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

Introduction

Thanks to, Ackis, who is an Xbox Community Ambassador. He has created a helpful guide to help you get your PC games working. This has been taken from his thread here: https://forums.xbox.com/thread/7d065256-342c-4eb0-9866-21ee9fbfb4b4

Details

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 http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/Live/PC/DownloadClient
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:

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 ++ ( https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ ) 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.

Windows Live

Software plus services
(Web applications) Owner Microsoft URL Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) Commercial No Registration Required Users 330 million Launched November 1, 2005 ( 2005-11-01 ) Current status Closed

Windows Live is a discontinued brand-name for a set of web services and software products from Microsoft as part of its software plus services platform. Chief components under the brand name included web services (all of which were exposed through corresponding web applications), several computer programs that interact with the services, and specialized web services for mobile devices. [1]

According to Microsoft, Windows Live «is a way to extend the Windows user experience». [2] As such, Windows Vista’s welcome screen provides a link to download Windows Live Messenger or to subscribe to Windows Live OneCare. Also, Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker were not offered with Windows 7 and became an exclusive part of Windows Live. [3] Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would see Windows Live apps included right out-of-the-box, and would include built-in synchronization technologies powered by OneDrive (then SkyDrive). [4] The Windows Live brand was phased out during August 2012, when Microsoft released Windows 8 to manufacturing. Active Windows Live services remained active but were gradually renamed. The «live.com» domain, however, continues to be used in the URLs for Outlook and OneDrive.

Contents

History [ edit ]

Windows Live was first announced on November 1, 2005. In its initial release, several Windows Live properties were rebranded and enhanced from Microsoft’s MSN set of products and services. However, MSN still exists alongside Windows Live as a means of delivering content (as opposed to customized content and communications). [5] In May 2012 Microsoft began renaming Windows Live services, partly in anticipation of Windows 8, which integrates many of the Windows Live products and services into the operating system. [6]

Services [ edit ]

Online services [ edit ]

The following services were once part of Windows Live but are still online. [7] Outlook.com and OneDrive still use the «Live» branding in the URL even though the brand name is dropped.

Name	Description	Later renamed to	Website
ID	Provides single sign-on service, allowing users to log into various Microsoft products and services with the same credentials. Users can manage their accounts and link multiple IDs together using this service.	Microsoft account	account .microsoft .com
Profile	Allow users to manage their profile information and displays information about the particular user, their recent activities, and their relationship with other Windows Live users.
Hotmail	Free webmail service using AJAX technology	Outlook.com	outlook .live .com
Calendar	Calendaring web app that allow users to organize appointments, schedule meetings, set reminders, and share their calendar events.
People	An address book service, which allows users to keep track and synchronize their contact’s information. Allow users to add contacts from other social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Flickr and soon Sina Weibo and Skype to their Microsoft account.
SkyDrive	Password-protected file hosting service. Enables file sharing and content synchronization. Can preview images, Microsoft Office documents and ZIP files. Integrates tightly with Office Web Apps and Outlook.com to serve as an online storage for their needs.	Microsoft OneDrive	onedrive .live .com

Mobile services [ edit ]

Windows Phone [ edit ]

My Windows Phone is a free online companion service for Windows Phone mobile devices that provides users with a free mobile phone back-up solution by wirelessly synchronizing contacts, calendar appointments, photos, and OneNote notebooks with a password-protected online portal. Users can access and manage their information stored on their Windows Phone devices via the online portal using their Microsoft account, as well as accessing a set of features for remotely ringing, locking, mapping, and erasing their lost phones. This service integrates tightly with other Windows Live services including Outlook.com People and Calendar, and SkyDrive. [8]

iOS [ edit ]

Microsoft released a Windows Live Messenger application on the iOS App Store, which allows users on mobile devices running the iOS to communicate with their contacts via the Microsoft Messenger service. In addition to the instant messaging functionalities, the application also allows users to view their Messenger social feed, view their friends’ Profile’s, and integrate with Hotmail and Photos.

