Games Explorer Folder - Restore Default Games

How to Restore the Default Games in Windows 7 Games Explorer Folder​

   Information

This will show you how to restore the default Windows 7 More Games, Chess Titans, FreeCell, Hearts, Internet Backgammon, Internet Checkers, Internet Spades, Mahjong Titans, Minesweep, Purple Place, Solitaire, and Spider Solitaire games in the Games folder.

The Chess Titans, Internet Backgammon, Internet Checkers, Internet Spades, Mahjong Titans games are not available in the Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions.

   Note

The Games folder is central repository for games on your computer that also offers game updates, statistics, news feeds, WEI requirements, and more. For more information about the Games Explorer folder, see: Explore the features: Games Explorer

   Tip

You will need to have the game unhidden, or default game checked in Windows Features, before it will be displayed in the Games folder. By default, Games is checked and turned on in all editions except the Professional and Enterprise editions.. You can also uncheck one of the default games to remove it from the Games explorer folder. This does not apply to installed 3rd party games.

EXAMPLE: Games explorer folder
NOTE: You can open the Games folder by clicking on the Games button on the dark right side of the Start Menu, typing shell:games in the Start Menu search box and pressing enter, or navigating to the hidden C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games folder.




Here's How:
1. To Restore All Default Games in the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Restore_All_Default_Games.zip

Download


B) Click on Save, and save the ZIP file to your desktop, then extract the .reg file from the ZIP file.

C) Go to step 15.
2. To Restore "More Games" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
More_Games.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
3. To Restore "Chess Titans" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Chess_Titans.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
4. To Restore "FreeCell" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
FreeCell.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
5. To Restore "Hearts" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Hearts.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
6. To Restore "Internet Backgammon" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Internet_Backgammon.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
7. To Restore "Internet Checkers" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Internet_Checkers.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
8. To Restore "Internet Spades" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Internet_Spades.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
9. To Restore "Mahjong Titans" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Mahjong_Titans.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
10. To Restore "Minesweeper" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Minesweeper.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
11. To Restore "Purple Place" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Purple_Place.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
12. To Restore "Solitaire" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Solitaire.reg

Download


B) Go to step 14.
13. To Restore "Spider Solitaire" to the Games Explorer Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Spider_Solitaire.reg

Download


14. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.

15. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.

16. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.

17. Close and reopen the Games explorer folder to apply and see the default game restored.

18. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Add Games to Games Explorer Folder
• How to Create a Games Explorer Shortcut
• How to Hide or Unhide Games in the Windows 7 Games Explorer Folder
• How to Delete a Game in the Windows 7 Games Explorer Folder
• How to Customize the Windows 7 Games Explorer Context Menu
• Games Explorer - Edit with Game Explorer Builder
• How to Restore the Default Windows 7 Administrative Tools
• How to Restore Missing Default Shortcuts in the Windows 7 Start Menu
• How to Enable or Disable Game Updates in Windows 7 and Vista "Games Explorer"
• How to Enable or Disable Last Play Time of Games in Windows 7 and Vista "Games Explorer"
• How to Enable or Disable Game Updates in Windows 7 and Vista "Games Explorer"

 

[nate42nd]

I think some people who get Windows 7 Professional will be "confused"

Games are not enabled by default in Pro. You have to go to "Programs and Features" then "Turn Windows features on or off" and enable games from there in Professional.

For anyone's information who may be searching for information about why their computer has no games listed.

 

[Brink]

Thank you Nate. I added this in the TIP section.

 

[astrajingga]

I think some people who get Windows 7 Professional will be "confused"

Games are not enabled by default in Pro. You have to go to "Programs and Features" then "Turn Windows features on or off" and enable games from there in Professional.

For anyone's information who may be searching for information about why their computer has no games listed.

nate42nd is correct, that is best solution to enable all default games

 

[KraftyKaren]

Windows 7 Pro Games Disappeared

I reset the Games Active on the Control Panel per the posting and the games still sre not coming back. I do not know what to do next. Can someone help?

 

[Brink]

Hello Karen, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Did you already make sure that the games were turned on in Windows Features from the yellow TIP box at the top of the tutorial first? If they were, then try toggling them off and on to see if that may help.

 

[KraftyKaren]

Yes, I followed those instructions and the only games that show up are Chess Titams and Mahjong Titans, even though all are checked! Very frustrating!

 

[Brink]

Karen,

If this happened not to long ago, then you may be able to do a system restore using a restore point dated when they were there to see if it can restore them for you.

 

[mikeyt]

ok, so i've run your download to restore the games etc, have toggled the features switch & restarted the system then rechecked all of the games in features and it still wont work. I've gone in an re-set the permissions so that i have full control and show as the Owner but.....the only game that loads up is Chess Titans. Any further ideas?

 

[Brink]

Hellp Mike, and welcome to Seven Forums.

As above, if this just happened not to long ago, then you may be able to do a system restore using a restore point dated when they were there to see if it can restore them for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[mikeyt]

I did a System restore a few days ago. No change occurred. The icons are all in place. When i click on them, the system appears to be trying to find the game but then it simply stops searching. No error message appears. The only game that works when i click on the icon is Chess Titans.

My "upgrade" from XP to Windows 7 has been nothing short of a nightmare filled with numerous problems. This is the last problem to deal with....i hope.

 

[Brink]

If you have a retails Windows 7 installation DVD, then you might consider doing a repair install to hopefully fix this then.

 

[shashi1515]

hello friends i am using 64 bit windows and the default games r not comin as u told to do help plz. thanks

 

[Brink]

Hello Shashi, and welcome to Seven Forums.

What edition of Windows 7 do you have, and what games are not being restored?

Did you check the yellow TIP box at the top of the tutorial to see if that may apply?

 

[tikinet]

Microsoft Internet Checkers ... from Windows 7 to Windows 10 here:

Internet Checkers - From Win7 to Win 10.zip :: Free File Hosting - File Dropper: File Host for Mp3, Videos, Music, Documents.

Enjoy!

 

[skyjester]

Game Explorer Warning

Installing/running Windows Game Explorer has some side-effects. We just spent a week trying to figure out why many of our standalone games (ES4 etc) suddenly refused to start at all, unless our network was enabled. These are standalone, pre-Steam single-player games that do not require or even support network play. After checking the obvious settings we finally stumbled on a discussion elsewhere, explaining that Game Explorer goes looking for standalone games, and if it finds them, it will automatically try and pull images, ratings info etc from the internet when the games are started. If an internet connection is unavailable (network disconnected) or blocked (firewall etc), Game Explorer simply hangs, along with the game. Users are left with no game or any indication of what the problem is. Just an instance of the game's executable file and rundll32.exe stranded in their process list. At any point until these processes are manually killed or the system is rebooted, re-enabling the network connection also allows Game Explorer to continue loading the game, regardless of what else is being done on the PC at the time.

The solution offered (and that worked for us) was to rename gameux.dll in both \Windows\System32 and \Windows\SysWOW64. You'll first need to reclaim your file ownership and rename rights away from our good friend Mr. TrustedInstaller.

The obvious downside to this fix is that the games bundled with Games Explorer (Freecell etc) cannot run without gameux.dll. Thus our two apparent choices from Microsoft are to have none of these MS games, or lose the ability to play standalone non-Microsoft games without an active network connection.