1y ago

Steam not launching games - no idea what to do

This may not be a Linux specific problem as I had the exact same issue earlier with Windows 7 and it's one of the reasons I installed Linux in the first place.

The specific game I'm trying to play is DayZ but it may not be issue specific to this game. It worked flawlessly untill this point. I had made no changes to anything. Basically when I try to launch the game it starts loading up normally and then just apparently quits and the "Play" button goes back green. No error, no black screen, no freezing or anything. It just stops launching the game.

I've tried checking the integrity of files, deleting downloads catche, disabling steam cloud, removing launch options.. nothing. Almost like it gets blocked by firewall or something. However I feel like it may be an issue with steam itself or then it's a hardware issue (I've got really old PC)

Few things I've noticed that may or may not be related:

When opening up steam it almost always used to download some updates first and check the integrity of them or something. Now it doesn't. It just opens up Steam. When I click "check for updates" it says everything is up to date.
The firmware updater shows available updates for my SSD and HDD but no option to update. I also tried with sudo fwupdmgr get-devices but it says "UEFI firmware can not be updated in legacy BIOS mode See https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd/wiki/PluginFlag:legacy-bios for more information."

In the privacy settings it says "checks failed" and gives me this message:

I've tried reinstalling Proton BattlEye Runtime but it wont let me uninstall it and says "missing shared content"

71 comments

I don't have any idea about your hardware issues. They're likely unrelated if the game has already been played without issue.

For the steam diagnosing, start with running steam from your terminal, by running steam. You may get lucky and the error is clearly identified in the console.

If that fails, backup $HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/221100 - the 221100 is the app ID of of DayZ on the steam store. After backing it up, delete the original 221100 directory and re-launch the game. This doesn't delete the game, but rather deletes the Proton prefix for the game.

If the game launches, copy any save files (if any) you may have in the backed-up 221100 directory over to the new one.

The above worked for me when I had similar issues when playing Batman: Arkham Asylum.

To be thorough, have you tried any other games to rule out your hardware being an issue?

I installed DayZ Experimental and I have the same issue with that. I haven't tried with other games as I have none installed.

Trying to run steam via terminal gives me this wall of text:

    

(process:18363): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: g_settings_schema_source_lookup: assertion `source != NULL' failed
XRRGetOutputInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xf6b24370
XRRGetCrtcInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xf6b22cc0
steamwebhelper.sh[18409]: Runtime for steamwebhelper: defaulting to /home/pokko/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-heavy
/home/pokko/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steamwebhelper.sh: line 53: /proc/sys/kernel/unprivileged_userns_clone: Permission denied
/home/pokko/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steamwebhelper.sh: line 60: /proc/sys/user/max_user_namespaces: Permission denied
steamwebhelper.sh[18409]: glibc >= 2.34, partially disabling sandbox until CEF supports clone3()
steamwebhelper.sh[18409]: CEF sandbox already disabled
flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Bold.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13CAppInfoCacheReadFromDiskThread took 44 milliseconds to initialize
Steam Runtime Launch Service: starting steam-runtime-launcher-service
Steam Runtime Launch Service: steam-runtime-launcher-service is running pid 18505
bus_name=com.steampowered.PressureVessel.LaunchAlongsideSteam
flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices failed, unable to init and enumerate GPUs with Vulkan.
BInit - Unable to initialize Vulkan!
BRefreshApplicationsInLibrary 1: 0ms

(steam:18363): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: g_settings_schema_source_lookup: assertion `source != NULL' failed
flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13BuildCompleteAppOverviewChange: 183 apps
RegisterForAppOverview 1: 18ms
RegisterForAppOverview 2: 18ms

(steam:18363): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: g_settings_schema_source_lookup: assertion `source != NULL' failed

Oh damn, you're using the snap version of Steam, this is unfortunately outside of my area of experience :(
Some key error messages I see are:

/home/pokko/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steamwebhelper.sh: line 53: /proc/sys/kernel/unprivileged_userns_clone: Permission denied /home/pokko/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steamwebhelper.sh: line 60: /proc/sys/user/max_user_namespaces: Permission denied
and

flock /usr/share/fonts/truetype/liberation/LiberationSans-Regular.ttf LOCK_SH failed. errno = 13vkEnumeratePhysicalDevices failed, unable to init and enumerate GPUs with Vulkan. BInit - Unable to initialize Vulkan!
You've got permission errors and a GPU driver issue somewhere, likely related to the permission errors. The flock errors stand out to me also, as they are fonts. Maybe required fonts for the game to run?

Interestingly that file doesn't seem to be located in the location you mentioned but rather: home/snap/steam/common/.steam/steamapps/steam/comptdata
There is no steam folder at "share"
I'll try deleting that anyways. I'll report back in a moment
EDIT: Nope, nothing.
- The logs say error on Vulkan, make sure your GPU is running with the correct drivers. If it's a Vulkan thing old native games that use OpenGL should work, I think Team Fortress 2 is OpenGL but I'm not entirely sure.

Usually I start debugging this type of thing by killing all instances of steam and then launching it from command line. Steam logs a bunch of good stuff and putting it in context of your interactions helps. That said, based on what you've described, I would try older versions of proton, targeting releases back when games were launching. Proton/wine versions don't always work for all games and sometimes you'll need to launch particular titles with specific versions. Proton has been absolutely revolutionary, but these issues still pop up. ProtonDB might have reports on specific versions for specific games/titles.
- It looks like dayz is gold, rather than platinum, meaning it will take a little tinkering. https://www.protondb.com/app/221100
  
  Yeah I followed the instructions there and it worked without an issue for several weeks and then just stopped working.
  
  You can also try starting a Linux game, if you have any, just to figure out if Proton is the issue.
- But what's strange is that it worked with proton experimental untill this point and that I had this exact same issue earlier on Windows 7 aswell on this same PC. I however did try using proton 8 but that made no difference. I need to try those other versions too
  
  Proton experimental moves quite a lot. Maybe they moved to a new version of something that broke your install for a reason or another.
Just to clarify, the error you are seeing in the firmware updater and privacy settings are because your motherboard does not support UEFI, and instead uses legacy BIOS. There is no way to fix that without upgrading your hardware, and it shouldn't be related to your issue, but it may be an issue for anticheat in certain games.
On an unrelated note, you should really upgrade your motherboard and CPU if you have the chance, as those will be massive bottlenecks to performance. Your GPU is way overpowered for those components, so you aren't getting the most out of it. But that likely isn't related to the issue you are currently facing, I just wanted to mention it if you have grievances with the performance of your current computer.
- Yeah upgrading the motherboard, cpu and ram is ahead at some point. I don't really game that much so haven't wanted to invest much into that thing. I almost exlusively play DayZ which it barely runs. With the new GPU and by optimizing the settings I get decent visuals with 35 to 60 fps but there's a ton of room for improvement. I've been upgrading it piece by piece starting with an SSD and the new GPU.
  Game runs now by the way. I'm not exactly sure what finally did it but I'm suspecting the new steam version and reinstalling the game itself. Huge thanks for the help. Without this community I'd be at a complete loss with this stuff.
  
