Steam won't launch (GNOME 40, Xorg, AMD Radeon 6700XT/Navi 22)

Support Gaming
1

Hello. Thanks for helping out.

I’m not exactly sure why it won’t launch. If you require more information to better understand the issue, I’ll gladly provide.

Here’s a sample output of steam-runtime. The last 6-7 lines repeat indefinitely:

$ steam-runtime                                                                                                       ~
Running Steam on manjarolinux 21.1.0 64-bit
STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically
Pins up-to-date!
Can't find 'steam-runtime-check-requirements', continuing anyway
WARNING: Using default/fallback debugger launch
/home/jose/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Startup - updater built Mar 23 2021 20:11:00
ILocalize::AddFile() failed to load file "public/steambootstrapper_english.txt".
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(0)
SteamUpdateUI: An X Error occurred
X Error of failed request:  BadName (named color or font does not exist)
Major opcode of failed request:  45 (X_OpenFont)
Serial number of failed request:  46
xerror_handler: X failed, continuing
Looks like steam didn't shutdown cleanly, scheduling immediate update check
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Loading cached metrics from disk (/home/jose/.local/share/Steam/package/steam_client_metrics.bin)
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Failed to load cached hosts file (File 'update_hosts_cached.vdf' not found), using defaults
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Using the following download hosts for Public, Realm steamglobal
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] 1. http://media.steampowered.com, /client/, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1, source = 'baked in'
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1.0)
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Checking for update on startup
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Checking for available update...
[2021-07-15 11:52:04] Downloading manifest: http://media.steampowered.com/client/steam_client_ubuntu12
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1.0)
SteamUpdateUI: An X Error occurred
X Error of failed request:  BadFont (invalid Font parameter)
Major opcode of failed request:  55 (X_CreateGC)
Resource id in failed request:  0x0
Serial number of failed request:  49
xerror_handler: X failed, continuing

I’ve been told this helps:

$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Navi 22 [Radeon RX 6700/6700 XT / 6800M] driver: amdgpu
           v: kernel
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: loaded: amdgpu resolution: 4384x2466~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (NAVY_FLOUNDER DRM 3.40.0 5.12.16-1-MANJARO LLVM 12.0.0)
           v: 4.6 Mesa 21.1.4
2

Steam works fine on Wayland and GNOME 40 for me.

3

Does this work?

STEAM_RUNTIME=0 steam
4

It appears not. See below:

$ STEAM_RUNTIME=0 steam
Running Steam on manjarolinux 21.1.0 64-bit
STEAM_RUNTIME is disabled by the user
Can't find 'steam-runtime-check-requirements', continuing anyway
WARNING: Using default/fallback debugger launch
/home/jose/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Startup - updater built Mar 23 2021 20:11:00
ILocalize::AddFile() failed to load file "public/steambootstrapper_english.txt".
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(0)
SteamUpdateUI: An X Error occurred
X Error of failed request:  BadName (named color or font does not exist)
Major opcode of failed request:  45 (X_OpenFont)
Serial number of failed request:  46
xerror_handler: X failed, continuing
Looks like steam didn't shutdown cleanly, scheduling immediate update check
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Loading cached metrics from disk (/home/jose/.local/share/Steam/package/steam_client_metrics.bin)
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Failed to load cached hosts file (File 'update_hosts_cached.vdf' not found), using defaults
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Using the following download hosts for Public, Realm steamglobal
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] 1. http://media.steampowered.com, /client/, Realm 'steamglobal', weight was 1, source = 'baked in'
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1.0)
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Checking for update on startup
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Checking for available update...
[2021-07-15 16:22:02] Downloading manifest: http://media.steampowered.com/client/steam_client_ubuntu12
SteamUpdateUI: An X Error occurred
X Error of failed request:  BadFont (invalid Font parameter)
Major opcode of failed request:  55 (X_CreateGC)
Resource id in failed request:  0x0
Serial number of failed request:  49
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1.0)
xerror_handler: X failed, continuing
5

For sure, it has something to do with xorg and your font config. Did you tinker there?

6

I don’t recall having tinkered anywhere, no.
Other errors include: BadGC (invalid GC parameter) (sadly I didn’t include it earlier).

7

Well try the hammer and nail method, since something messed with steam:

mv ~/.local/share/Steam ~/steam_backup

Now Steam should recreate its files… maybe that helps. At least your games if saved on the default path, should be there under your home folder at ~/steam_backup/steamapps/common/

8

Thanks for the continuous help, @megavolt .

I’ve moved the folder away. The GTK dialog that asked for a reinstallation showed up fine. Yet, the original symptoms remain.

However! I’ve decided to wait just a little bit longer to see how long the logs would be. After 10 extra seconds, Steam continued to execute as if nothing happened. I was able to install one game and play it for a bit. No issues whatsoever.

I hope this sheds some light to those who struggle with the initial blank dialog.

Marking as solved.

9

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