[Guide] Recover from a Corrupted Save

[Cave Waverider]

How to properly recover from a Corrupted Save
A useful guide to backing up and restoring WWE 2k16 save games without causing data corruption.
by Caveman

Prerequisite step: Create a Backup of your save
Sometimes, a save game might get corrupted as a result of a failed modding attempt or for other reasons. Therefore it is of utmost importance to backup your save game regularly.
To do so, make sure that neither the game nor Steam is running. Then copy your entire save game folder ..\Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 (NOT only the remote sub-directory!) to a safe backup location so you can restore it in case something goes wrong.

If something indeed does go wrong, here is how to properly restore a save game and to recover from a corrupted save, including fixing a corrupted save game in the Steam Cloud so it Steam won't replace your working save with the corrupted one in the cloud (you can also use this method if you want to switch your save game to another one even if yours didn't get corrupted):

Method 0: Attempting to prevent a corrupted save to be uploaded to the Steam Cloud
This method might prevent the corrupted save to be uploaded to the Steam Cloud. If your cloud save is already corrupted, try Methods 1 or 2. 
If you start the game and you get the message that your save is corrupted, do the following:

1. Task out of the game (with Alt+Tab, for example).
2. Open the Steam Window.
3. Look in the games list for the WWE 2k16 entry and right-click on it.
4. Click on "Properties".
5. Click on "Updates.
6. Untick "Enable Steam Cloud Synchronization for WWE 2k16".
7. Click Close.
8. Kill the game with Alt+F4 or via task manager.
9. Delete your \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 savegame folder.
10. Copy your working Backup of the 385730 folder to Steam\userdata\<steamUserId> (or leave it without the folder if you wish to create a clean new save instead).
11. Start Steam.
12. Start WWE 2k16.
13. The save should now load and not be corrupted.
14. Save the game (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
15. Exit the game normally (don't use Alt+F4 or other ways to kill the game process!)
16. Open the Steam Window. If you do not wish to reactivate the Steam Cloud, skip to step 22. Otherwise continue with step 17.
17. Look in the games list for the WWE 2k16 entry and right-click on it.
18. Click on "Properties".
19. Click on "Updates.
20. Untick "Enable Steam Cloud Synchronization for WWE 2k16".
21. Click Close.
22. Restart Steam.
23. Start WWE 2k16 via Steam's menu (don't start the game directly).
24. Steam should tell you that the save on your computer is newer than the one in the cloud and ask you what to do. Choose to upload the save on your computer to the cloud.
25. After the upload is done (do not interrupt it!), you should now be able to get into the game and load the save properly.
26. Save the game just in case (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
27. Exit the game and make a backup of your save folder \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 just in case.
28. Make regular backups of the whole \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 folder (not just the remote sub-directory!) and whenever you need to restore a backup follow the methods in this guide exactly.

Method 1:
Try this method first. It's shorter than Method 2 and usually works.

1. Start Steam in Offline mode (Steam->Go Offline).
2. Exit Steam (Steam->Exit).
3. Delete your \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 savegame folder.
4. Copy your working Backup of the 385730 folder to Steam\userdata\<steamUserId> (or leave it without the folder if you wish to create a clean new save instead).
5. Start Steam in offline mode.
6. Start WWE 2k16 in Offline mode.
7. The save should now load and not be corrupted.
8. Save the game (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
9. Exit the game normally (don't use Alt+F4 or other ways to kill the game process!)
10. Exit Steam (Steam->Exit).
11. Start Steam in Online Mode.
12. Start WWE 2k16 via Steam's menu (don't start the game directly).
13. Steam should tell you that the save on your computer is newer than the one in the cloud and ask you what to do. Choose to upload the save on your computer to the cloud.
14. After the upload is done (do not interrupt it!), you should now be able to get into the game and load the save properly.
15. Save the game just in case (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
16. Exit the game and make a backup of your save folder \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 just in case.
17. Make regular backups of the whole \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 folder (not just the remote sub-directory!) and whenever you need to restore a backup follow the steps 1.-16. exactly, don't leave out any of them.

