Steam Creating Folders In The ROOT!

Edge

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I have looked in the registry and all files contained in the Valve\Steam folder but I cannot get the application to STOP creating the following folders.

C:\downloads
C:\metadata

I have Steam/HL2/CS:S installed at :

C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam

Why is it creating empty folders in the root of my drive? Bad programming is why but I want to know how to prevent this. I can delete the folders manually but I want to stop creation of them entirely.

Anyone solve this issue yet?
 
I haven't even had this issue. :| Are you sure it's Steam that's creating them? Not some spyware or something?
 
Yes I am sure it is related to Steam.

I scan for spyware and viruses weekly and I had just checked them yesterday because I was hosting a small LAN.

I copied my Valve\Steam folder over to all the other PC's and forced them offline and we played CS:S for about 13 hours. When we were finished I asked everyone to delete the Valve\Steam\SteamApps\MyAccount folders as it was tied to my account. All the PC's now had the folders I listed above. I went to check my PC and sure enough it has them too.
 
I have this problem too, steam has created:

C:\bin
C:\config
C:\errorlogs
C:\Public
C:\resource
C:\skins

on my root, which makes it look cluttered.
 
I had steam creating root directories a while back, although they fixed it at some point. Looks like it's come back in your case. Then again "downloads" doesn't look like steam folder...
 
MastaUK said:
I have this problem too, steam has created:

C:\bin
C:\config
C:\errorlogs
C:\Public
C:\resource
C:\skins

on my root, which makes it look cluttered.

Where is steam installed? Sounds like you chose the root?
 
I logged onto to Steam today for the first time in maybe a week or so and about half an hour later I discover I have the fully preloaded HL2 on my account. Cool, didn't even take very long. Now I just have to get enough money to get the gold package, VALVe says 26th of November right? That means it comes out like, December, January. Great.
 
AJ Rimmer said:
I logged onto to Steam today for the first time in maybe a week or so and about half an hour later I discover I have the fully preloaded HL2 on my account. Cool, didn't even take very long. Now I just have to get enough money to get the gold package, VALVe says 26th of November right? That means it comes out like, December, January. Great.

I think you meant to hit new post and not new reply LOL
:eek:
 
Hrm I am not able to recreate the issue now.

Launching Steam - No
Launching CS:S - No
Launching CS:S Server - No
Launching CS:Z - No

Maybe I fixed it will all the deleting and re-unlocking of the Steam files?
 
Edge said:
I have looked in the registry and all files contained in the Valve\Steam folder but I cannot get the application to STOP creating the following folders.

C:\downloads
C:\metadata

I have Steam/HL2/CS:S installed at :

C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam

Why is it creating empty folders in the root of my drive? Bad programming is why but I want to know how to prevent this. I can delete the folders manually but I want to stop creation of them entirely.

Anyone solve this issue yet?
This (Click Me) will tell you what I could come up with in my head. Spyware maybe? Have you downloaded anything that could have a possible virus? I don't have CS: S but shouldnt it go under C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps?
 
The Bait said:
This (Click Me) will tell you what I could come up with in my head. Sorry I can't think of anything that could do that. Spyware maybe? But click the link, its just a little humor. ;)

Quoted from the forum rules.
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Oh and a bunny with a pancake on it's hard is hardly what I would consider humor.
 
I edited my post to ask more questions. I didn't mean to put it into a form of spam. But shouldnt CS: S be in C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps ? That is where all my mods/expansions are. I don't have have CS: S so I can't help much.
 
Easy tiger ;)

Have you tried sending an email to Steam Support? (Admittedly they do take bloody ages to reply though) I would give it a shot.
 
r5a said:
STFU PLEASE!
What was that for? All he is doing is asking a simple question. And nowhere in the post did I see him say what you quoted. Why did you flame him ( :flame: ) for no good reason? How about we turn this around and you stfu and let him get a reply that actually HELPS him.
 
Sometimes I wish games would keep their crap in their own folders. I noticed Deus Ex 2, Thief III and The Sims 2 create their saved games in the My Documents folder. Bastards.
 
I have the same two folders in my C too, though I am not totally sure it is from steam.
 
I have the same folders. I don't mind (since I hardly browse C:\) but it's annoying.
 
coolcps said:
I have the same two folders in my C too, though I am not totally sure it is from steam.

Well I have seen it on 5 PC's in my house that all used Steam yesterday. But I have not been able to recreate the issue since I posted this thread but I have not payed CS:S yet either. Here are the applications I use daily.

