Steam Machine’s ‘red line of death’ may have been greatly exaggerated
Hopefully, that’s the end of the issues
😮 The Steam Machine that suffered the ‘red line of death’ error has sprung back to life
👍 A reset involving going into the machine’s BIOS and being left overnight resolved the issue
🤔 Reddit user me_hill advised users to sit and wait it out if the same issue happens to them
⏰ This Steam Machine error resolution comes amid hefty backend work from Valve ahead of the release of the Steam Frame
The Steam Machine that had suffered an Xbox 360-style ‘red line of death’ has remarkably sprung back to life.
User me_hill on Reddit posted an update to their original post on how they solved the issue. Initially, they tried leaving the machine powered off for 30 minutes over the course of a day, which didn’t work.
However, when they left it unplugged overnight and then tried the “BIOS stuff” other Reddit users suggested, the Steam Machine “booted up immediately without an issue”.
Originally, me_hill had issues after downloading a system update, which caused the Steam Machine to crash, and then display half a red line on the machine’s LED light bar on the front. This was then dubbed the ‘red line of death’ in reference to the Xbox 360’s Red Ring of Death issue.
The Reddit user didn’t specify what specifically solved their issue beyond “BIOS stuff”, although the original Reddit post had multiple users suggest entering the Steam Machine’s BIOS to force a full reset of the device.
In the follow-up post, they explained that they “felt stupid” about posting the error, and stated they were “tired and irritable after a long day of work, and an ominous GPU error code wasn’t exactly the seamless plug-and-play experience I had hoped for”.
Me_hill continued, advising people not to panic if they encounter the same error, stating they should “just let it sit for a few hours and it will somehow sort itself out’.
They continued to apologize for the false alarm and stated they were going to “spend this weekend playing Crusader Kings until my eyes hurt.”
This news comes alongside the impending release date of the Steam Frame, with Valve is undertaking extensive backend work ahead of the headset’s official release, as it did with the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, plus there has been a steady stream of shipments of the device in recent weeks.
For instance, the Steam Frame recently got its first compatible game, and a more recent update noted the headset’s “Welcome Tour” is showing up in SteamTracking in multiple languages.
We have also gotten a range of new details on Steam Frame in recent weeks thanks to other backend updates, such as new photos of the device and other updates that have added icons for connectivity and an unboxing video, too.
Up next: Steam Frame pre-order guide: how to reserve Valve’s VR headset when the time comes
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.