Method 2
If Method 1 doesn't work for you, try Method 2. This is a longer and slightly more complicated method, but works more reliably:

1. Start Steam in Offline mode (Steam->Go Offline).
2. Exit Steam (Steam->Exit).
3. Delete your \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 savegame folder.
4. Copy your working Backup of the 385730 folder to Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>.
5. Start Steam in offline mode.
6. Start WWE 2k16 in Offline mode.
7. The save should now load and not be corrupted.
8. Save the game (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
9. Exit the game normally (don't use Alt+F4 or other ways to kill the game process!)
10. Exit Steam (Steam->Exit).
11. Open your  \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 folder. 
12. Delete the remotecache.vdf file.
13. Run the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as Administrator.
14. Type cd "<pathToSteamFolder>\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730\remote" to get into the directory.
15. Now change the date and time for all files in the remote folder to the current one by typing:

copy /b *.* +,,

16. Press Return.
17. Wait for the "copy" process to finish. Your files should now all have a newer date and time than the ones in the Steam Cloud.
18. Close the command prompt.
19. Start Steam in Online Mode.
20. Start WWE 2k16 via Steam's menu (don't start the game directly).
23. Steam should tell you that the save on your computer is newer than the one in the cloud and ask you what to do. Choose to upload the save on your computer to the cloud.
24. After the upload is done (do not interrupt it!), you should now be able to get into the game.
25. When you get in the game, you will likely receive another warning that the save data is corrupt. Don't panic. And do not create a new Save game! Press ALT+F4 to kill the game instead (yes, it's a good idea in this special case, otherwise steam will update and truly corrupt the save again).
26. Start Steam in Offline mode (Steam->Go Offline).
27. Start WWE 2k16 in Offline mode.
28. The save should now load and not be corrupted.
29. Save the game (by making a small change like changing the brand of a Superstar in MyWWE).
30. Exit the game normally (don't use Alt+F4 or other ways to kill the game process!)
31. Exit the game and make a backup of your save folder \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 just in case.
32. Make regular backups of the whole \Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 folder (not just the remote sub-directory!) and whenever you need to restore a backup follow the steps 1.-32. exactly, don't leave out any of them.

Other things to try
If Methods 1 and 2 don't work for you, maybe some of the stuff in the following links will help (I can't help you with these, though, as I haven't tried them myself):
- A method to DELETE files stored in Steam Cloud servers

Some hints to avoid save game corruption 
The following are some hints that will help you avoid save game corruption:

- Always exit the game properly, do not kill the game process especially when it's saving or loading (except that one time in Method 2 above).
- Don't crash the game while it's savingloading (this one is out of your control, of course)
- Avoid downloading broken CAWs and other broken things from Community Creations (impossible to tell which ones are, I know, but if one Creation download corrupts your save you'll know not to try to download it again)
- Do not try to create CAW Alternate attires for modded wrestlers that don't support it (some will work, but others might crash when loading the creation suite and thus corrupt your save).
- Don't try to use the in-game entrance editor to change an entrance of a modded wrestler that uses hidden entrance animations, etc. that aren't available in the in-game entrance editor as that could lead to crashes when loadingsavingediting, too.
- Do not shut down your computer or kill the Steam process while it's synchronizing (always wait for the cloud synchronization to finish and exit Steam normally)
- Choose a Steam server/Download Region that has a fast and reliable connection to you in Steam Settings->Downloads->Download Region (depends on where you are, but the ones closest to you may not always be the best, you need to test a bit which one in your general area is the fastest and most reliable for you).
- If you only ever play the game on one computer, backup your saves regularly and thus have no real use for the Steam Cloud Save functionality and/or you have a really poor connection to the Steam Servers/Cloud and your connection is often lost while the game is syncing with the cloud and thus causes the save to become corrupted, you can turn off Steam Cloud synchronization for the game.
To do this, Opening Steam, right-click on WWE 2k16, click on Properties, then untick the checkbox in Updates->Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for WWE 2k16. 
- Ensure that you are using a save game created for your Steam account, not another one.
- Make sure there are no extra files that haven't been created by the game in your save folder (.uncompressed, .zlib or .bak files, etc. that tools like X-Packer like to create in there for some reason).
- If you use a program that manipulates your save games, like Xpacker, never let it manipulate your actual live save game, especially while Steam is running. Use a copy of the save game in some other folder instead and never copy the additional files that such programs may create to your actual save game directory.
- Only copy any save files while Steam is not running.
- Perform tests, install mods and test them while Steam is in Offline mode. This will allow you to restore your old save game before it will be uploaded to the cloud. If everything worked well, you can start Steam in Online mode and upload the working save to the cloud.