Code:
Steam
MSN Messenger
XFire
Azureus
Norton Anti-virus
FireFox
Call Of Duty : United Offensive
And that is about it.... with an occasional run of  Spybot, Nero, and Teamspeak.

For all those that are finding the metadata and downloads folder can you list the appliciations you use from the above list.. if it isn't Steam lets prove it :)
 
DAMN... they are back! hehe I did launch Steam around 1PM and the folders are now back and were created around 1PM. I am going to delete and test again. I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT hehe
 
I have had this happen a few times (Steam files and directories appearing in my root directory, not my bunny getting pancake-headed).
I just delete them but sometimes, and for no obvious reason that I am able to reproduce, they reappear again.

I last removed them about a week before the CS:S beta ended and the full version was released and they have not (yet) reappeared.

This is something that has happened to me occasionally since I first installed Steam while it was a beta (a little over a year ago)
 
TMPer Tantrum said:
I don't have xfire, so it is not xfire, or at least not exclusively xfire.

The developers of Xfire say in the thread I posted above that downloads and metadata are supposed to be created but in the Xfire directory. Those specific directories are created by Xfire.
 
I've never had XFire (whatever it is) and steam did do this to me once. And it was steam, not some spyware. So there is a problem, I had someone at steampowered.com tell me they knew about it (or maybe my memory is playing up..)
 
we11er said:
I've never had XFire (whatever it is) and steam did do this to me once. And it was steam, not some spyware. So there is a problem, I had someone at steampowered.com tell me they knew about it (or maybe my memory is playing up..)

That is ludicrous. Xfire added the ability to download patches and subsequently added the code to make a downloads folder and a metadata folder. You are claiming that Steam has the exact same code for the same two folders?

Oh and Xfire is pretty cool :) It is a Instant Messenger for gamers that allows you to see what game and voice servers your friends are on and allows you to join with a mouse click.
 
Edge, those 2 folder names are hardly what I would call unique. I would consider not flaming him and actually asking for proof. After all, you were the one thinking it was Steam in the first place.
 
mattgirv said:
Edge, those 2 folder names are hardly what I would call unique. I would consider not flaming him and actually asking for proof. After all, you were the one thinking it was Steam in the first place.

I am not flaming him... I simply disagree. Flaming would be more like..


You ****ing idiot!!! there is no way that can be true and you are noob fag for thinking that.

I did provide proof. Read the thread before you comment :)

C:\downloads and C:\metadata both lower case and created EVERYTIME Xfire is launched with a creation date of exactly when XFIRE is launched is proof but the developer admitting it is a bug solidified my findings.
 
So did they say Xfire will have that fixed with the next update? I have them too...

Speaking of Xfire, when the Hell are they gonna support CS:S? Droppin' the ball! :flame:
 
BTW, games saving saved games in My Documents is actually kinda proper behaviour in this day and age of multi-user computers. Per-user data is supposed to go in the user's folder, data shared across all users is supposed to go in All Users, and program files in well, Program Files.

In practice, you tend to get games dumping all their data into Program Files.
 
Edge said:
That is ludicrous. Xfire added the ability to download patches and subsequently added the code to make a downloads folder and a metadata folder. You are claiming that Steam has the exact same code for the same two folders?

No! But steam does/did have the same kind of bug, creating dirs in the root.
 
Letters said:
So did they say Xfire will have that fixed with the next update? I have them too...

Speaking of Xfire, when the Hell are they gonna support CS:S? Droppin' the ball! :flame:

Yes the included thread... (damn I wish people would read) has the admin stating they will fix in next update. They update every friday. Which is far more active than most applications. Hardly dropping the ball.

But since you seem impatient.. here is a user documented fix.

http://www.xfire.com/xf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7577
 
Thanks, but no need to come off as such a little bitch.
 
Letters said:
Thanks, but no need to come off as such a little bitch.

Sorry if you felt I was coming off like a little bitch. It was a direct response to your negative attitude towards a piece of software that actually has documented the issues you speak of and offered a fix but you were too busy running your mouth to notice.
:rolling:
 
Stop. Full Stop.

edit: lol, it took away my caps... :(
 
rofl..you guys got served by steam. trying reinstalling, and dont change your install folder location. i havent read the rest of the thread so if this was mentioned before, oh well.
 
i got those files, empty, steam installed in program files..., no spyware (dont think), and it just site there, annoying, but i can cope

rf
 
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