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I installed Steam using CrossOver Games on Mac with no errors, but when I try to run Steam an error comes up that says "Steam.exe (main exception): Unable to load library Steam.dll" and the application will close when I press "Ok". I had the same problem when I tried to use CrossOver 6 on Mac. I have an Intel MacBook running 10.4.

How can I get Steam to run properly?

There is a race condition in Steam itself that makes updates and initial installations fail in some rare cases. This problem is fixed since some time in Steam, however, the installer still ships an initial Steam version without this fix. So all you have to do to get updates working is to update Steam. Easier said than done...

A common workaround is to copy a working Steam installation over the existing installation. This will give you an up to date Steam with the bug fixed. If you have Steam installed somewhere on Boot Camp, in a virtual machine or on a PC you can copy it over the Steam installation in CrossOver.

I am not 100% sure if this is the problem. The usual sign of this race condition is the "Steam is already running" error, but I think the Steam.dll issue has the same cause.

Thanks for the reply. I got a friend to send me his steam.exe, but I'm guessing I will need to copy the whole Steam folder in the program files over in to CrossOver for this to work. I'll try sometime in the future when I have access to copy the whole folder. If anyone could send me their steam folder without any games that would help a lot. Thanks.

Hi bonkeykong,

Thanks! I was stuck on what to write about next in my blog, and this works perfectly!

Cheers,

Jeremy

So, I just downloaded the trial of Crossover Games with the full intent to purchase your software if I can get it running well enough. I have a MacBook, core 2 duo with 2 Gb's of ram. I'm attempting to install the Orange Box on here. When I try to install Steam, I get the same error as the guy above. I went to said blog post and realize that the guy who asked the initial question is a pirate. I however, am not. And would really love a deeper explanation of what I need to do to fix this. I have my copy of the Steam folder from my bootcamp partition, but I can't seem to figure out where I should put it. (I'm new to the whole while thing).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've tried new bottles on both win200 and winxp and installing steam from download and from my orange box retail DVD

You might consider just downloading steam directly from the manufacturer. Assuming that steampowered.com is the right site, they appear to allow you to set up an account using your CD key from the box you purchased. Edit: Except apparently not the game your looking to use. It should have the file that was suggested earlier though.

The steam software itself is available as a free download.

I don't have any steam software, but if it's a version specific bug that's been fixed, this might be worth trying.

Hi,
You can copy the C:\Program Files\Steam folder to Library/Application Support/CrossOver Games/Bottles/<bottle name>/drive_c/Program Files/ after installing Steam into the bottle. Overwrite all files that may exist, then retry Steam.

EDIT: I mean the C:\Program Files\Steam folder from a Windows installation or a working installation on crossover.

If anyone is still having this problem: Kellen reported that a program called PeerGuardian caused the issues for him. Please check if you have this program or similar firewalls / network filters running.

I'm getting the same error, I use crossover games to download steam, it installs steam, I try to open steam through crossover games and I get the error. I tried it with peerguardian off and on and it made no difference?

Stefan Dösinger wrote:

If anyone is still having this problem: Kellen reported that a
program called PeerGuardian caused the issues for him. Please check
if you have this program or similar firewalls / network filters
running.

This was exactly the problem I was having. Disabling the filters allowed Steam to connect to it's server and update itself. Thanks!

I also have this same issue... I have a legitimate Steam account, and when I go to install Steam (I have tried via Crossover Games installing from the web AND from the file I can download from the Steam site) I get this error when it tries to open. I rebooted into Windows and installed Steam there properly, then copied the files back over to my Crossover "drive" and it will now launch properly. Unfortunately, now it says it can't connect to the Steam network when I click the button to enter my user info.

Note: My router is port forwarding correctly in accordance with Steam's recommendations.

I was really excited to try running Half Life and other Steam apps on my Mac without having to dual boot, but so far it looks like I won't be going on past the 7 day trial...

EDIT: It looks like the problem is solved not by disabling Peer Guardian (which I did have installed) but by removing it completely! After running the uninstall script downloaded with the app, STEAM is able to connect fine. Of course, Big Brother can now see what I'm doing online...