[Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

Discus and support [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You in XBoX Games and Apps to solve the problem; GFWL can work on Windows 10, however it may take a bit of additional work to get it working fully. Purchased from Steam: Steam is a wonderful... Discussion in 'XBoX Games and Apps' started by Ackis, Jul 11, 2017.

  1. Ackis
    Ackis Guest

    [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You


    GFWL can work on Windows 10, however it may take a bit of additional work to get it working fully.

    Purchased from Steam:

    Steam is a wonderful platform - you buy the game, install it and it should just work. Well with GFWL that's not always the case. The reason is that Steam is required to redistribute the exact version of GFWL that came with the game. This means that you're
    getting older versions when you install from Steam.

    To fix this you need to install the latest version of GFWL. You can see instructions under the Windows 10 header.

    GFWL Achievements on Steam:

    If you're worried about achievements for GFWL there is still a way to get them.

    Some games on Steam (Ms. Splosion for example) allow you to install the Steamworks version or the GFWL version. Other games (Batman Arkham series, Toy Soldiers, and many more) have patched GFWL out completely. You won't be able to get the achievements
    for these games anymore.

    These games may aiuto-update to non-GFWL versions, however there is a way you can prevent this:

    1. Select the game from the Steam list of games.
    2. Right click, and go to properties
    3. Click the Updates tab
    4. Under automatic updates select "Only update this game when I launch it"

    This will prevent the game from getting updates automatically, however you'd still need to update it when you try to play it. You can get around this by setting Steam to offline mode when you launch the game.

    Windows 10:

    Getting GFWL to work on Windows 10 take a bit of extra work. This can be fixed pretty easily by:

    1. Removing GFWL, the Marketplace, etc. from your PC
    2. Reboot
    3. Download the latest version of GFWL from Games for Windows Live | Xbox for Windows
    4. Install it
    5. Reboot

    Now with GFWL this doesn't have a 100% success rate. However you can try the exact same steps and it'll work the second or third time you do it. Pretty annoying, but at least you get to play your game.

    DLC:

    Any DLC that you have purchased in the past will still be accessible and you can download it. However you cannot purchase anything new. There are a few ways around this. For example Dirt 3 has a physical copy that includes codes for all the DLC.

    If you have a DLC code it should still work, you just need to enter it via the GFWL client.

    GFWL Log File Locations:

    The log files for the GFWL client may provide some insight into what's breaking with GFWL. These files are located here:

    C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\GFWLive\Logs

    You can access/view these by:

    1. Press the Windows Key + R
    2. Type in: C:\Users
    3. Press enter
    4. Find your user name.
    5. Navigate to AppData -> Local -> Microsoft -> GFWLive -> Logs
    6. Right click on the log file and choose Open With
    7. Select Notepad (or another text editor)

    The default Windows Notepad program will let you see the contents, however due to the nature of the log files they may be hard to read. I personally use a program called Notepad ++ (Notepad++ Home)
    which makes the log files a bit easier to parse. Right now I have one line in my log file that is 48849 characters which turns out to be 14 pages.

    What to look for in the log files:

    This is hard to say without knowing a specific problem, however searching for the word "error" may help. As I mentioned above, some of the log lines may be quite long, and you'll have to use your judgement on if they provide any information that's of use.

    Games for Windows Live Release Date Activation:

    Sometimes when you install a game that uses Games for Windows Live it'll ask you to verify the release date of the game online. When you click the accept/next button it gives you an error that you're not connected to the internet.

    Thankfully there may be a very simple fix for you. Change the date on your computer to be in the same month/year that the game was released. For example, Batman Arkham City was released on October 18, 2011. Changing your system clock to October 30, 2011
    and then trying the activation will work.

    Contrary to what SecurROM support states (SecuROM™ Support Website - Batman: Arkham City) the Games for Windows Live service is NOT shut down.

    Individual Game Support:


    :)
     
    Ackis, Jul 11, 2017
    #1
  2. Ackis
    Ackis Guest
    Windows Live PC

    This is 100% wrong.

    The Games for Windows Live (GFWL) App is still required if you want to play games that require it. Shadowrun, the Batman games (if you're not playing the Steam port), etc.

    Since you mentioned a Live ID, I suspect that it is GFWL that's the issue, but I could be wrong.

    Check out my post here if it is GFWL:

    [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

    What game are you having trouble with?
     
    Ackis, Jul 11, 2017
    #2
  3. FoxtrotZion
    FoxtrotZion Guest
    GFWL, Steam, Windows 10 and You

    GFWL still doesn't work for me. Get the run around from tech support regarding this issue and nobody I talk to at Microsoft even knows what GFWL is. Funny how paying customers get *** these days. I'm getting the 'Failed to retrieve purchase history....'
    error.
     
