Tutorial How to Back-Up the Savegame Folder

How to Back Up Cites XL's Savegame Folder

Hello everyone! As we all know, much pain and frustration can be prevented by simply backing up the game's save game folder. When a save corrupts or goes bad for whatever reason, you can simply replace the corrupted folder with your backup, and minimal work will be lost. This is a tutorial that will hopefully help many who don't know how to backup the savegame folder.

First off, we need to locate the folder where the game stores its checkpoints. This is the folder we will copy. It is located at the following locations, depending on your computer. (NOTE: This tutorial was done on a computer using Windows 7. If you have a computer using XP, there shouldn’t be much difference)​

On Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\(your username)\Local Settings\Application Data\Focus Home Interactive\Cities XL 2012\​

On Vista/7:

C:\Users\(your username)\AppData\Local\Focus Home Interactive\Cities XL 2012\​

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Here's a step-by-step walkthrough (NOTE: Important parts outlined in red):

1. Open Windows Explorer and go to “My Computer\OS (C: )”. Once there, click on the folder labeled "Users".

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2. In the “Users” folder, click on the folder with your username (the name of your computer account).

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3. Once in this folder, click the folder named “AppData”

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4. Now, select the “Local” folder.

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5. Once inside the “Local” folder, you should have a large list to choose from. You will want to copy the folder labeled “Focus Home Interactive”.

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5.5. If you are having trouble finding the game folder, then try this:​

a) On the top taskbar, select the “Organize” menu. From there, click on “Folder and search options”.​

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b) A pop-up window will appear. Select the tab labeled “View”. Under “Advanced settings”, scroll down until you get to the section dealing with hidden files and folders. Make sure the option “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” is selected.
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6. After you have copied the game folder, all you have to do now is paste it in a safe location. My Documents or the Desktop are always good places to put backup folders. Create a folder labeled “Cities XL save backups”, or something similar. In the folder you just created, paste the savegame folder. (NOTE: An even better location to copy the savegame folder to would be an external hard drive or a CD-RW disk. That way, if your computer crashes, you can copy the backup folders from there.)

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7. Remember to repeat this process and backup your saves every few days. Paste the savegame folder inside a folder labeled “backup1” or something similar. This way, you’ll be able to tell which one is which. I would also only keep two or three backups at a time, and discard the rest, as they are outdated.

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Voila! You have just backed up your savegame folder. Now, if your saves are corrupt or you need to re-install the game, you can simply copy one of your backup folders, and minimal work will be lost. I hope you found this tutorial informative and easy to follow.
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If you are confused about something or have any questions, feel free to PM me.

snick25​