Freecell transfer scores xp to win7

[Dave_44]

Hi. How can I transfer my Freecell scores from XP to Win7

Thanks
Dave

 

[internetlad]

I'm really not sure if you can. I know that even moving scores from xp->xp is a huge pain (moving registry keys and the like)

A quick google search didn't turn anything up. Is this from an old computer to a new one or a reformat with a new OS?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

plus 1^

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi Dave,

Not sure how computer savy you are, so when dealing with the registry, use extreme caution and safety.

Here is a link to how this question was solved in a previous individual wanting to do the same thing.
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/showthread.php?t=138705

If you are interested in looking into this old solution, save a copy of this specific registry entry to your desktop first by using export, so if anything goes wrong you can always just double click on the exported reg entry to merge it back in place.

I personally don't have FreeCell installed, to know what is listed in that registry entry.
Possibly someone who has FreeCell on their system could add to the post.

 

[internetlad]

Hi Dave,
Here is a link to how this question was solved in a previous individual wanting to do the same thing.
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/showthread.php?t=138705

would that registry key even be recognized by the new version of Freecell? That's for moving from XP to XP, He wants to import it to Win7, which has a totally new Freecell game on it.

 

[Dave_44]

Hi.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

To answer internetlad, this is a totally new PC running Win7 and I want to transfer the scores from an old XP PC.

To answer john_VanKirk, the link you provided doesn’t seem to be working. However Win7 stores the scores in a completely different location to XP, so a fiddle with the registry isn’t going to work.

From numerous searches on the internet it seems that XP stores the scores in the registry at:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Applets/FreeCell

Win 7 doesn’t use the registry at all, but stores the scores in:
C:/Users/<username>/AppData/Local/MicrosoftGames/FreeCell/FreeCellSettings.xml

However, this doesn’t appear to be a “normal” xml file and it won’t load in IE. Any attempt to alter the scores by changing them in a text editor doesn’t work as FreeCell (I think) doesn’t like the changed file and writes another “nil score” file to replace it.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Dave

 

[internetlad]

even if we could somehow get the registry key into a "regular" format that could be read by the win7 freecell, I fear you'd be speaking german to an englishman. Like I had said, it's a totally new program so I don't think it would know what to make of the file.

Doesn't freecell just store the top 3 scores or something anyways? or is it a "David won 4, lost 2" sort of deal?

Either way it seems like a ton of work for very little payoff, unless you REALLY like freecell lol

EDIT: you can use the tutorial here to get that registry into a text file, have a look at it.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781982(WS.10).aspx

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi Dave,
Looks like you are a little more computer savy than most - which is great

Yes, lots of Application Data, is now stored in the hidden AppData/Local/Microsoft folder which is where it should be, rather than the registry or the older XP Application Data/Microsoft folder.

If you have the MS Win-7 Easy Transfer Wizard on your XP box, might look to see if you can "transfer" just the MS Games data or FreeCell data, since you can choose exactly what to transfer over. If so, you could move just that over by a network connection, or even a flash drive. Also since the FreeCellSettings.xml is just an xml file, you might bring it up in the xml editor (view source of IE) to see the file, or any HTML editor to see if you can pick out the correct "name = value" item to modify

Lastly, might post the request over in MicroSofts Games forum which might get you a faster answer than in a hardware forum.

 

[Dave_44]

Thanks for all the help on this one. I think it's far harder to achieve than I thought, perhaps even impossible. Time to call it a day.

Thanks

Dave

 

[internetlad]

No problem. sorry it's such a pain.

 

[Dave_44]

Best answer selected by Dave_44.

 

[JP-appalled]

New user Win7. I too was utterly appalled at the Freecell game appearance - absolutely guaranteed to make you go cross-eyed after a few minutes.

If you have the old XP machine accessible, problem easily solved by following means...

XP machine...
1)
Create a directory called "XP_Games" on your desktop. Actually any name will do so long as it does not conflict with other Win7 OS sub-directory.

2)
Open Windows explorer and navigate to C:\WINDOWS directory. Focus & press right-click & select Search...
Type 'Freecell.exe' in the filename box and press Search. The file should show up very quickly.

3)
Select the file in search results pane. Drag-drop the file into the desktop directory just created.

4) Use the same procedure 2&3 above to find, copy-paste the file 'cards.dll'.

Win 7 machine
5) Now copy the directory with these two files by any normal means into where-ever you want an old-games-archive on your new machine. If you then right-click on the freecell.exe file and select 'Send to' --> Desktop you will end up with a shortcut on your desktop that works in the normal way - with the old program behaviour and appearance.

Note - the cards.dll file MUST NOT be propagated outside the directory where freecell.exe resides. This method merely exploits the long-standing concept of link-files and accessories always being searched for in the immediate environment of the executable itself. So the Win7 version (if enabled) is still operational in same way and no ambiguity or interference results.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey