Website design By BotEap.comThe error “The procedure entry point Steam driver could not be located in the dynamic link library” in Windows 7/8/10 is caused by a corrupt, damaged, or incompatible DLL file.
Website design By BotEap.comThe bug is synonymous with gaming, but it’s actually present with a host of other apps as well.
Website design By BotEap.comThe core of the error is that the application in question (in your case Steam) will not be able to load a particular DLL file, causing the system to crash with the error cited in your message. For either variant of this error, the problem comes from having a DLL that does not have the valid functionality required for the application to function properly.
Website design By BotEap.comThe error will be displayed with the following message:
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[x].exe: entry point not found
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Website design By BotEap.comThe SteamController procedure entry point could not be located in the dynamic link library steam_api.dll
Website design By BotEap.comCauses
Website design By BotEap.comThe problem you are experiencing is the result of calling a DLL, but it does not have a function available from within.
Website design By BotEap.comWhile many people will simply tell you to replace the DLL (which is a valid strategy), there may be deeper issues with Windows or the application that is generating the error. Therefore, to properly resolve the problem, you must be absolutely sure that you have fixed any of the possible errors that may be causing it to show, which may be with Windows or other applications on your system.
Website design By BotEap.comThe main cause of the error is that another program overwritten the DLL that your application is trying to access.
Website design By BotEap.comThis may be due to a crash, or the other program could have been designed to do it (in the case of antivirus applications). In either case, the solution is to make sure your underlying system is working properly and then any of the DLLs / settings your computer has is working properly as well. The following should help you correct the various errors you are experiencing.
Website design By BotEap.comTo be more specific about the steam_api.dll error itself, whenever you use a Steam-enabled game, you must connect to Steam via its “API”. An API is an application programming interface, which is a technical language for a set of hooks / actions that can be invoked by another program, for an independent application.
Website design By BotEap.comFor example, if you try to load COD and log in with Steam, COD will use the Steam API to log in to your service. Ultimately, what it means is that even though the bug cites Steam, Steam is * not * likely to be the problem. The biggest problem is that your game overwritten the original steam_api.dll with one that didn’t work as well. Either way, the fixes are listed below …
Website design By BotEap.comSolution
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Reinstall Steam
Website design By BotEap.comThe first step is to reinstall Steam
Website design By BotEap.comWhile I mentioned that Steam is not the problem, the main problem is that steam_api.dll will have been overwritten by your game. As such, you need to ensure that you can get the original version back, which means reinstalling it. Doing this is quick and simple:
Website design By BotEap.com– Press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
Website design By BotEap.com– Type “control.exe appwiz.cpl” and press “OK”
Website design By BotEap.com– From the displayed list, select “Steam”, right click and select “Uninstall”
Website design By BotEap.com– Wait for the uninstallation to complete and restart your PC
Website design By BotEap.comAfter restarting the system, you should be able to download and install the latest version of Steam. To do this, simply head over to the Steam website and download the latest version of the client.
Website design By BotEap.comDownload and install it. After doing this, restart your system again and try loading the game. Since reinstallation replaces all Steam files, steam_api.dll should be replaced with the latest version.
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Reinstall the affected software
Website design By BotEap.comIf you don’t have Steam or the reinstallation doesn’t work, you’ll need to reinstall any of the affected programs.
Website design By BotEap.comThe error you are experiencing is usually displayed when you are running a game (which is based on Steam). As such, the best way to ensure that you don’t have corrupted files or settings is to simply reinstall said game. This is done by following these steps:
Website design By BotEap.com– Press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
Website design By BotEap.com– Type “control.exe appwiz.cpl” and press “OK”
Website design By BotEap.com– From the displayed list, select the game, right click and select “Uninstall”
Website design By BotEap.com– Wait for the uninstallation to complete and restart your PC
Website design By BotEap.comOnce restarted, you will want to try reinstalling the game, preferably by downloading a fresh copy from the internet. After doing this, reboot again and see if the error persists. If so, continue with the next steps.