 

PS.: Note that only the official Steam version of the game is supported in this guide. Any inofficial versions are not supported as their saves work differently, don't work with the Steam Cloud and get corrupted way more often than with the official Steam version.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Cave Waverider

[Raheem Baksh]

nice

thanks for this

[Cave Waverider]

The Guide has been updated with a second, more elaborate method to try in the rare cases in which Method 1 fails as well as a link to an additional thing to try if the two other ones fail (which is unlikely, but who knows).

Edited April 28, 2016 by Cave Waverider

[cloudropis]

The Guide has been updated with a second, more elaborate method to try in the rare cases in which Method 1 fails as well as a link to an additional thing to try if the two other ones fail (which is unlikely, but who knows).

I've read about another method: when you turn on the game and are greeted by the save corruption, access to the Steam overlay and disable cloud saves from there. Close the game and delete the 385730 folder entirely. When you turn the game on again it should sync up with your cloud save (which should still be uncorrupted since you disabled it when you noticed it got corrupted) and download the latest working save. 

Do you think this may be worth mentioning as a sort of "Method 0" to try before attempting the others? It seems quicker and cleaner, and I still believe it's not the cloud upload itself to create problems so it should work.

Unrelated question, what tools qualify as manipulating the save game? Do your Data Editor and VisitorX's CCI? What about pozzum's tools that change wrestler stats mid-match and the one that lets you edit match type?

[Cave Waverider]

*snip*

Unrelated question, what tools qualify as manipulating the save game? Do your Data Editor and VisitorX's CCI? What about pozzum's tools that change wrestler stats mid-match and the one that lets you edit match type?

No, they all just work on the memory. Of course, they could still corrupt the save if anything crashes while things are injected but they don't manipulate the save files or contents of the save directory directly. It's mostly just X-Packer that can write into the save game directory (it mostly just extracts files to it and doesn't really manipulate the save - but this can lead to the game seeing the save as corrupted), AFAIK, and possibly that pay trainer but I don't have access to that.

And about the method you mentioned, while it usually works and is quick, it can also mess things up even further (it did for me once). I might add it to the guide later, though.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Cave Waverider

[cloudropis]

*snip*

Unrelated question, what tools qualify as manipulating the save game? Do your Data Editor and VisitorX's CCI? What about pozzum's tools that change wrestler stats mid-match and the one that lets you edit match type?

No, they all just work on the memory. Of course, they could still corrupt the save if anything crashes while things are injected but they don't manipulate the save files or contents of the save directory directly. It's mostly just X-Packer that can write into the game directory, AFAIK, and possibly that pay trainer but I don't have access to that.

And about the method you mentioned, while it usually works and is quick, it can also mess things up even further (it did for me once). I might add it to the guide later, though.

Good to know, thanks for clarifying.

How did that method mess your save further exactly?

[Cave Waverider]

*snip*

Unrelated question, what tools qualify as manipulating the save game? Do your Data Editor and VisitorX's CCI? What about pozzum's tools that change wrestler stats mid-match and the one that lets you edit match type?

No, they all just work on the memory. Of course, they could still corrupt the save if anything crashes while things are injected but they don't manipulate the save files or contents of the save directory directly. It's mostly just X-Packer that can write into the game directory, AFAIK, and possibly that pay trainer but I don't have access to that.

And about the method you mentioned, while it usually works and is quick, it can also mess things up even further (it did for me once). I might add it to the guide later, though.

Good to know, thanks for clarifying.

How did that method mess your save further exactly?

