Updated to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 and lost all games and apps

errab · December 2014

Greetings All,

I was trying to see if anyone knew of a way to restore games and apps that were running on windows 7 before upgrading to Windows 8.1.

With microsoft soon to be dropping all suport for windows 7 if figured that I should get use to 8.1 since I was able to get it for free via my school.

The problem is now Windows 8.1 did not save any of my installed games or apps and stuck them all in a folder called windows.old.

All my shortcuts can be found for my old games and apps but they link to nothing.

I was going to try to revert back to windows 7 but was advised by a few friends just to install everything that I was running again in 8.1.

Is there anyway that I can get Windows 8.1 to restore my old games and apps?

On a related note:

I tried to install STO via the original DVD and the thing no longer boots up in my DVD reader

It looks like I'm stuck with ARC :P

Thanks for your time

nicha0 · December 2014

Windows 7 is going to be supported for a long time, don't believe the headlines.

Having used Windows 8.1, I'd not upgrade to it if I could avoid it.

anazonda · December 2014

nicha0 wrote: »

Windows 7 is going to be supported for a long time, don't believe the headlines.

This...

While it is true that mainline support is coming to an end, there will, much like WinXP, be serveral upgrades before they finally turn it off.

That said: You can't "restore" the savegames pr-se, but you can re-install the apps and games, and then identify the folders they are in W8, and finally copy-paste the files from the .old folder to the new one, provided your upgrade did a proper job of saving them.

cervantx · December 2014

errab wrote: »

Greetings All,

I was trying to see if anyone knew of a way to restore games and apps that were running on windows 7 before upgrading to Windows 8.1.

With microsoft soon to be dropping all suport for windows 7 if figured that I should get use to 8.1 since I was able to get it for free via my school.

The problem is now Windows 8.1 did not save any of my installed games or apps and stuck them all in a folder called windows.old.

All my shortcuts can be found for my old games and apps but they link to nothing.

I was going to try to revert back to windows 7 but was advised by a few friends just to install everything that I was running again in 8.1.

Is there anyway that I can get Windows 8.1 to restore my old games and apps?

On a related note:

I tried to install STO via the original DVD and the thing no longer boots up in my DVD reader

It looks like I'm stuck with ARC :P

Thanks for your time

But to answer you question, IF you have partitions in your hard drive In example C:

F: etc, you can use one, typically C: to instal the windows and programs and other for backup the programs, if so, formating C: to nstall a W7 or W8 would only require you install the games, programs from the backup partition.

Now if you had to format the whole disk to install the new system, you will have to download, chek cd or dvd and whatever stuff where you have the old programs. But in any case, you will be reinsatling most of the thing again, my 2 cents, always have partitions for backup, make more easy reinstal stuff.

Now STO point: yes you have to download all again and from arc. another option was to copy the whole instaled game to a partition, and then copy back to C: once the change of Windows is done, but that doesnt grant that would work.

markhawkman · December 2014

What was the procedure used for installing Win8? That will tell us more about what your options are.

depending on whether the installer wiped the HD before installing, you may have your old data files intact and be able to copy them over. you'll still have to re-install STO, otherwise Win8 won't know how to run the program. But it will save you the hours it takes to do a full game DL again.

daveyny · December 2014

http://files.startrekonline.com/launcher/Star%20Trek%20Online.exe

Use this link, you don't need ARC.

anazonda · December 2014

markhawkman wrote: »

What was the procedure used for installing Win8? That will tell us more about what your options are.

depending on whether the installer wiped the HD before installing, you may have your old data files intact and be able to copy them over. you'll still have to re-install STO, otherwise Win8 won't know how to run the program. But it will save you the hours it takes to do a full game DL again.

Windows installs aren't really installs anymore.

Windows 7 introduced a new system, were it actually just extracts an image of the "finished" windows.

In old versions, say, from 2k to Windows XP, it would actually remove old files and replace them with the new system, leaving pretty much all your old files intact where they were.

Newer Windows just moves the old files to a single folder, and copies the contents of the image to it's proper location.

mattmiracle · December 2014

errab wrote: »

Greetings All,

I was trying to see if anyone knew of a way to restore games and apps that were running on windows 7 before upgrading to Windows 8.1.

With microsoft soon to be dropping all suport for windows 7 if figured that I should get use to 8.1 since I was able to get it for free via my school.

The problem is now Windows 8.1 did not save any of my installed games or apps and stuck them all in a folder called windows.old.

