TF2: Steam VAC Error

NotSoSimple

[H]F Junkie
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May 17, 2003
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Got TF2 for X-Mas and loaded it up, everytime I get a 'Lost connection to Steam VAC Server'.

I looked at steampowerd.com support and it said eaither Internet is down, or virus/spyware. For 1 internet is not down and does not have problems, and 2 I reformatted 3 days ago, no way it is infected.

Any thoughts? I can run around for about 30 seconds and it does the audio stutter/lock, then shows the error.
 
I tried a non-VAC server and i did not get the error. But whenever I go into battle, the game hangs and the audio loops for about 5-10 seconds. I dont have a bad rig, I dont think, so I dont know.

P4 2.8 HT
2GB DDR2
6800GT

Never have a problem with COD4, STALKER, WoW, C&C or anything...
 
check out steams website, they have a great search based help section where i'm sure you can find an answer.
 
I had a similar issue - kept losing connection after approx 20 secs. Do you have a Speedtouch modem by any chance? If you do, you may want to try port forwarding to get round the issue. Go to your router homepage, select your PC from the 'Home Network' section. Then choose 'Assign a game or application to a local network device'. Drop down the list on the next page and choose Half Life 2, click ok.

Hope this is what you need!

If this does work, please note that if you have multiple machines on your network, only the machine assigned will be able to successfully play TF2.
 
Thanks for the tip, but do not have that modem. Motorola Surfboard and a LInksys Router, coupled with a 3-Com 24 Port.

I will do a reinstall tonight and see what that does. Thanks guys.
 
Well I did a complete reinstall of Steam of TF2. Same thing..Did a System File Check to make sure and it still does the same damn thing.

I dispatched an email to Steam, but not sure when I will get an answer back from them. This is insane..Im really close to selling the stupid game...
 
Anyone have any ideas? I just did a BIOS upgrade, new Video, Audio, and every other driver reinstalled from Asus and/or the vendor the part is from.

Steam takes a LONG time to load TF2. After it says 'Preparing to load TF2' the screen goes away and nothing happens for 15-20 seconds, THEN TF2 loads. Ridiculous..
 
Steam takes a LONG time to load TF2. After it says 'Preparing to load TF2' the screen goes away and nothing happens for 15-20 seconds, THEN TF2 loads. Ridiculous..

if it makes you feel any better, steam does that to me with every game.
 
Thanks for the link Jellyhead. I ran it in window mode at my res and it still did the same thing. It did not do the audio stutter thing though, just closed my session and gave me the 'Cannot connec to VAC'.
 
Damn, sorry you're still buggered. I lifted this from a forum - i believe it came from Steam support, though can't be 100% as my German is pretty much non-existent!

Router Problems

Routers can cause connectivity problems. Linksys routers and Wireless routers especially can cause this. Dual WAN Routers are not compatible with Steam. If you have a stand-alone router and you are having connection problems, you can always bypass the router and plug your computer directly into your modem to see if the router is the problem.
 
Try taking the router out of the equation like Jellyhead said. I've had similar connection issues with past Linksys routers.

Btw, what model Linksys is it?
 
I did not have this exact issue, mine was similar, but what virus software are you running in the background or have installed. I did a video driver update & removed AVG (free) and TF2 started working much better for me, no freezes, drop connections, etc., but I do not know exactly what did it. I have yet to install AVG again because I am thinking of buying NOD32 instead this time around.
 
No AV at all (Clean install). WRT54G for the router. I should have some time today (Took work off) to play with it. Wonder why the router is having problems..? It does not in any other condition.

Edit: Just tried plugging ethernet directly into the router (Instead of the 3com) and then directly into the cable modem, same problem. So that means it is not a router issue.
 
Still nothing from Steam. I will give them the benefit of the doubt due to the Holidays...But my patience is getting smaller.
 
This happens to me every once in awhile. It's usually the server's problem, not mine. Try a new server.
 
As the above poster has stated delete TF2 and re-download from Steam. I had a simular problem with Company of Heroes.
 
As the above poster has stated delete TF2 and re-download from Steam. I had a simular problem with Company of Heroes.

Redownload? Crap, its huge lol. I will redownload tonight.

Im still amazed Steam support has not even said 'We are working on it'
 
Yeah it sucks, It took me a day to realize the steam client wasn't detecting my corrupt download. Same symptoms you have been experiencing as well
 
Redownload? Crap, its huge lol. I will redownload tonight.

Im still amazed Steam support has not even said 'We are working on it'

Have you managed to fix it yet? I also get disconnected once in a while by VAC when playing TF2. I have a linksys router, opened a few ports, still didnt work.
 
I get this from time to time. Apparently you lost connection to the VAC/Content Server. I always close out steam, go to C:/Program Files/Steam/ and delete the clientregistry.blob. Then restart Steam. It will ask for your info/pass again. And it ought to be fixed. At least it always worked for me.
 
OMG I'm having the same problem. I never had it before, but I haven't played anything on steam for 6 months. Now it happens like every 10 minutes.
 
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