Steam doesn't launch on Ubuntu 16.04
Page: 1/2»
  Go to:
riusma Jan 3, 2017
Hi all!

I'm unable to run (and probably install correctly) Steam on my girlfriend's PC running Ubuntu 16.04. Launching steam from terminal gives me:

ILocalize::AddFile() failed to load file "public/steambootstrapper_english.txt".
[2017-01-03 12:33:39] Startup - updater built Jun 16 2014 11:16:02
libGL error: No matching fbConfigs or visuals found
libGL error: failed to load driver: swrast
SteamUpdateUI: An X Error occurred
X Error of failed request:  BadValue (integer parameter out of range for operation)


Then, I'm forced to kill steam process (which sometimes throw some "Steam bootstrap" errors)...

Steam was running fine on her previous PC (Intel CPU and integrated GPU, she mostly plays "hidden objects" games) with Ubuntu 14.04 (fresh install) and 16.04 (upgrade from 14.04), before I put the HDD (on which Ubuntu is installed) in a new PC (in fact, my old PC which has some dual core Intel CPU with a Nvidia GTS450, and on which Steam was running fine on both Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04 fresh installs when it was mine).

I've tried a lot of fix which I found on Askubuntu and Steam forum involving conflicting library without success... I've tried to install Steam both by Ubuntu repositories and by Steam directly without success... As the problem arise with transition from integrated Intel CPU to Nvidia GTS450 I've tried different drivers (Nouveau and proprietary, with the graphical drivers ppa) and others GPU (I've some low cost AMD GPU, with the last ppa with last stable MESA)... without success.

If someone with more technical skills than me (which is not hard) has some clues for solving this problem... :|

PS : sorry for my poor English and hope it's the right forum section. :)
wolfyrion Jan 3, 2017
there are many thing to try but I am on Manjaro so I dont know if these will work on ubuntu...
(you many need to restart after doing any of these)

find ~/.steam/root/ \( -name "libgcc_s.so*" -o -name "libstdc++.so*" -o -name "libxcb.so*" -o -name "libgpg-error.so*" \) -print -delete

or

find ~/.local/share/Steam/ \( -name "libgcc_s.so*" -o -name "libstdc++.so*" -o -name "libxcb.so*" -o -name "libgpg-error.so*" \) -print -delete

or

delete steam folders

/home/<user name>/.steam/steam/
/home/<username>/.steam/

and reinstall Steam
riusma Jan 3, 2017
Well... I will try again to be sure, but I think that I have already applied these solutions without success. :\
riusma Jan 4, 2017
Quoting: GuestI have a hard time understanding what you wrote with all these parentheses, but it looks like this is a dual-GPU laptop where the video drivers are not properly installed…?

Sorry, I'm always trying to put too much informations in small sentences. ^^

Nop, it's a desktop with a dual core Intel GPU and a GTS450 (with graphic drivers ppa enabled), but I've also failed to install Steam on the same PC with some old AMD GPU (using last ppa with stable MESA). The HDD where the system (Ubuntu 16.04, upgraded from 14.04) is running was previously in a desktop with Intel CPU and GPU and Steam was running fine at that time... and I've been running Steam fine on the new hardware as it was my old PC (with 14.04 and 16.04, both fresh install). :)
Xpander Jan 4, 2017
maybe 32bit drivers are not installed? i dunno how it goes in ubuntu by default but do you have to enable some multiarch repo for that?

might be worth checking. not sure if thats the issue though
riusma Jan 4, 2017
Quoting: Xpandermaybe 32bit drivers are not installed?

Do you mean 32-bit Nvidia graphical drivers? Are they needed for running Steam on 64-bit systems? (generally I just enable the graphical drivers ppa and install the last driver... but here I've tried with some older ones as well, without success) :s
damarrin Jan 4, 2017
Not Nvidia drivers, you just install the one that fits your system and that's it.

I'm pretty sure Xpander meant 32-bit libraries. Here's a tutorial (I'm not vouching for it though, I just googled it right now): https://blog.teststation.org/ubuntu/2016/05/12/installing-32-bit-software-on-ubuntu-16.04/

OTOH, your error output does seem to indicate there's something wrong with your graphics. What doesglxinfo | grep OpenGLsay? If it says not found install mesa-utils,
riusma Jan 4, 2017
Quoting: damarrinI'm pretty sure Xpander meant 32-bit libraries. Here's a tutorial (I'm not vouching for it though, I just googled it right now): https://blog.teststation.org/ubuntu/2016/05/12/installing-32-bit-software-on-ubuntu-16.04/

It seems that I have already 32-bit libraries installed and that they are up to date. :)

Quoting: damarrinOTOH, your error output does seem to indicate there's something wrong with your graphics. What doesglxinfo | grep OpenGLsay? If it says not found install mesa-utils,

I got this:

OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL renderer string: GeForce GTS 450/PCIe/SSE2
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 375.26
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50 NVIDIA
OpenGL core profile context flags: (none)
OpenGL core profile profile mask: core profile
OpenGL core profile extensions:
OpenGL version string: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 375.26
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.50 NVIDIA
OpenGL context flags: (none)
OpenGL profile mask: (none)
OpenGL extensions:
OpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.2 NVIDIA 375.26
OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.20
OpenGL ES profile extensions: 
damarrin Jan 4, 2017
From your description: you the the HDD in a PC with 14.04, you then upgraded to 16.04 and then put the HDD in a different PC. Am I reading it right?

Did you try purging the Nvidia driver and installing it again?
riusma Jan 4, 2017
Quoting: damarrinFrom your description: you the the HDD in a PC with 14.04, you then upgraded to 16.04 and then put the HDD in a different PC. Am I reading it right?

The HDD with Ubuntu 16.04 installed on it (it was an upgrade from 14.04) was with Intel CPU and GPU before I put it with the dual core Intel CPU with GTS450 GPU (Ubuntu switch automatically to the proprietary drivers in the repositories but then I enable the graphic drivers ppa to have the last Nvidia drivers). :)

Quoting: damarrinDid you try purging the Nvidia driver and installing it again?

As far as I remember yes, because I performed a test with Nouveau (I read somewhere that Steam installation problems could be bypassed by installing it with Nouveau... but that was unfortunately a failure in my case). :)
damarrin Jan 4, 2017
Maybe try installing fresh 16.04 to a different drive or partition, install the nvidia driver and steam and see if it helps? Looks to me like the installation did not survive the hardware changes as unscathed as it seems at first glance.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.