Feature phone [ edit ]

Windows Live also provides customised services specifically created for feature phones. It is offered via three channels — through Client-based (for Windows Mobile and other supported mobile devices such as Nokia phones), Web-based (for WAP or GPRS-enabled mobile web browsers), or SMS-based services. [9]

Mobile Service	Offered through			Exchange ActiveSync support?	Description
	Client	Web	SMS
Calendar Mobile	Yes	Yes	Yes	Web-based version of Calendar designed for mobile devices to view, schedule and manage calendar appointments and events. SMS service for users to query today and tomorrow’s appointments in their calendar
People Mobile	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Web-based version of People designed for mobile devices for access to contact information. Client-based version allows integration of the contact list with the mobile device’s address book. Also allow users to query contact information via SMS
Groups Mobile	Yes	Web-based version of Windows Live Groups designed for mobile devices
Hotmail Mobile	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Web- and client-based version of Hotmail that targets mobile devices, and allow new email alerts via SMS
Messenger Mobile	Yes	Yes	Yes	Web- and client-based version of Windows Live Messenger that is designed for mobile devices, and allow users to send instant messages via SMS
Profile Mobile	Yes	View and update user’s own Windows Live Profile information using a mobile device
SkyDrive Mobile	Yes	Yes	Web-based version of SkyDrive designed for mobile devices for accessing documents stored on the cloud. Client-based version allows upload of photos directly from a mobile phone camera.

Search services [ edit ]

Bing, a replacement of the search engine Live Search, was originally named Windows Live Search (and MSN Search prior to that) and was once part of the Windows Live family of services. Windows Live Search once occupied the homepage of Live.com, the domain for all Windows Live services. However, on March 21, 2007, Microsoft decided to separate its search developments from its Windows Live services family, forming part of the Live Search and Ad Platform. As part of this reorganization, the new search brand, Live Search, was consolidated with Microsoft adCenter, a part of Microsoft’s Platform and Systems division. [10] However, Microsoft recognised that there was a brand issue as the word «Live» continued to remain in the brand. [11] As an effort to create a new identity for Microsoft’s search services, on June 3, 2009, Live Search was officially rebranded as Bing. [12]

Developer services [ edit ]

Live Connect is a collection of APIs and common controls that allow developers to have a deeper control and offers access to the core Windows Live services and data through open and easily accessible application programming interfaces (APIs). Live Connect is built on standard web technologies such as OAuth 2.0, Representational State Transfer (REST), and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and is designed to work with any technology or device. Live Connect unites the previously separate APIs of Windows Live into a single API that is based on industry standards and specifications.

Discontinued services [ edit ]

Name	Description	Replaced By	Discontinued Date
Admin Center	Enabled users with domain names to change their domain MX record(s) (mail server records) so that all features of Outlook.com will be available on their own domain names.	Microsoft Office 365	10 April 2014
Agents	Interactive chatterbots through Windows Live Messenger that allowed users to get more information about specific topics.	N/A	30 June 2009
Alerts	Sent information updates to the user’s email inbox, mobile device or Messenger.	N/A	30 September 2010
Barcode	2D barcodes that can be used to store information or link to the mobile web.	Microsoft Tag	Never launched
Call	Allowed users to make PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone voice and video calls.	Skype	1 June 2010
Devices	An online device management service that allowed users to centrally access and manage the synchronisation of files stored on their computers and mobile devices. Also allowed users to remotely access their computers from the internet via their web browser.	Integration into OneDrive	?
Events	Enables managing and planning different types of events and share them with others using Calendar, Spaces and Alerts.	Windows Live Groups (now discontinued) Calendar	3 September 2009
Expo	Allowed users to post online classifieds and search for listings posted by other users.	N/A	31 July 2008
Favorites	Synchronized the user’s favorites between computers and allows for the sharing of favorites.	OneDrive	14 April 2009
FrameIt	Extended the functionality of digital photo frame devices, allowing users to customise the content delivery from multiple sources such as RSS feeds.	N/A	15 December 2010
Gallery	A center for collections of developers’ add-ons for Windows Live Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Toolbar, Spaces, and Live.com, as well as Windows 7 and Windows Vista Sidebar and SideShow gadgets.	Windows Live Plug-ins (Discontinued)	1 October 2011
Groups	Enabled users to create their social groups for sharing, discussion and coordination.	Integration into OneDrive	?
Home	Provided a central location to access Windows Live services, monitor status information, and navigate to other Windows Live sites and services.	N/A	18 February 2013
Help Community	Collection of forums and message boards that allowed communication with other users of Windows Live products.	Microsoft Answers	6 June 2008
Mesh	File sharing and synchronization service based on FolderShare and Live Mesh technologies. Supported PC-to-PC and PC-to-Cloud synchronisation, and synchronisation of program settings such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office between multiple computers. Also allowed users to remotely access their computers via the internet.	OneDrive	2012
Office Live Workspace	Offered 5GB of storage space for storing Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook documents and lists online and sharing them with others. Office Live Workspace did not offer collaboration or editing capabilities however.	Office Online	21 January 2011
OneCare Safety Scanner	Free PC scanning and health service to help delete viruses and other threats. Included a registry cleaner, disk cleaner and defragmenter, network open port scanner, and comprehensive virus and spyware scanner.	Microsoft Safety Scanner	15 April 2011
Personalized Experience	An all-in-one home page featuring a customisable RSS aggregator, gadgets and search tools.	My MSN	30 March 2010
Plug-ins [13]	A central repository for collections of developer plug-ins for Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Live Writer.	N/A	?
QnA	A question and answer service which allowed users to ask questions, tag them according to topic, and gain points and reputation for answering other users’ questions.	MSN QnA (now discontinued)	21 May 2009
Search Center	A desktop search program which provided a unified local and remote indexed search from a unified interface.	Windows Search 4 (now part of Windows Vista and Windows 7)	12 December 2006
Shopping	An online shopping comparison website which allowed users to compare items and prices of over 40 million products from more than 7000 online stores.	Bing Shopping (now discontinued)	20 February 2007
Spaces	A blog and social networking service which allowed users to create personalized blogs, add friends, and upload photos.	Migration to WordPress or Sina blogs in China	16 March 2011
Sync and Live Mesh	File synchronization which allowed files and folders between two or more computers be in sync with each other or with the cloud storage on the web. Live Mesh also enabled remote desktop access via the internet using a web browser.	OneDrive	31 March 2011
TV	An additional program for Windows Media Center which provided access to Windows Live Spaces, Messenger, and Call on large-screen monitors or TVs.	N/A	24 June 2008
Video Messages	Combined digital video with e-mail into a service that allowed all webcam users to create, send, and receive video messages to anyone in their contact list, even when they are offline.	Skype	21 July 2010
Web Messenger	Online version of Windows Live Messenger which allowed users to talk online and in real-time with others from within a web browser.	Integration into all services	30 October 2008
WiFi Center	Allowed users to search for wireless networks that are available and displays information about them.	N/A	16 February 2007
WiFi Hotspot Locator	A website which allowed users to locate wireless internet hotspots worldwide and view their positions on a map using Bing Maps.	MSN WiFi Hotspots (now discontinued)	16 February 2007

