Gee I wonder if there could be some reason why major 'gaming' news sites are chomping at the bit, ready to run any story headline that makes Valve look bad...
Maybe it has something to do with
this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2026
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Let me guess this is the story so far:
- Fuck up BIOS settings
- Complain on Reddit about it instead of googling how to fix such a thing
- Story get's into braindead click-bait "news"
- People read said news because they're dumb
- Original author finds out that you can unplug it and remove the BIOS battery to reset BIOS
- Works again
Classic Layer 8 problem
PS: I didn't read said braindead click-bait "news" because I don't care
How to collect downvotes: Post any criticism of steam, whether valid, or not.
How to collect upvotes: Brag about how many games you have purchased from steam, but have never played, because being a consumerist zombie is hella cool.
Dubbed major hardware fault after a single reddit post?
And apparently solved by just letting the capacitors dissipate. A common solution to power issues.
The Xbox One had built in surge protection function inside the external power supply that required you to unplug it and let it dissipate before you could use it again.
Not really a major hardware fault by basically any definition.
Yeah it's maybe not a major hardware error, but telling someone that turning their console off for 6plus hours is the solution to their issue is not something that we'd forgive from any other company. If it's completely a one off sure, especially if valve offers to replace it. But we shouldn't wave this off as if it's nothing because it's valve
Assuming this is expected functionality of built in surge protection or similar, I am absolutely okay forgiving every company for this… if they put it in the fucking manual…
If the surge protection circuit is tripping during normal operation or when incoming power is only a few % out of spec then it is very much a hardware design issue. A universal supply should be able to handle ~90-260v at this point, power semiconductors are a very well understood field and it is not unreasonable to expect a nearly 300v input range.
If the surge protection circuit is tripping during normal operation or when incoming power is only a few % out of spec
According to who?
Okay… I was just commenting on my willingness to forgive a company for ‘unexpected’ operation if that operation is documented and they have provided said documentation. Not commenting on the speculations of the person who the person I replied to was replying to.
You should not be forgiving a multi billion dollar company for unexpected operation of the most basic part of thier device. You pay a premium you should expect a minimum stardard of operation on par with that price.
If it’s in the manual then it’s only unexpected if you didn’t read the manual before using the product. You are still stuck on this one device, I am still just talking about proper documentation of product features on any product by any company multi-billion or not. Specifically in response to the one person I replied to saying that Valve was getting special treatment. It really seems like you are trying to start an argument with me that has literally nothing to do with what I said.
This is some Nintendo/mac level fanboi shit
Calling it resolved immediately after it booted up again seems a bit premature though. I've had a few major PC hardware issues where I managed to get it running again for a short while only for it to fail again soon after. This issue happening in the first place does likely indicate some hardware fault with that person's Steam Machine.
The problem is how easy you can have a 100% disaster and 100% not-a-problem when the usercase is...well, 1.
Yeah, I don't disagree. As of now this is just one person with an issue out of an unknown number of Steam Machine owners. It shouldn't be blown out of proportion.
If I was that person though, I'd probably ask Valve for a replacement unit, even if it works for now.
ASUS ROG Strix laptops enter the chat.
"huh it randomly rebooted and won't post...ok i'll turn it off for 15min or so...oh it's working again."
few months later
"huh these false reboots are happening more frequently now and now it's taking an hour or more before it'll post again...still works though!"
few months later
"the mobo cooked itself."
Don't buy ASUS laptops kids. you'll be lucky, extremely lucky, if you get 4 to 5 years out of it.
Otoh, a family member gave me their "broken" Asus zenbook, I replaced the battery and its been running great for a few years now. I'm at the point where I need to replace the battery again(and maybe ditch Ubuntu, I always regret installing it)
Something went wrong, just wish we knew what.
I'll be curious to see how the OP OP's machine is doing a few weeks from now, and if the error pops up again.
Sony is scared.
If you have to keep it unplugged for a couple of hours it does not seem like a fix.
But well, if it happens again he should return it, just to be sure.
Leaving it unplugged means capacitors drain. Not sure what issues that would solve that wouldn’t be related to hardware failure.
Still, only a single hardware failure reported so far and some news outlets ran with “MAJOR failure in Steam Machine, GabeN in shambles, Valve BTFO, Sony was right all along, apologize to Nintendo right now”
A random bit flip in memory. Sometimes errors can be retained.
Eh you know how's the hate train. It drives way more clicks to just create ragebait than to report news.
In the videogame world however, seems to be worse as the average "journalist" is basically a guy who can put letters together.
Over heating can behave like this, but doesn’t seem likely.
Ya having to keep it unplugged would tell me that something is on the brink of total failure.
Whether this is a one off case or turns into a wide spread issue I'd be asking for a replacement.