OK this isn't 100% a post to bash Steam, I have my thoughts on it, but this isn't a post for that.

What I'd like to know is how to cancel a download, specifically the texture pack? I started downloading it, read some reviews on it and decided otherwise. I should have put more thought in it before I started downloading it through Steam, but hey - I started downloading it.

My question is, how on earth do I bloody well stop the DLC (texture pack) download?

I've tried:
- Quickly searching Google
- Deleting the package files (bsa I think) but they just redownload upon restart of Steam
- Delete the NCF files, but they just come back

What I've ended up doing is causing Steam to think it has to download the entire game again (which I haven't started yet), but I do admit that's because I got frustrated trying to just cancel a DLC download. And I did manage to restore that so now I'm back to square one - how do I cancel the download?

If I were downloading say a new game, I could just delete the local content, but I don't want to delete the local content (ie. Skyrim) - just the DLC.

And no, I can't put Steam in offline mode because it says the game is not ready.
Basically - how do I get my vanilla Skyrim back without reinstalling (which is probably the only way)?

Links I've tried:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2528755
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2528825

Looks like others have had the same issue.

You can choose whether to activate or deactivate the DLC.

You'll have your vanilla game back if you deactivate the DLC. Check here, this screenshot is from mod manager but you can do the same through the game launcher.

http://img.techpowerup.org/120207/a.png

Cheers heaps for the reply, I guess issues are:
- I can't get into the game launcher because it's updating the game.
- If put in offline mode, can't start because Steam says the game isn't ready.
- Either option happens, if Steam is in pause or download mode for the texture pack.

I guess I'm just looking for the "Cancel" button in the download screen of Steam, but can only find a "Pause" and then "Resume".

I guess right now my only options are:
- Reinstall game [or]
- Let DLC download (really don't want to) [or]
- Use external tools

And slightly similar topic - if I let the DLC download - can you delete it afterwards without deleting the game? If you delete the files manually through the file system, does Steam re-download the files?

i only know that you can pause the download... otherwise you've already added the DLC and it's now officially attached to your game therefore a required download.

The only way to actually cancel a download is to uninstall the game.

If you right click the game and select "delete local content" the download will be removed from your list.
But I think this is not you want to do, right?

BTW, this is an update. You can't play the game until it finishes.
So I think you will have to wait with a little more patience.

Darn. I don't think I'm trying to be overly complex in what I'm trying to do - just cancel a download!

Just tried using SKSE and with Steam in Offline mode, get the same message - "This game is not ready to be played in Offline Mode".

Another question though - if I reinstall the game, does Steam actually store this information and sync it to their servers?
What I mean by that is if I uninstall and then reinstall, am I going to be stuck with the same problem?

And saying all of this, this topic may actually be better off on the Steam forums, but not much info over there either.

Nah - I don't want to delete the game - just cancel the download of the texture pack.
I'd be happy as Larry to wait, but really I just want to cancel the download!

For those interested, couldn't find a way to just stop the download of the texture pack, going to reinstall the game this arvo.

It's slightly annoying - all I wanted to do was cancel a download, not reinstall the entire game. I reckon Steam is great for delivering titles to your computer - modding your game however - not that great. It attempts to put a layer over the game that is overly complex.

Just let me download the file using a browser - problem solved.