Troubleshooting

This page covers common issues and their solutions when using Steam Game Idler.

Before You Start

Common Issues

Installation & Startup Problems

SGI Won’t Install

Symptoms: Installation fails or shows errors

Solutions:

• Run the installer as administrator
• Temporarily disable antivirus during installation
• Make sure you have sufficient disk space
• Download the installer again (it might be corrupted)

SGI Won’t Start

Symptoms: Application doesn’t open or shows blank screen

Solutions:

• Make sure Steam is running and you’re signed in
• Run SGI as administrator
• Check if Windows Defender is blocking the application
• Restart your computer and try again

Card Farming Issues

No Cards Dropping

Symptoms: Card farming runs but no cards are received

Solutions:

• Check if games actually have card drops remaining
• Make sure you own the games (not family-shared)
• Wait longer - new accounts may have a 3-hour+ delay
• Check if the games are marked as private in your library

”Incorrect card farming credentials” Error

Symptoms: Card farming can’t authenticate

Solutions:

• Update your Steam cookies following the Steam Credentials guide
• Make sure you copied cookies from steamcommunity.com, not store.steampowered.com
• Check if you need additional cookies (steamParental, steamMachineAuth)
• Clear browser cache and get fresh cookies

Achievement Issues

Achievement Unlocker Fails to Unlock Achievements

Symptoms: Achievement unlocker fails or shows errors

Solutions:

• Check if achievements are marked as “Protected” in Achievement Manager
• Verify the game has achievements
• Try unlocking them manually in Achievement Manager first

Achievement Manager Shows “No achievements/statistics found”

Symptoms: Empty achievement list for a game

Solutions:

• Set your Steam profile’s Game Details to public
• Make sure the game actually has achievements and statistics
• Delete the games’s achievement cache file and try again:
  1. Close SGI
  2. Navigate to %appdata%/roaming/com.zevnda.steam-game-idler/cache/{user_id}/achievement_data
  3. Delete the game’s cache file (e.g., 12345.json)

Performance Issues

Too Many SteamUtility Processes

Symptoms: Many SteamUtility.exe processes in Task Manager

Solutions:

• This is normal when idling multiple games
• Reduce the number of games being idled simultaneously
• Restart SGI (or system) if processes don’t close after stopping idling

Advanced Troubleshooting

Check Log Files

Reset SGI Settings

Registry Issues

If SGI can’t find Steam, you may need to fix registry entries:

Getting Help

If these troubleshooting steps don’t solve your issue:

1. Check the FAQ for additional solutions
2. Search existing issues on the GitHub repository 
3. Create a new issue with:
   • Detailed description of the problem
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Your system information (Windows version, Steam version)
   • Relevant log file excerpts
   • Screenshots if applicable