On Steam you need to create folders called "Steamapps" which is where Steam is installed. Most of the time you find this under C:/windowx86/steam/steamapps (so it is with me) the games must be able to access the Steamapps folders during installation. Such an error message as you described above, I have rarely experienced.
How do I know? For over 10 years Support on Steam (No admin)
On Steam you need to create folders called "Steamapps" which is where Steam is installed. Most of the time you find this under C:/windowx86/steam/steamapps (so it is with me) the games must be able to access the Steamapps folders during installation. Such an error message as you described above, I have rarely experienced.
How do I know? For over 10 years Support on Steam (No admin)