Problem installing: .GCF extension?

[cjohnson04]

Ok, I get this error when trying to install Half-Life 2.

"Error 1305. Error reading from file: C:\ProgramFiles\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\base source shared models.gcf. Verify that the file exists and that you can access it."

The file is there, but I don't know what I can use to open/read the file. Any information? What is a GCF file exactly?

 

[Beerdude26]

A GCF file is a file extension used by Valve. It is essentially just a folder with the required game files in them. You can open these files using GCFScape.

For your problem:
Go to your main Steam folder.
Go to the 'Steamapps' folder.
Right-click on the "base source shared models.gcf" file.
Select "Properties".
Untick the "Read-Only" option below.

If the file simply doesn't exist, you might have a corrupted or incomplete Windows Installation Service install. Here's a link to the Windows DB for more help: link.