# Can I get back my Win games in Win-10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980 "2016-05-29T12:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/1 "2016-05-29T12:28:51Z")
Well, I had avoided the upgrade until yesterday, but it went ahead without asking my permission. It installed the classic shell and my desktop looks nearly the same (except for a useless window at the bottom left that will make the toolbar shorter) and the games folder is still there. When I bring it up, the games are even listed as before. But they don’t point anywhere. When I right click on one and choose open, I get the message: windows can’t find the target. My other apps, the ones I have tried at least, seem to work. Is there any way to recover my games? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/2 "2016-05-29T12:34:06Z")
You need to get the Microsoft Solitaire collection if you want Freecell, Spider Solitaire, and the regular Solitaire (Klondike). They make it a pain in the butt depending on the version of Windows 10. There are other games available but I don’t like getting that kind of thing from MS in W10, they’re just trying to steal your data and endlessly spam you. Once again, they make new operating systems so you’ll finally appreciate the previous ones. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/3 "2016-05-29T15:57:59Z")
Okay, I did that. They are slow and cluncky with lots of dull animation. I guess there is no way to get back the old versions. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/4 "2016-05-29T17:14:41Z")
> **[How to Bring Back Microsoft's Classic, No-Bloat Games to Windows for Free](https://windows.gadgethacks.com/how-to/bring-back-microsofts-classic-no-bloat-games-windows-for-free-0166605/)** > > Microsoft's Windows 10 has proven to be a solid release by Microsoft, with faster adoption rates than its predecessor builds. The seamless integration of cloud services and tweaks both major and minor make using Windows easier than ever now. And it's... ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/5 "2016-05-29T19:43:35Z")
That site describes two methods. The first links to a file that doesn’t exist, while the second requires to get a hex editor and manually modify an exe file, which I really don’t feel up to. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/6 "2016-05-29T20:42:24Z")
If you can find a machine running Windows XP, you can just copy the Solitaire and Freecell .exe files from the Windows directory, and copy them into the Windows directory of your Win10 machine. They will run just fine. Personally, I browsed to them with the file explorer, right-clicked, and pinned them to the start menu, but you can launch them any way you like. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/7 "2016-05-29T21:59:19Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > If you can find a machine running Windows XP, you can just copy the Solitaire and Freecell .exe files from the Windows directory, and copy them into the Windows directory of your Win10 machine. They will run just fine. Personally, I browsed to them with the file explorer, right-clicked, and pinned them to the start menu, but you can launch them any way you like. Curse you! I was enjoying the extra time I had available from not having them around, but now I can copy them from the hard drive of my dead Vista machine to get them back. (Never thought about doing that. :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/8 "2016-05-30T08:33:44Z")
Just use this page to download them: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/download.php?view.1836) Full instructions here: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/) Just copying files won’t work. With XP you need to copy over a few DLLs, too. With Vista or 7, the files have to be hacked. The above installs the hacked Windows 7 games. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/9 "2016-05-30T16:52:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just use this page to download them: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/download.php?view.1836) > Full instructions here: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/) > > Just copying files won’t work. With XP you need to copy over a few DLLs, too. With Vista or 7, the files have to be hacked. The above installs the hacked Windows 7 games. This is the correct solution. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/10 "2016-05-30T18:40:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just use this page to download them: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/download.php?view.1836) > Full instructions here: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/) > > Just copying files won’t work. With XP you need to copy over a few DLLs, too. With Vista or 7, the files have to be hacked. The above installs the hacked Windows 7 games. I was afraid of that. I have been searching for the right files on my old XP computer, but haven’t been able to find them. I can play Freecell on it, but not track down all the files I seem to need to transfer it to my Windows 10 computer. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/11 "2016-05-30T21:08:04Z")
All I copied over was the two .exe files (freecell and solitaire) and one file called cards.dll. Works fine. (Copying from XP to 10, that is) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/12 "2016-05-30T22:19:23Z")
It was easier to download the games than to copy them. The instructions, the second link, also contains the download link. Everything works just fine. Thanks to all. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/13 "2016-05-30T23:29:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just use this page to download them: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/download.php?view.1836) > Full instructions here: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/) > > Just copying files won’t work. With XP you need to copy over a few DLLs, too. With Vista or 7, the files have to be hacked. The above installs the hacked Windows 7 games. This worked! Moreover, the games icon on the desktop works as before and even my old statistics were preserved. Thanks. Now I can waste my time as before. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-back-my-win-games-in-win-10/755980/14 "2016-05-31T22:05:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Full instructions here: [Get Windows 7 games for Windows 10](http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/) Thanks for that, it worked like a charm. I’m playing Freecell like a maniac again! :smack: