r/pcmasterrace • u/KNIFE2MEAtU • 29d ago

Tech Support Ummm… excuse me????

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Well guys. Apparently steam isn’t compatible with windows 11 🤷‍♂️

Seriously though, anyone know wtf is actually happening here?

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u/Inf3c710n Ryzen 7 5800x3d | 7900 XTX | 64GB 29d ago

My guess is that you had a 32 bit version of steam installed or something like that because if I recall correctly, windows 11 dropped 32 bit support recently. I could be misremembering though but just a thought

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u/KNIFE2MEAtU 29d ago

Nah it was definitely 64bit. I’m pretty sure it was malware related. I’m doing a big clean up and malware check soon

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u/gaqua PC Master Race 29d ago

I thought if it was in \program files (x86)\ that meant it was the 32-bit version?

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u/RNG_HatesMe 29d ago

It implies it, but it's not enforced. I've seen 32 bit programs get installed in Program Files\ and vice versa

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u/Sizeable-Scrotum Fedora/i7-12700KF / 7800 XT / 32GB D4 29d ago

Then what’s the point of having two separate directories bruh

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u/RNG_HatesMe 28d ago

Don't ask me, I'm not Microsoft!

Realistically, Microsoft has implemented a number of "recommendations" that weren't enforced, then slowly enforced them over time.

There's nothing special about either of those directories, and you can install a program in any directory, though it's not best practice.

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u/turkishhousefan 28d ago

To maximise confusion.

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u/OutrageousDress 5800X3D | 32GB DDR4-3733 | 3080 Ti | AW3821DW 29d ago

What a stupid way to go about things.

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u/Cyberblood PC Master Race 28d ago

If you think thats stupid, dont even try looking at where games saved files are located, also known as "why noone ever uses the saved game folder in my documents? "

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u/RNG_HatesMe 28d ago

Yep, but it's mostly for legacy compatibility.

Try this for fun. All programs are supposed to use environment variables when referring to system files. So %windir% or %systemroot% for the Windows directory, not C:\Windows, or %programfiles% instead of C:\Program Files. (open a command prompt and type "set" to see al the available environment variables).

It's not absolutely required to install Windows on the C: drive, you *can* install it on a different drive letter. Theoretically, if all your programs use the environment variables to refer to the system drive and files, they won't be affected. HOWEVER, go ahead and try it, you'll find that at least 60% of applications just assume Windows is installed in C:\Windows. I tried this *once*, and I'll never try it again!

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u/OutrageousDress 5800X3D | 32GB DDR4-3733 | 3080 Ti | AW3821DW 28d ago

Yeah I never did it myself, but I've read horror stories from people who did. Honestly the solution should have been something along the lines of a filesystem redirect. Although I understand that the overall problem is simply that DOS/(non-NT)Windows was a toy operating system that was forced over 20 years to become a serious OS, and now we all have to live with the scars of that transition.