pak01.vpk Corruption Workaround.

[No Games McGee]

I'm sorry I did post this as a comment in another thread, but I want it to be seen by others who may be experiencing this frustrating issue so I am starting a new one in hopes that it is seen. I was banned several times while trying to find a fix and hopefully I can prevent it for others. I reviewed the rules and I hope this is not considered spam. This is a fix for the corrupt pak01.vpk issues that many others have been experiencing:

This issue has had my head spinning since the map update. I have spent countless hours this week pinpointing it. Here is everything I have figured out about this bug:

The crashes were repeatable, but the timing was odd - sometimes in the middle of the match, sometimes at the start of a match, while spectating and before loading into the match. They all pointed to .vpk as corrupt.

Logs consistently pointed to:

[ResourceSystem] Failed loading resource ...
WARNING: File might be corrupt or missing - 'pak01.vpk'
[Assert] basefilesystem.cpp : MarkContentCorrupt()

So I did everything I could to get it to work. I verified the files, reinstalled the game on multiple drives, cleared the download cache, switched regions and redownloaded, fully reinstalled steam and passed memory diagnostics.

The crash always returned, sometimes going away for multiple days, but when it came back I almost always got a ban so it was difficult to continue my testing. Steam validation reported "0 files failed" but runtime consistently marked pak01.vpk as corrupt during asset loading, I believe the hero model/skeleton for Dynamo may be the root of the issue as I have seen errors associated with it.

Steam was serving corrupted or mismatched .vpk segment files.

The files in particular are: pak01_029.vpk and pak01_042.vpk

Across reinstalls and verifications, Steam re-downloaded the same broken versions, which passed files checks but failed at runtime.

I obtained a working copy of the full pak01 archive (all segments and directory) from a friend with a crash-free install.

Here is what worked:
1. Closed steam
2. Deleted ALL associated .vpk files
3. Manually replaced with my friend's clean .vpk set
4. Verified files, steam marked two as corrupt (029 and 042)
5. Re-replaced just those two from the working set
6. Launched again without running validation

I have had multiple matches without a crash now and have had no pak01 corruption detected in logs. My logs right now are 100% clean of asset failures or assertion errors.

For other players -
Backup working .vpk files once stable and avoid steam validation unless necessary to avoid reintroducing corrupt segments.

For Devs -
Steam's CDN is consistently serving corrupted versions of pak01_029.vpk and pak01_042.vpk to some users. Steam validation does not catch the corruption, but runtime asset loading fails. Corruption only triggers once a match starts and affects in-game hero asset loads, not the main menu. The game marks the pak01.vpk archive as corrupt mid-session, often causing immediate crashes. I am happy to share file hashes or logs to resolve this issue.

 

[curlyfries]

> 4. Verified files, steam marked two as corrupt (029 and 042)
What are the working file hashes?

 

[No Games McGee]

Hi all

I wanted to give a full update since my original post, especially since I have seem folks reference it. I've done a lot of digging since then and I hope this helps others who are experiencing similar issues.

I'm still experiencing crashes in Deadlock, particularly while spectating or while mid-match. I have not recently been experiencing crashes at the start of matches like I was previously.

A couple of weeks after my original post, I started crashing again. I started spectating matches for at least ten minutes before playing Deadlock. I have been focusing on finding matches with Ivy and Dynamo sd those are the two that seem to trigger a lot of issues for me. I could get the crashes out of the way without triggering a ban by spectating. The game crashes and then relaunch it. When I do, steam performs a small download before the application launches. I assume it is trying to fix the files after the crash. After launch I will spectate again and when the game runs smoothly in spectate, I will launch into a live match.

I'm still experiencing crashes and this is by no means a foolproof method. I have a received a few bans, but usually only for a few hours instead of days because the crashing is more infrequent.

Often the crashes are tied to rendering issues:

• The game screen blanking out
• An entire UI element (in my case, a shop icon) covering the full screen
• Then freezing and crashing to desktop

Crash logs frequently involve libcef.dll or assertion failures in videoplayer.cpp
Specifically
Assert( !m_strURL.IsEmpty() || m_bufFromMemory.TellPut() > 0 )

The most frustrating part isn't the crash itself, it's what happens afterwards:

After a crash:

• Steam attempts to queue a small download or patch
• BUT the download progress is stuck at 0%
• The game becomes unlaunchable and even "Verify Integrity of Game Files" gets stuck
• Clearing download cache or changing region sometimes helps, but not always

Critically:
If I wait until the match I crashed ends, the download and file verification suddenly work, and I can launch again (but now I am banned).

This means Steam seems to block the patch while the match is still live, preventing any repair or re-entry until it's too late to rejoin.

What I've Done So Far

• Replaced all .vpk files manually from known-good install
• Generated SHA256 hash manifests to track file corruption
• Verified game files multiple times (after forcing Steam to resume patching)
• Isolated consistent corruption of pak01_dir.vpk and specific segments like pak01_128.vpk, pak01_029.vpk and pak01_042.vpk
• Spectated and queued into matches across all heroes and confirmed Ivy and Dynamo often crash on spectate

It appears there are two seperate but related issues:

1. Asset or UI Rendering Crash
   • Possibly triggered by corrupted .vpk segments or specific visual elements
   • Triggers a crash involving libcef.dll or video64.dll
2. Steam Lockout Until Match Ends
   • Steam refuses to patch/verify game files while the match is still live
   • This prevents recovery until it is too late to rejoin and makes debugging frustrating

Temporary Workarounds

• Pre-launch hash check: I run a script before launching the game to re-copy clean .vpk files and verify their SHA256
• Spectate before going into a live match: If you are going to crash, at least you won't take a ban for it.
• Clear steam cache and/or change region immediately after crash. I have been doing a reboot as well, but I honestly don't know if it is helping: This sometimes forces Steam to resume the stuck download.
• Wait for match to end: Unfortunately, the only reliable way to fix the broken state is to let the match time out.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has gained insights into this issue. Are others seeing similar behavior post-crash? This is still a work in progress I just wanted to provide an update on my troubleshooting of this issue.