Software [ edit ]

Microsoft has released several computer programs with «Windows Live» brand, a summary of which is included below. All except Windows Live OneCare are freeware and published in a software suite called Windows Essentials (formerly Windows Live Essentials). Essentials programs are designed to integrate well with each other, within Windows, and with other Windows Live services such as OneDrive and Outlook.com. [14] Windows Live OneCare on the other hand, was a commercial consumers utility marketed with a software as a service licensing model.

Service	Description	Fate
Family Safety	Parental controls similar to Windows Vista’s Family Safety feature	Integrated into Windows 8 and later [7]
Mail	Desktop mail and calendar client designed to succeed Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista, with full RSS support	Integrated into Windows 8 and later [7]
Movie Maker	A video editing program for consumers	Discontinued, most functionality integrated into Photos app, a feature which was called Windows Story Remix (later Video Editor)
Messenger	Instant messaging app	Replaced by Skype
Messenger Companion	An add-in for Internet Explorer that allows users to share a webpage with their friends on Windows Live, see links to webpages the user’s friends have shared and comment on these shared pages.	Discontinued
OneCare	A suite of computer security programs with antivirus program, backup utility, and a personal firewall.	Discontinued; functionality is partially offered by Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender, System Center Endpoint Protection, Windows Backup and Windows Firewall.
Toolbar	A toolbar plug-in for Windows Internet Explorer, which allows quick access to a user’s Windows Live Spaces, Hotmail, Favorites and Live Search from a button on the toolbar.	Replaced by Bing Desktop and Bing Bar
Photo Gallery	Image organizer that makes posting photos to SkyDrive and Facebook easier	Discontinued; functionality is partially offered by Photos app in Windows 10, and OneDrive app.
Writer	Desktop blog publishing tool that can publish to popular blogging services and make use of SkyDrive for photo storage.	Discontinued; open sourced as Open Live Writer in late 2015.

Windows Live Butterfly [ edit ]

The Windows Live Butterfly awards program (formerly the MSN Butterfly program) was a program whose members were given the benefit of new Microsoft software to test before the beta releases went public and they were in direct contact with the program managers for Windows Live products.

Microsoft had initiated the Windows Live Butterfly program in order to recognize the contributions made by exemplary beta testers. Prospective ‘butterflies’ were selected by the Windows Live product team and were nominated for a term of one year, after which they could be renominated. [15]

The Windows Live Butterfly program was closed in June 2009.

User interface [ edit ]

All Windows Live websites sport a common theme. Different themes have been used on the sites with each phase of product release, called «Waves.» Each Wave has a set of online services and desktop programs (Windows Essentials). The web services are labelled by each Wave, for example, Hotmail Wave 4. The programs from Windows Essentials are usually called by a year number, for example, Windows Live Messenger 2011.