All my shortcuts can be found for my old games and apps but they link to nothing.

I was going to try to revert back to windows 7 but was advised by a few friends just to install everything that I was running again in 8.1.

Is there anyway that I can get Windows 8.1 to restore my old games and apps?

On a related note:

I tried to install STO via the original DVD and the thing no longer boots up in my DVD reader

It looks like I'm stuck with ARC :P

Thanks for your time

Not to nit pick but this needs to be in the "Windows PC, Network, and Other Technical Issues" forum. Just for future reference as the tech gurus visit that forum much more than this one.

As nicha0 pointed out, Windows 7 is still going strong and Microsoft will not pull support for it. Heck, they just pulled support for XP which has been out for 10 years this past April. Microsoft will end "Main Stream" support for Windows 7 on 13 Jan 2015 but that DOES NOT mean that you wont get updates and security patches. It just means that there will be no more features like Service Packs or added bonus software (say DirectX 13 in Windows X). Here is a link to the article I am referencing. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2462643/what-happens-when-microsoft-ends-windows-7-mainstream-support-next-year.html

First rule of upgrades - you don't.

Microsoft is notorious for TRIBBLE up upgrades from one OS to another. If you are upgrading the versions of OS (say Windows 7 Home to 7 Pro), then that is ok but never go from 7 to 8 or 8 to 10.

Second rule of upgrades - Back everything up. Save all of your files that you cannot restore from CD/DVD such as pics, itunes, movies, etc onto other media before beginning any OS modification.

Third rule of upgrade - DO A CLEAN INSTALL. This goes back to rule 1 as there are no good upgrades. If you have done rule 2, then just wipe away the old OS and start from scratch. This prevents your hard drive from being filled with .old files and such. You will get a much smoother performance too. To do a clean install, just boot to the DVD instead of running it from inside the OS.

These 3 rules have helped me more in the last 15 years than anything else when it comes to Microsoft OS. BTW, Windows 8.1 is not bad at all (Windows 8 is not that great but still better than Windows Me).

Wishing you the best of luck.

Matt Miracle
Microsoft Certified IT Professional - Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

errab · December 2014

Thanks all,

I ended up just reinstalling everything and so far STO is running great via ARC :eek:

I do however plan on running dual OS with Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 with a fresh install.

I'm going to take my windows old file and use it to over right my new windows 7 Windows folder and see what happens

Thanks again!

sunfrancks · December 2014

If the game saved files to the C drive, then they are most likely still in the same location within the Windows Old folder.
You may also need to select "Show Hidden Files" as well, as most games save files under AppData, which will be hidden in My Documents.

tekehd · December 2014

anazonda wrote: »

This...

While it is true that mainline support is coming to an end, there will, much like WinXP, be serveral upgrades before they finally turn it off.

That said: You can't "restore" the savegames pr-se, but you can re-install the apps and games, and then identify the folders they are in W8, and finally copy-paste the files from the .old folder to the new one, provided your upgrade did a proper job of saving them.

Yes, just Maintream Support ending..... extended support continues til 2020. There is no real clamor to have to upgrade now.

mustrumridcully0 · December 2014

Most games that come out since Vista shouldn't store savegames in the Windows or Program Files folder. The security restrictions (a major - but not only - part of the reason Vista was such a nightmare too many people) did generally not allow writing to those locations.

Unless the Windows.old folder also contains your old User profiles, you should have most there, you just may need to reinstall the games.

sinn74 · December 2014

nicha0 wrote: »

Having used Windows 8.1, I'd not upgrade to it if I could avoid it.

I agree. I really, REALLY dislike 8.1.

gulberat · December 2014

8.1 really works IF and ONLY IF you have a touchscreen. I do on my laptop and I am loving it, but I can tell it would have been a miserable experience without.

Two bits of advice with STO on Windows 8.1 at least on my computer: you MUST stay on top of your GPU driver updates, and I strongly recommend in the game settings stepping down to DirectX 9, not 11.

charononus · December 2014

windows 8.1 isn't bad for most users. Just download classic shell. http://www.classicshell.net/ It's free and makes it feel like a normal windows version without the weird start menu it normally has.

kirksplat · December 2014

Do not upgrade. I've been using 8 or 8.1 for a year on a laptop and it still frustrates me on a daily basis. Some of the simplest things that used to be easy with a start menu are really frustrating.