  Yeah, snap packages have a tendency to break everything, so avoid them like the plague. You should be able to choose what repo you install from in the Ubuntu app store by clicking the dropdown in the top right of the app's page (which defaults to snap if one is available), and selecting something else. I can't remember what the options are, but for a native install you're looking for something like ".deb", or "Ubuntu repository", or "apt", something of the like. You could also install flatpak and set up flathub so you can get apps packaged as flatpaks (which are kind of like snaps, except they actually function and generally work well for most applications). Not sure if you can get flatpak working with the Ubuntu app store, but it works with Gnome software stores for any other distro out of the box (like Fedora and Nobara). Ubuntu is owned by Canonical, who manages snaps, so they have financial motivation to shove them down their user's throats (which has been met with much dismay by the Linux community).
  Snaps and flatpaks are essentially meant to be portable formats that are packaged with all of their dependencies inside their own sandbox so that they function the exact same when installed on different distros. This has great applications for compatibility (you can install the same package on any distro instead of compiling your package for multiple package managers and distros), and security (the sandboxing serves as a layer of isolation from other apps. Flatpak does this pretty well, but snap has tons of problems.
  If you're ever at the point where you want/need to install a new OS, I'd recommend switching away from Ubuntu to avoid the headaches. Linux Mint is a common recommendation if you want to stick to a system that's similar to Ubuntu (it's based on Ubuntu), but my personal recommendation is something Fedora-based like Fedora Workstation or Nobara. You can find tons of info in this community on what different distros are like, and you'll see that there is no one "best" distro.
  If you ever run into any other problems though, this is a great place to ask for help. One of the many great things about Linux is that much of the community is very knowledgeable about how to do/fix practically anything; and many of those people are just happy to help someone so they can enjoy their switch to Linux. There's also AskUbuntu, the Arch Wiki, Fedora forums, etc. that are available for whichever distro they are tailored to.
I had an issue like this once, it turned out something with openGL had gotten messed up in my last system update, so although I thought I hadn't changed anything, not even Linux native games would launch correctly. the solution that worked for me was just using my distros update tool to make sure everything was up to date, and that found and updated the broken package and since then everything's worked for me
- I'm starting to think it has something to do with my GPU/drivers aswell. Earlier when I ran the software updater it found an update for steam but while installing I got this message and I have no idea what it mean and how to sort it out
  
  It quite literally just tells you to install those graphics drivers, and you should.

Try to open the game manually. IIRC protontricks can be used to open the executable with the correct proton instance. Would probably be my go-to first ste4 to start tinkering

There seems to be something wrong trying to install it. I get message saying:

    
32-bit Nvidia driver (nvidia-driver-libs:i386) required                     
 │                                                                             
 │ This computer appears to be using the Nvidia binary graphics driver (the    
 │ nvidia-driver package).                                                     
 │                                                                             
 │ Steam is a 32-bit program, so running it on this computer requires the      
 │ 32-bit versions of the Nvidia libraries, even if all the games you will     
 │ run via Steam are 64-bit. Please install the nvidia-driver-libs:i386        
 │ package.                                                                    
 │                                                                             
 │ For full functionality (including Vulkan), also install the libraries       
 │ listed as Recommends in the nvidia-driver-libs:i386 package. 
 │
 │ If you are using a legacy version of the Nvidia driver such as              
 │ nvidia-legacy-340xx-driver, please install the corresponding 32-bit         
 │ legacy package, for example nvidia-legacy-340xx-driver-libs:i386.           
 │                                                                             
 │

The message seems to give you at least what it thinks the solution to the problem is:
apt install nvidia-driver-libs:i386

Have you tried updating and rebooting your system? I have had this happen a few times and almost always that is what fixes it for me (more so the rebooting but it is generally good to have your system up to date). Other times it is typically something missing on your host system (like properly installed drivers), though if the game was running before then this is less likely to be the issue and a reboot is typically enough - so start with that.
- I have checked all drivers, atleast I think I have, and have rebooted the system many times. Even took off the power cord for a minute
I didn’t see this mentioned yet in the comments - have you tried going to developer settings and deleting proton files for the game?
- I'm not sure what you mean. Uninstall them from here?
  
  Also why is there three different Linux Runtimes?
  
  On the dayz game page where you would click play, click the settings cog on the right. Choose developer, then delete proton files.
You press play and it goes off after a while, you have problems with vulkan, you have an old PC.
I had this exact issue before, try tuning an older version of proton, as newer versions require more recent vulkan versions, which your PC most likely doesn't support.
steam auto updates to the latest proton version usually, that's probably why.
- I did get the "Processing vulcan shaders" pop-up sometimes when I opened the game (back when it was still working) So I should not be using the Proton experimental? It worked just fine untill now. That's what's so strange about it. I do have an old PC but my GPU is brand new though.
  I'm trying to re-install steam right now but it's been uninstalling it for about an hour and doesn't seem to be progressing anywhere..
  