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windows update
Website design By BotEap.comThe next step is to update Windows.
Website design By BotEap.comThis may sound trivial, but the number of people running dangerously outdated systems is remarkable (check out WannaCry for proof of this). Upgrading Windows is free, and for me at least, there’s no reason you shouldn’t want to. The process is very simple and ensures that any potential bugs within your system are properly resolved …
Website design By BotEap.comWindows 7
Website design By BotEap.com– Click on the “Start” button (bottom left)
Website design By BotEap.com– Click on “Control Panel”
Website design By BotEap.com– Click on “System and Security”
Website design By BotEap.com– Under the “Windows Update” heading, select “Check for updates”.
Website design By BotEap.com– Download and install any updates you find
Website design By BotEap.comWindows 10
Website design By BotEap.com– Right click on the “Start” button (lower left task bar)
Website design By BotEap.com– Select “Settings”
Website design By BotEap.com– Click on “Update and Security”
Website design By BotEap.com– Click on “Check for updates”.
Website design By BotEap.com– Let the system download and install any of the updates it requires
Website design By BotEap.comThis may require a reboot.
Website design By BotEap.comAnd honestly, it probably won’t fix your bug … but it should ensure that the system runs as smoothly as possible (fixing most of the bugs that could be causing it to show up). The next step should resolve the error if it is still showing.
Website design By BotEap.com
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Download and replace steam_api.dll on your system
Website design By BotEap.comLastly, you’ll want to download and replace steam_api.dll on your system.
Website design By BotEap.comMost tutorials will recommend this up front. While it’s fine, there may be other issues at play, that’s why we tried reinstalling first. It is much better to obtain the “official” file from the software vendor by installing the software, than simply downloading some DLL from the Internet. Since they didn’t work, we’ll have to follow the steps outlined here to replace the DLL on your system:
Website design By BotEap.com– Go to Google and search for the download for “steam_api.dll”
Website design By BotEap.com– There will be a series of sites that will appear at the top (usually dll-files.com or similar)
Website design By BotEap.com– Choose one and then find to download the applicable steam_api.dll for your system (be careful to choose the correct x86 / x64 version)
Website design By BotEap.com– Once you find a good site, download the ZIP to your hard drive
Website design By BotEap.com– Open the ZIP and extract the DLL contained in
Website design By BotEap.com– Right click on the DLL and select “Copy”
Website design By BotEap.com– Go to c: / Windows / System32, right click on a blank space and select “Paste”
Website design By BotEap.com– If the system asks to overwrite an existing file, select “OK”
Website design By BotEap.com– From here, you must press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
Website design By BotEap.com– At the “Command Prompt” type the following and press “Enter” after each one: regsvr32 / u steam_api.dll + regsvr32 / I steam_api.dll
Website design By BotEap.comThis should display a “success” message. After doing this, restart your system and try playing the game again.
Website design By BotEap.comIf you are still experiencing the error, it suggests that you have more specific problems with your system.
Website design By BotEap.comSince this is an Internet article, I do not have access to any of the potential details that your system may have.
Website design By BotEap.comInstead, I’d recommend going to a resource that * yes * gives you the ability to fix any of the issues that may be contributing to additional bugs. To do this, you may want to consider consulting various types of resources …
Website design By BotEap.comFirst of all, you * could * take the system to a local repair technician, but in all honesty, it will cost you money for a service where the guy will basically just do what’s in here. Second, it has several online resources, namely “question / answer” communities and live online support.
Website design By BotEap.comFor this type of error, it is best to go to an online support community, either Microsoft Answers or SuperUser, which can provide you with the ability to receive feedback specific to your system.
Website design By BotEap.comThis can be done by clicking on any of the aforementioned sites, registering for free, and then “asking” a question. Put the full error message as a title and a description of how it loads as a message, and then you should wait (usually around 2/3 hours) for responses. MA’s responses are generally quite generic; Superuser responses are more specific, but completely dependent on the guys who are submitting them (most of whom are not very good).
