Valve just released a new SteamOS image. Sadly, it’s not the full SteamOS 3 many of us have been waiting for, but version 3.0 is coming soon. That doesn’t mean the news isn’t welcome, however, as the SteamOS image will give Steam Deck users plenty of recovery options in case something goes wrong with their new portable gaming device.
What’s more, people have tried it on devices other than Steam Deck as a way to deal with the fact that they don’t have Steam Deck. Steam Deck users who experience startup issues after using this SteamOS image, or have other operating systems installed on Steam Deck (such as Windows and want to revert to SteamOS, now have several recovery options.
The 2.5GB image should be copied to a 32GB or higher USB flash drive, GNOME disk for Linux users, or Rufus if you’re using Windows.
Once loaded on the device in question, it allows the user to “re-image” the Steam Deck, which is essentially a full factory reset: “Clear Local User Data” to reformat any personal settings, stripping out user-specific data and games; “Reinstall Steam OS” to clear OS files while keeping your personal content and games; it also has a more granular “Recovery Tools” option that lets you change the Steam Deck boot partition.
If you’re having trouble, recovery instructions can be found in the Steam FAQ, and the instructions come with a warning. Valve has made it clear that it may not work well for any fans who might want to install it on other devices…, especially on your toaster.
For all of you ‘hands-on’, please note that this system image is not yet SteamOS 3. Depending on the device you’re trying to install on (desktop, another handheld, fridge, toaster), it may not work. The official version of SteamOS 3 will be available sometime after launch (and even then it may not work on your toaster).
Reddit users can’t wait for their Steam Deck to ship and have already started installing recovery images onto other devices. A user named Mattchew_X managed to get it working on an old iMac with just a few lines of code. Maybe one day we can play Ayrton Circle on a smart fridge?