  1 - Proton experimental is a moving target and is rapidly evolving.
  2 - What exactly is your GPU, and maybe tell us your pc specs (even if it's just through the info tab in the settings menu) (also put it in your post for others)
  3 - that sometimes happens to me when using gnome-software (which Ubuntu uses? or something really similar?), I usually just surrender and use the terminal, not like I install more than 1 thing in a normal month anyway.
  4 - if the issue is with proton, then other games wouldn't work. (try running a very light, single player game to test proton, many F2P games under 20 mbs exist on Steam)
First - post upvoted because of the detailled report. Helpful. Thanks!
I've had the same problem a longer while ago.
Do you really have this few games in your library? I haven't used the normal Steam mode for a while, but on your game list is a small Penguin. I believe that's due to the filter "show Linux native only".
If you forgot to activate Proton, go into the Steam settings, gameplay and hit the checkbox "Compatibility for other games". Use that all the time, even for Linux native games. They are usually way buggier than the Windows version, and Proton works great today.
Second, if you are already using Proton and my first guess is wrong, use another Proton version. Either the most recent one (proton-experimental), an older one or the "proton-GE" versions.
What distro are you using?
Did you try using Flatpak instead of the native package? Maybe, there's something missing in the native app.
Oh, and I also wouldn't worry much about the firmware errors and such. This panel is very new and some things are basically impossible to archive. But don't trust my statement, maybe I'm wrong.
- Do you really have this few games in your library?
  Yes. I don't play anything else except DayZ currently.
  Second, if you are already using Proton and my first guess is wrong, use another Proton version.
  Yeah I had all this enabled. The game worked perfectly before and then just all of a sudden stopped launching. I tired Proton 8 and 7 aswell but no difference.
  What distro are you using?
  Ubuntu
  Did you try using Flatpak instead of the native package?
  I was using the snap version of Steam that I had installed from Ubuntu App Store. I uninstalled it and installed the native version using terminal. Obviously I had to re-download and re-install the game aswell and it started working again after that. I'm not entirely sure what was causing the issue in the first place but I'm suspecting it was an issue in the steam app itself. What is curious though is that the exactly same issue occured to me previously with Windows 7 aswell and judging by the reports online, I'm not the only one.
  The problem is however solved - atleast for now, and that's the most important thing. Thanks for the help though! The assistance I got from this community is invaluable. I'd be completely stuck with this on my own.
  
  Yes. I don't play anything else except DayZ currently.
  Sorry! Just in case this came out rude or judgy. It's just a bit rare that ones' library is so empty. It was just a thought because mine looks similar when I don't activate Proton.
  I was using the snap version of Steam that I had installed from Ubuntu App Store.
  Aaah, yes. Just what I've thought. There are reasons why Snaps are hated this much in the Linux community.
  I personally recommend Flatpaks for everything, especially proprietary software like Steam. With the permission management, it has way less access to your device.
  Also, they usually "just work" better, because they provide themselves with all they need and can be improved by everyone, not just the devs of Ubuntu.
  With native apps you can get a few problems. In the best case, they're just not as spread and bugs may occour more often. Flatpaks are more reproducible and bugs are fixed universally, no matter what distro.
  They're more up to date too.
  And, they don't come with dependencies. There was this one case, when a popular YouTuber accidentally deleted his whole user interface because he tried to uninstall Steam. That won't happen with Flatpaks.
  Thanks for the help though! The assistance I got from this community is invaluable. I'd be completely stuck with this on my own.
  Of course, you're welcome! Glad to help!
  I think it's something of a generational contract. I got help a few years ago, when I was a noob, and now I'm more experienced and try to help as many newcomers as I can. And you will do the same in 3 years hopefully! 😁
Maybe a change in thr game patches or steam updates altered Proton behaviour, have you tried a different Proton version?
- Yeah I tried proton 8 and 7 too and no difference. I had this exact same issue in win7 too before I switced to Linux so I don't think it's an issue with proton.

71 comments