After investigating this particular issue, it turns out that there are several different scenarios that might end up causing this particular error code. Here’s a shortlist of potential culprits that might be responsible for your problem: Now that you know all the potential causes, here’s how you can fix the problem:
Method 1: Investigating a Server Issue
The ideal way to start this troubleshooting guide is to investigate and see if there’s an ongoing server issue you might have to worry about. After all, this problem is often associated with a server problem that’s prevented end-user Steam clients from downloading game updates. Fortunately, there are a few services that you can use to verify if Steam is currently experiencing any server issues. You should check out SteamStat.us and DownDetector to see if Steam is currently dealing with server issues that are affecting users in your area. Note: If the 2 websites are reporting issues with Steam’s servers, you should also check the official Steam Support Twitter account for any official announcements. In case the investigation has uncovered a widespread server issue, the only method that might help you fix the problem is to follow Method 3 and change the default download server. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to wait until Steam’s software engineers manage to fix their server problems.
Method 2: Opening Steam as Administrator
If you’ve made sure that this problem is not being caused by a server issue, the first potential culprit that you’ll need to look into is a permission issue. We’ve managed to identify a lot of user reports saying that in their case, the issue occurred because the Steam client didn’t’ have the necessary permissions to install the new game files after downloading the update. If this scenario is applicable, you can fix the problem by forcing Steam to open as with admin rights. If this method is successful, you should make this the default behavior. To force Steam to open with administrative privileges, right-click on the executable or shortcut that you youse when launching the game and click on Run as Administrator from the newly appeared context menu. If this operation has been successful, you might want to modify the default behavior of Steam in order to prevent the same kind of issues from occurring again. To do this, follow the instructions below: If this problem is still not resolved, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 3: Changing the Download Region
If the investigation above has revealed a server issue, what you can do is change the default Download region so that your Steam client is forced to use a different server when having to download new updates for your games. This operation was confirmed to be successful by a lot of affected users that we’re encountering the ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files) with every game title that they attempt to update. If the problem is being caused by a server issue, doing this modification should sort the issue out. If you haven’t tried this potential fix yet, follow the instructions below to change the Download Region that your Steam client is configured to use and see if that ends up fixing the issue: If you already attempted to change the Download server and you’re still seeing the same corrupt content files error, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 4: Switch to a wired connection (if applicable)
If you’re using a wireless connection, one quick workaround that might allow you to get around the ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’ error message is to switch over to a wired connection. It doesn’t have to be a permanent change. Inconsistencies with Steam updates over wireless networks are a fairly common occurrence on Windows 7. Fortunately, You can simply switch over to a wired connection and use it to download the game updates before moving back to a wireless connection. So if you haven’t tried this already, plug an ethernet cable into your PC, restart your Steam client and initiate the download again. If the error message doesn’t return, complete the installation of every update before moving back to your regular wireless connection. On the other hand, if the same ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’ error is still occurring, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 5: Whitelisting Steam in Windows Firewall
As it turns out, depending on your security preferences enforced on your Windows Firewall, the built-in security suite might sometimes decide to quarantine legitimate game executables and block Steam from communicating with the download servers – this is a common occurrence with the Rage 2 executable. Of course, this problem can also occur with 3rd party firewalls and AV suites, but this method will focus on solving an instance in which Windows Firewall is blocking the download due to a false positive. If this scenario is applicable to your particular scenario, you should be able to fix the problem by establishing a whitelisting rule in your Firewall to ensure that Steam is not preventing from downloading and installing pending game updates. To do this, follow the instructions below to whitelist Steam, the download folder and the ports used by it in order to fix the ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’: If the same problem is still occurring, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 6: Performing a Winsock Reset
If none of the potential fixes have worked for you, start considering a potential TCP / IP issue and do a Winsock reset to fix the ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’ error if it’s being caused by a data transmission timeout or protocol error. In most documented cases, problems of this king are actually caused by a glitch with the network adapter or a bad case of a DNS range. If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the problem by running a series of commands from an elevated command prompt that will reset all TCP / IP data and do a Winsock reset. To do this, follow the instructions below: In case you’re still seeing the same ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’ message, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 7: Freeing up RAM space
If you’re encountering this issue on a computer that doesn’t have a lot of RAM memory to work with, the error might also pop up due to the fact that Steam is not granted enough RAM space to facilitate the download and installation of the game update. We’ve managed to identify several different user reports that have managed to fix the ‘An error occurred while updating (corrupt content files)’ error after closing off any unnecessary application and freeing up precious RAM. To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up Task Manager. Next, access the Processes tab and Right-Click > End task on every process that is taking up precious Memory space. Be especially mindful of processes belonging to web browsers since they are notoriously known for being huge memory hoggers. Once you’ve made sure that every non-essential process is closed, restart Steam and repeat the action that was previously causing the problem. If the same error code is still popping up when you attempt to download and install a newer version of a game, move down to the next method below.
Method 8: Deleting the appcache directory
According to some affected users, this problem can also occur in instances where the issue is actually being caused by corrupted temporary files that are currently stored inside the appcache directory of Steam. If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the problem by navigating to the location of this directory and deleting it before rebooting your computer and restarting Steam. As some users have confirmed, this might end up fixing the corrupted content files error in case the issue is rooted in a temp file. Here’s a quick guide on how to clear the appcache directory of Steam:
Method 9: Updating / Uninstalling the Wireless Network card driver
If none of the methods above have worked for you and you’re connected to a wireless network, you should also consider the fact that the problem might actually be caused by a driver inconsistency. Several affected users have managed to fix the problem by either updating or by uninstalling the current wireless network driver. Keep in mind that if you uninstall the wireless driver, you’ll force your operating system to use a generic driver which might fix the problem in some cases. If you haven’t tried this yet, follow the instructions below to update or uninstall the current wireless network driver:
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