Well, the problem was that every time I tried to re-enable the cloud afterwards it started the upload but somehow messed up the data in the cloud to be a mix between the old save and the newer one. So whenver I started the game afterwards, it downloaded that mix which the game saw as corrupted. I was able to fix it with Method 2 then.

[BlazeOne94]

@Cave Waverider can u help me pls? 
Method 1 isnt working. Ive done everything step by step.
My backup save works in offline mode and ive done a small change as your tutorial said.
But after point 13 my game still says that my save is corrupted  

I cant try Method 2 because change the date from point 15 is impossible
because when i type: copy /b filename.ext +,,

 my cmd says: the system cannot find the specified file. 

 

Edited May 25, 2016 by BlazeOne94

[Cave Waverider]

@Cave Waverider can u help me pls? 
Method 1 isnt working. Ive done everything step by step.
My backup save works in offline mode and ive done a small change as your tutorial said.
But after point 13 my game still says that my save is corrupted  

I cant try Method 2 because change the date from point 15 is impossible
because when i type: copy /b filename.ext +,,

 my cmd says: the system cannot find the specified file. 

Sorry, for some reason the "filename.ext" (filename . extension) placeholder made it into the guide. it should be "*.*" instead (any filename . any extension). Thank you for alerting me, I've fixed it in the guide. Here is the proper command:

copy /b *.* +,,

Edited May 25, 2016 by Cave Waverider

[BlazeOne94]

@Cave Waverider can u help me pls? 
Method 1 isnt working. Ive done everything step by step.
My backup save works in offline mode and ive done a small change as your tutorial said.
But after point 13 my game still says that my save is corrupted  

I cant try Method 2 because change the date from point 15 is impossible
because when i type: copy /b filename.ext +,,

 my cmd says: the system cannot find the specified file. 

Sorry, for some reason the filename.ext made it into the guide. it should be *.*. Thank you for alerting me, I've fixed it in the guide. Here is the proper command:

copy /b *.* +,,

thanks a lot. Now my backup is working  

[cloudropis]

How to properly recover from a Corrupted Save
A useful guide to backing up and restoring WWE 2k16 save games without causing data corruption.
by Caveman

Prerequisite step: Create a Backup of your save
Sometimes, a save game might get corrupted as a result of a failed modding attempt or for other reasons. Therefore it is of utmost importance to backup your save game regularly.
To do so, make sure that neither the game nor Steam is running. Then copy your entire save game folder ..\Steam\userdata\<steamUserId>\385730 (NOT only the remote sub-directory!) to a safe backup location so you can restore it in case something goes wrong.

If something indeed does go wrong, here is how to properly restore a save game and to recover from a corrupted save, including fixing a corrupted save game in the Steam Cloud so it Steam won't replace your working save with the corrupted one in the cloud (you can also use this method if you want to switch your save game to another one even if yours didn't get corrupted):

Method 0: Attempting to prevent a corrupted save to be uploaded to the Steam Cloud
This method might prevent the corrupted save to be uploaded to the Steam Cloud. If your cloud save is already corrupted, try Methods 1 or 2. 
If you start the game and you get the message that your save is corrupted, do the following:

Hidden Content

Method 1:
Try this method first. It's shorter than Method 2 and usually works.

Hidden Content

Method 2
If Method 1 doesn't work for you, try Method 2. This is a longer and slightly more complicated method, but works more reliably:

Hidden Content

Other things to try
If Methods 1 and 2 don't work for you, maybe some of the stuff in the following links will help (I can't help you with these, though, as I haven't tried them myself):
- A method to DELETE files stored in Steam Cloud servers

Some hints to avoid save game corruption 
The following are some hints that will help you avoid save game corruption:

Hidden Content

 

PS.: Note that only the official Steam version of the game is supported in this guide. Any inofficial versions are not supported as their saves work differently, don't work with the Steam Cloud and get corrupted way more often than with the official Steam version.

I decided to disable Cloud Sync for WWE 2k16 for good, how does that change Method 1 if I ever need to try it? Do I just skip the parts about updating data to the Cloud?

[Cave Waverider]

Yes, that's pretty much it.