Category:Source SDK FAQ

Installation

• How do I get and install Source SDK?
• What games does Source SDK support?
• Can I use Source SDK to edit Half-Life 1 content?
• What is the difference between "Source SDK" and "Source SDK Base"?
• How do I do a manual uninstall of Steam?

General SDK troubleshooting

• Where can I go for more help?
• I'm experiencing constant, strange problems not covered elsewhere in this FAQ.
• How do I Refresh Source SDK Content?
• I can't launch Source SDK on 64-bit Windows.
• How do I reset the Source SDK Game Configuration?
• I reset my Game Configuration, but I get a configuration error when I try to run Hammer.
• My game configurations menu in Hammer and the SDK application is empty.
• How do I re-install the entire Source SDK installation?
• How do I remove old games from my "Current Game" menu?
• While using the SDK for a while, my machine runs out of resources and crashes!
• Can I run Hammer, HLMV, etc. without opening the SDK launcher?
• When I try to make a level for my new mod, Hammer won't display the grid and I can't make edits.

Common SDK error messages

• How do I fix the "Cache Needs Repair" error?
• How do I fix the "Cache Needs Decryption" error?
• I get an error "Can't find steam.dll relative to executable path (steam path)".
• I get an error "The configuration information for the game is invalid or missing".
• When I try to run these tools in the bin folder of the SDK, I'm getting an error message: "tier0.dll or vstdlib.dll are not found".

General SDK information

• How do I enable the developer console?
• How are the Source SDK files and directories structured?
• What is meant by Game Directory?
• How can I make my own GameInfo.txt?
• Gamecfg.ini conversion information
• How do I launch the game without loading the 3D background maps?
• What are some game parameters I can launch the game with?
• Where can I submit bugs I found in Source SDK?

FacePoser

• I get an error "SAPI 5.1 Unable to create recognizer context".

Programming

• What compiler do I need to build the SDK code?
• What else do I need to build the SDK code?
• Can I use Visual Studio 2005 / Visual C++ 2005 Express?
• Can I use Visual Studio 2008 / Visual C++ 2008 Express?
• Can I use Visual Studio 2010 / Visual C++ 2010 Express?
• Am I seeing an issue that's already well known?
• When I use run_mod.bat, I can't run the game if my path has spaces.
• Missing certain Half-Life 2 entities in Hammer with custom mods.
• When playing a multiplayer mod, combine players don't show any animation!

Level Design

• See the Level Design FAQ for level design and Hammer Editor related issues.