how to delete steam group

Melanie has a BS in physical science and is in grad school for analytics and modeling. She also runs a YouTube channel: The Curious Coder.

113 hours in TF2, alone!! I have to get rid of Steam because I spend far too much time gaming!

Melanie Shebel

Steam is a computer-based gaming platform that allows users to acquire and update video games and, of course, to keep purchases safe in their accounts.

Games are tied to user accounts, so if you uninstall a game (or the entire Steam client), you don't have to worry about losing access to your game. You can just log into Steam and download your games all over again at some point in the future.

Steam (and all your Steam games) can take up quite a bit of space on your computer. It's also easy to spend a lot of time gaming and not doing the things you're supposed to be doing. Also uninstalling and reinstalling is one way to fix any issues with the Steam app.

Whether you're doing a bit of computer clean-up, you're just wanting to spend less time gaming, or you need to reinstall Steam, uninstalling Steam can help you with that. This step-by-step guide was designed to show you how to remove Steam from your computer.

How to uninstall Steam in Windows 10 + backup saved games

Move your steamapps folder out of the Steam folder to backup your games

Melanie Shebel

Saving Steam Games

If you're going to be reinstalling Steam in the near future, you might want to back up your Steam games so you don't have to download them again. Because, let's face it, Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 take forever to download!

To backup your Steam games:

Navigate to your Steam folder (usually C:\Program Files\Steam.)
Locate the steamapps folder and move it out of the Steam folder (moving it to your My Documents or Desktop will work fine.

If you want to backup a specific game, open the steamapps folder, and find the folder associated with the game you wish to keep and move it someplace safe (like your Desktop.)

Navigate to the control panel

Melanie Shebel

How to Remove Steam

If you have Steam running, you'll want to exit it so that you can get started with the uninstall process.

In the lower right-hand side of your screen, you should see a Steam icon (as pictured right.) If it's not there, click the "Show hidden icons" arrow. Right click on the Steam icon and select "Exit." Now you're ready to uninstall.

Click the "Start" button and select "Control Panel"
Click "Add or Remove Programs"
Select Steam from the list of "Currently installed programs" and click the "Remove" button.
A dialog, "Are you sure you want to remove Steam from your computer" will show. Click "Yes."

Be very careful while you're working with Windows Registry.

Quick Poll

Deleting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Valve in a 32-bit operating system

Manually Removing Steam

If you run into problems uninstalling Steam from "Add or Remove Programs" or you want to completely remove Steam after following the above steps, you'll want to dig into your computer's registry.

Only make changes to your registry if you're comfortable with the registry. If you're not sure what you're doing, don't make any changes to the registry.

To remove Steam manually:

Click "Start" then click "Run"
Type in "Regedit" (without quotes) and hit OK

If you have a 32-bit operating system (like me):

Click the + by HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Click the + by SOFTWARE
Page down to Valve.
Right click "Valve" and select "delete"

If you have a 64-bit operating system:

Click the + by HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Click the + by SOFTWARE
Click the + by Wow6432Node.
Page down to Valve.
Right click "Valve" and select "delete"

Exit the Registry Editor. Congratulations! Steam should now be fully uninstalled!

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

help on April 05, 2020:

i deleted steam, but i can still open it and i have a folder with files from it that won't delete

ggg on June 05, 2017:

i had uninstalled steam but i am not able to remove icon of steam from desktop

Keely Deuschle from Florida on December 28, 2012:

I told my husband about this hub. He plays games on Steam a lot and he said he did have to uninstall it once and had to search all over for instructions on how to so he could move it to another drive. I told him next time to look no further than your hub! Thanks for sharing!

Cynthia Calhoun from Western NC on December 28, 2012:

Haven't used Steam but I love how you explain this so well here and it seems like this would work for other programs that you might like to uninstall. I definitely need to free up some space on my computer, lol.

Rose Clearfield from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 31, 2012:

My husband is an avid gamer and uses Steam all the time, so no one will be uninstalling it in our house any time soon. However, this is still a great resource. :)

Teresa Coppens from Ontario, Canada on July 31, 2012:

Not a big fan of video games, no time, but my boys are. Don't think they've discoveredvSteam but your resource here will come in handy if they do. Great step by step instructions Mel!

Icematikx from United Kingdom, Staffordshire on July 30, 2012:

Thanks for this informative post. I've had trouble in the past with uninstalling Steam - never again!

minababe on July 30, 2012:

I'm not planning to uninstall Steam just yet (I'm still obsessed with Saints Row 2), but I can see this guide coming in handy in the future when I eventually do!