    FoxtrotZion, Jul 11, 2017
    #3
  4. [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

    Nathan Roberts (SunkNath), Jul 11, 2017
    #4
  5. Ackis
    Ackis Guest
    Ackis, Nov 2, 2018
    #5
  6. Ackis Win User

    Windows Live PC

    If you have Windows 10 there actually is no need for the Windows Live app anymore. That app is to play games on Xbox Live if you had any of the earlier versions, like Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.
    This is 100% wrong.

    The Games for Windows Live (GFWL) App is still required if you want to play games that require it. Shadowrun, the Batman games (if you're not playing the Steam port), etc.

    Since you mentioned a Live ID, I suspect that it is GFWL that's the issue, but I could be wrong.

    Check out my post here if it is GFWL:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/xba_gapp/guide-games-for-windows-live-gfwl-steam-windows-10/7d065256-342c-4eb0-9866-21ee9fbfb4b4

    What game are you having trouble with?
  7. [Farscape] Win User

    Why does Games for Windows Fail to install on my computer?

    as games for windows is not really supported anymore it can be a pain to get it running in windows 10

    try here
  8. Ackis Win User

    [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

  9. Nathan Roberts (Sunk Win User

    [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

  10. XBF John Win User

    How to download purchased games and DLC on the Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace

Thema:

[Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You

Loading...
  1. [Guide] Games for Windows Live (GFWL), Steam, Windows 10 and You - Similar Threads - Guide Games Windows

  2. Hack/ Guide to get gamepass 100% without paying

    in XboX Insiders
    Hack/ Guide to get gamepass 100% without paying: Guys, today I want to share this hack/guide that not many people know about, on how to get Xbox Game Pass Core for free just by using Bing for daily searches. Like me, there are many people who...
  3. How Xbox can win the next Console Generation (A How to Guide)

    in XboX Insiders
    How Xbox can win the next Console Generation (A How to Guide): As of writing this post the PS5 has sold 80.3 Million units while Xbox Series X/S has sold 32.46 Million copies. Its fair to say that Microsoft has lost and has been losing the console war to Sony...
  4. Guide Button Barely Works, Rest Of Controller Works Fine

    in XboX Insiders
    Guide Button Barely Works, Rest Of Controller Works Fine: I'm sorry if this is the wrong place for this. Every time I press the guide button on my controller (came with the series x), the menu does not come up, nor do the options to power off/restart...
  5. Looking for group in xbox guide.

    in XboX Insiders
    Looking for group in xbox guide.: Has anyone's looking for group stopped working. Every post i interact with "this post is no longer available" and dissappear from list. I'm on xsx. Definitely not the original poster taking down...
  6. Last build has my guide on I cnat seem to get it off

    in XboX Insiders
    Last build has my guide on I cnat seem to get it off: Every time I start the console any help would be great if anyone e else has had this problem I have reported bug to. Microsoft submitted by /u/Da__WoZz [link] [comments]
  7. How to stop the gamepad from opening the Xbox Cloud Gaming Guide?

    in XBoX Games and Apps
    How to stop the gamepad from opening the Xbox Cloud Gaming Guide?: How to stop the gamepad from opening the Xbox Cloud Gaming Guide? I’m playing NHL 24 on Xbox Cloud, but every time I press the right bumper and move the left stick to the left, the Xbox Cloud...
  8. Can someone guide me through the installation of Xbox on a pc to play games online?

    in XBoX Games and Apps
    Can someone guide me through the installation of Xbox on a pc to play games online?: Need help to understand if Xbox can be played on a pc in order to play online. I am trying to install and received a message that it is not applicable for my Region. I live in Puerto Rico and will...
  9. Game Bar ignores settings for opening with guide button on Windows 11 Insider Preview...

    in XboX Insiders
    Game Bar ignores settings for opening with guide button on Windows 11 Insider Preview...: On the most recent canary version of Windows 11, the Game Bar starts appearing when pressing the guide button on an Xinput controller, even when the options for bringing up the Game Bar with a...
  10. Game Pass and Store options are ordered differently on the Dashboard and the Guide. (OCD...

    in XboX Insiders
    Game Pass and Store options are ordered differently on the Dashboard and the Guide. (OCD...: If you look at the options at the top of the new Dashboard they go My games & apps, Store, Game Pass, Search, Settings. However, at the bottom of the Guide they go Notifications, Game Pass, Store,...