There is not a single reason behind Steam downloads starting and stopping; the users have been complaining about this for years. So, the number of reasons can be numerous. You might be facing this problem due to a difference between system time and time zone, out-of-date network drivers, conflicting third-party software, or a set of Windows services. Or maybe the reinstallation Steam is not working well. Updating network drivers, configuring the system clock with a time server, adjusting the Steam’s Bandwidth Settings, stopping the DiagTrack Service, closing superfluous programs, clearing Steam’s download cache, or reinstalling the Steam could be the ultimate solution to deal with the issue steam download stopping. Let’s find out the steps for implementing three potential solutions below.
Steam makes the software changes to stay up to date, and the updated Steam many find it challenging to get compatibility with the older versions of the software. So, you may face this problem if you are not upgrading your network drivers occasionally. To update your network drivers, you need to open the Control Panel window by clicking on the Windows button. Now select the application which returns in the search results. A list of options will appear, which will allow you to select Device Manager. Now you will see a window on your screen with the list of devices that are registered to your Windows PC. You are suggested to select the Network Adapters from the list. Then you will get another similar window as soon as you make double-click the chosen driver. Select the Driver tab and click on Update Driver. Update manually or Update automatically from the package you have downloaded from the official website of the hardware.
Steam generally works with the real-time data collected from the PC. So, the steam download stopping issue is also likely to appear if there is an irregularity, i.e., a conflict between the time in your computer and the selected time zone. Open Control Panel by clicking on the Windows button. Find and select the Date and Time option from the list that appeared. Check whether it has an irregularity or configured correctly.
It is advised to limit your bandwidth from Steam if you are experiencing many fluctuations in your connection during download. There are situations when your disk write speed fails in keeping up with your download speed. As per our experts, you should choose a decent speed that is not too low or too high. To do this, you will have to open your Steam client and use the option Run as Administrator while launching. Go to the upper-left corner and click on Steam. Then you are supposed to select Settings. Go to the Downloads tab and find an option as Limit bandwidth. Click on it and get a pop-up window with the number of speeds available to limit. Choose a speed that suits your internet speed. Then close the Steam and re-launch it.