games on XP

I have Windows XP on my computer. How can I get all the games Windows XP provides, including solitaire? Thank you. abm

 

Hi abm,

Do you have xp cd?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307768

 

To goddez1

To goddez1: I lost the Windows XP CDs that came with the computer. Is there any other way that I could retrieve the games. Thank you. abm

 

Hi again abm,

Well now, a lack of xp cd kinda' complicates things. You could borrow one. Or use another computer to copy and move the files needed to yours.

Any idea on how and when you lost these?.............
Is it possible you've just misplaced or moved the shortcuts or files needed? Do a file search for the executable names I will provide further down in this post. I believe these are considered system files and will be "file protected ". Protected copies may be located in dllcache folder.

To do this you will need to open the Tools\Folder Options menu in Windows Explorer and click on the View tab. Make sure that Show hidden files and folders is selected, and that Hide extensions for known file types is unchecked.

Now, you should be able to see the executable (.exe) files .

What you may have done is either deleted or misplaced shortcuts or files to the games, themselves, which are generally located in C:\Windows\System32 and/or C:\Windows\System32\dllcache.

In Windows Explorer or from the start menu, do a file search for your games. If found, let me know.

The names of the executables aren't always obvious. Freecell and Pinball are freecell.exe and pinball.exe, respectively. Hearts is mshearts.exe and Solitaire is sol.exe. Minesweep is winmine.exe and spider solitaire is spider.exe

While doing this search, you may wish to just use the 1st part of the name and not the extension. They could be found in dllcache or any i386 folder, you may have, but the extension will vary.

NOTE: (many may also use cards.dll or other dependent files. They'll squawk about the missing file if this is the case.)

I found the link to site, below, helpful, in finding and downloading some files needed (names provided up above) :

http://download.corruptedfilerepair.com/post/2008/07/31/msheartsexe-Download-File-msheartsexe.aspx.

>Please be sure to scan them with anti-virus, prior to running!
>Pay special attention to versions provided by info on links!
>Some experimentation may be needed as these seem to be mixed versions for various operating systems.

I personally, downloaded, scanned and tested many of these and found them clean but the site [link] is unknown to me and only found via a google link, therefore PLEASE use extreme caution and keep in mind that any files, downloaded via the site, are used at your own risk.

I made a new folder on my desktop and downloaded and put all files needed in this folder including any dependent files/dll's. Although these are not in the xp games folder they will run just fine from where ever you decide to put them.

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As an alternative make google your friend. Many sites offer these or "clone/look alike" versions. Many may be new and improved. Here's a few to get you started:

FREECELL:
http://www.freecell.org/download.html

http://www.freecell.org/

Solitaire:
http://www.treecardgames.com/

minesweeper:
http://download.cnet.com/WB-Minesweeper/3000-7562_4-10589031.html?tag=mncol