I have to do things like manually search for my calculator by typing in 'calculator' in a search box. Otherwise, I can't find it. Almost nothing feels intuitive. I am always, always fighting with it to do simple things. And it doesn't help that all the software that comes with it, like the latest version of word, are different and unintuitive as well.

8.1 is terrible on a pc.

charononus · December 2014

kirksplat wrote: »

Do not upgrade. I've been using 8 or 8.1 for a year on a laptop and it still frustrates me on a daily basis. Some of the simplest things that used to be easy with a start menu are really frustrating.

I have to do things like manually search for my calculator by typing in 'calculator' in a search box. Otherwise, I can't find it. Almost nothing feels intuitive. I am always, always fighting with it to do simple things. And it doesn't help that all the software that comes with it, like the latest version of word, are different and unintuitive as well.

8.1 is terrible on a pc.

Kirksplat have you looked into something like the program I listed above? It's the one I use so I recommend it because it works well and it's free. I had the same issues as you when I got my laptop a year ago, but a guildie told me about classic shell and honestly at this point for basic use for me it's no different than windows 7 now.

kirksplat · December 2014

charononus wrote: »

Kirksplat have you looked into something like the program I listed above? It's the one I use so I recommend it because it works well and it's free. I had the same issues as you when I got my laptop a year ago, but a guildie told me about classic shell and honestly at this point for basic use for me it's no different than windows 7 now.

Wow. Thank you. Suddenly my laptop is functional for the first time. This is a huge improvement.

realwildblu · December 2014

For those folks who are considering upgrading to Win 8.1, I recommend waiting until Win 10 arrives in mid-2015. Microsoft apparently saw the error in their ways and accepted that not everyone wants to use only tiny touchscreens for their PC applications. With any luck, Classic Shell won't be necessary (although I have lingering doubts... it is Microsoft, after all)

crypticarmsman · December 2014

FYI - Win7 support will last to 2020 (unless MS changes its mind but that's doubtful at this point.) Windows 8.1 support will probably end about the same time as it just hasn't penetrated enough (it's not as dismal as say Windows ME or Vista in that regard; but if you're considering upgrading from Win7 -- wait a year or so until Windows 10 is out in the mainstream and off release candidate test status.

IMO - the guts of 8.1 isn't bad - the fact that they shoved the metro interface down everyone's throat and were loathe to back away (sorry, everyone wanted a 'Start Menu' option back - not just the Start button.)

To the OP: If you actually have 8.1 up and running on your PC; at this point, it's probably better just to reinstall you apps from scratch. And if you want the start menu - 'Classic Shell' is a nice 100% freeware option that puts the majority of Win7 start menu functionality back into 8.1 - and it's 100% freeware (donation optional); and doesn't start disabling features after a month. If 8.1 installed and wiped out your installed apps; it probably did a clean overinstall meaning rolling back probably won't get your old config 100% restored. Again (and IMO) - the only thing I disliked about 8.1 was the Metro interface (which is great for a tablet, but not a desktop.)

gulberat · December 2014

And there's the difference with the touchscreen laptop: if I want it to act like a tablet, I can, and I am not really missing the Start menu and actually find the Metro screen easier to use. But no touchscreen? NO fun.

Of course I expect it is too much to hope for that STO will ever become truly touchscreen compatible. I can sort of DOFF with the touchscreen but compatibility is halting at best.

mattmiracle · December 2014

For those that don't have Windows 8.1, did you know that MS did put back a pusdo Start menu?

Also, you can right click on the taskbar at the bottom, go to properties, then go to the Navigation tab and check ALL of the boxes in the Start Screen to make the Start menu behave more like Windows 7 and not the Modern UI (aka Metro) of Win 8.

8.1 is a FREE upgrade from 8.0 Just do all the patches from Windows Update and then go to the Store and you should see the upgrade to 8.1.

kimony · December 2014

If Classic Shell isn't your thing,

there is also Start8 from Stardock which returns the start menu $3.99 and ModernMix which allows Modern Apps to display, pin and shortcut on the desktop 3.99 from Stardock.

carcharodon1975 · December 2014

sinn74 wrote: »

I agree. I really, REALLY dislike 8.1.

I agree....8.1 is horrendous.....while I found a 'workaround' for most issues (as in uninstalling the 'special' Windows 8 features :rolleyes:),the lack of support for many games that came out before Windows 7 is killing me...can't play games like Command & Conquer anymore

:mad:

Updated to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 and lost all games and apps

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