing file privileges error. Being a non-core file, stopping it won’t affect the functionality of the system either. Hence, to stop this service, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Press Windows + R key and type ‘taskmgr’ in it. This will open the Windows Task Manager for you. Or you can press Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously to open it.
- Under the Process tab, find igfxEm and select it.
- Then click on End Task.
- Relaunch Steam and run it as administrator.
- Right-click on the Windows Start menu, then click on ”Search”.
- Search for the Steam directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\ in most cases).
- In the directory, right-click on the Steam.exe file.
- Select ‘’Properties’’, then the ‘’Compatibility’’ tab.
- Tick the ‘’Run this program as an administrator’’ option.
Try installing or updating the game again and see whether the steam missing file privileges issue has been fixed or not.
Fix 2. Granting administrative access to Steam
Steam, in order to run smoothly, requires Read and Write access on your computer. The problem arises when your system treats it as a “Read-only” program. So, administrative access shall be provided to it, to make sure that it works optimally. No need to worry of any harm to your system, as Steam is digitally signed and all its programs are malware-proof.
Therefore, to grant administrative access to Steam, go through the following steps:
- Open Steam directory. You can find it in ‘C:/Program files/Steam’, or press Windows + R key and type ‘%ProgramFiles(x86)%’ in the dialogue box, followed by pressing Enter. Or you can simply browse to the location where you have installed Steam.
- Locate the Steam folder and right-click on it. Then, select Properties.
- Under the ‘Security’ tab, click on ‘Advanced’ in the bottom.
- In the table that is presented after performing d. above, you need to make sure that the first 4 rows are granted full control if not, you need to edit and do it. The last two rows are non-editable.
- To provide full control, select the row and click on Edit.
- A dialogue box will appear with various options.
- Check all these options, including full control for all the 4 rows. Click on Apply, and then close it.
- Right-click on Steam and select ‘Run as administrator’.
Granting administrative access will most probably solve the issue for you, and you’ll be able to download or update your game.
Fix 3. Change the download region
Technically, the Steam content system is divided into different regions. Your Steam client auto-detects what region you’re in and sets it as default. There are times when some servers have the overload problem, hence the missing file privileges error. If that’s the case,we can change the download region to make things work again:
1) Open Steam. Then click Steam > Settings.
2) Click Downloads, then change download region in the drop-down list and click OK.
3) Re-download/update the game and see if it works now.
Fix 4. Repair Steam Library Folder
A corrupted / misconfigured Steam library folder might also be responsible for our missing file privileges error. We might have to repair the folder to see if that clears the problem:
1) Restart your computer and launch Steam.
2) Click Steam > Settings.
3) Click Downloads > STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS.
4) Right-click inside the Window and click Repair Library Folder.
5) Re-try the install/update and hopefully this time it succeeds.
Fix 5. Repair the Library Folder and verify its integrity
1) Click LIBRARY.
2) Right-click on the game that gives the error and click Properties.
4) Click LOCAL FILES > VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME CACHE.
5) It might take some minutes for Steam to verify the game files.
6) Hope this has successfully fixed the Steam missing file privileges error for you.
Fix 6. Reboot the PC
Sometimes restarting your PC might turn out to be the best answer to your query. It can be a very easy solution as your PC at times struggles with minute technical errors that may not be very detectable but are causing these errors. When steam is Installing or updating a game, it has multiple processes running at the same time.
Whenever you are refreshing a game or downloading in steam, the software distributes the game data into tiny parts of 1MB and later collects these parts so that they can execute their tasks accurately. Steam practiced this technique to bypass defective downloads and further to preserve a valid whole of your bandwidth.
That’s all! Above were the easy and proven methods that you can use to resolve the steam missing file privileges error. Go through these steps carefully before attempting any of these methods to avoid any confusion. We hope that these simple methods helped you to resolve the problems you are facing.
