User:ElementalDud/Skyrim PC and XBox Save Transferring

This is my page explaining to those of us Skyrim players on XBox how to transfer your XBox saves onto your PC and then back onto your XBox (assuming you have a copy of Skyrim for their PC as well as the XBox). I definitely did not discover this, this is just my guide for those who would care to try it. Note that I am no technical genius, so if my explaining isn't thorough enough for you, please feel free to ask questions in the discussion section (though I may not be able to answer them right away).

CAUTION!!!: You may mess something up on your first try at this so I would recommend using a test save on a test profile first, just to make sure you do everything right, because if you don't your save could be corrupted.

What's the Point?

Why transfer saves from XBox to PC and back? Say your stuck on a quest because of some game breaking bug. You look up how to debug your quest online and all you find are console command fixes. This always annoyed me while I was playing Skyrim on my XBox, that people posted these cool console commands that I couldn't use. Well, here's the fix. Whether your trying to repair a broken quest or just want to console-cheat on your XBox save, this is how.

Getting Started

There are a few things your going to need to know and get before your going to be able to do this.

Things to Know:

• Your going to need to know where your folder is on your computer that contains all of your Skyrim PC saves. I moved my whole Skyrim folder onto my desktop from wherever it originated from so I can't tell you where it is if you haven't moved it. If you cant find it, just try searching your computer.

Things to Get:

• An XBox 360 modding application for your computer. Here are two free apps with addresses that don't require any signing up:
  • Modio (from GameTuts, I'm pretty sure I have version 3): [www.game-tuts.com[1]]
  • Horizon (from CNET): [www.download.cnet.com[2]]
• A Flash Drive if you don't already have one.
• A ready XBox save that you want to use on your PC.

Walkthrough Part 1: Obtaining the XBox Save

All of this section should be pretty easy if you've owned an XBox for more than a week and bothered to explore the data storage part of the menu. But if you haven't, this is for you:

• Turn on your XBox and navigate to the storage tile.
• Browse the hard drive until you find the Skyrim XBox save that you want on your PC and COPY it onto your flash drive (copy, in case something goes wrong, then you won't lose your save).
• After you're done with that, turn off the XBox and remove the flash drive.

Walkthrough Part 2: Converting the XBox Save into a PC Save

For this part of the walkthrough you must have either Modio or Horizon downloaded onto your computer. I use Modio so that's how I'm going to word this part of the walkthrough, however I've done this with both and they are pretty similar processes so if you decide to use Horizon you shouldn't get too lost.

• Plug your flash drive into your computer and run Modio.
• Make sure that it says on the bottom of the Modio panel that your device has been found. Now under "Quick Actions" select "Open from a device". This will open up a new window.
• Select the profile that the save is on, then select "Skyrim", and then select the save you want by double clicking it. This will open up a new window.
• In this new window click on the tab that says "File Contents".
• Right-Click on the "Savegame.dat" and select "Exrtact File". Name your file anything that ends in

".ess" (Example: myskyrimfile.ess) and save it to your desktop.

• Now open the Skyrim Saves folder I told you to find in the "Getting Started" section and just drag and drop your ".ess" file into that folder.

You can now start playing Skyrim with your XBox save on your PC. By renaming your ".dat" file into a ".ess" file you converted the XBox save into a PC save. Note that when you first load up your save in the Skyrim Title screen the preview picture will be all fuzzy. Don't worry, this happens every time and is fixed as soon as you save over it.

Walkthrough Part 3: Converting the PC Save Back into an XBox Save

Now that you've had your fun on the PC with your save, your probably going to want to put it back on your XBox, though you could just leave it on the PC if you desired.

• Open your Skyrim Saves folder and drag your save out of the folder onto your desktop. Note that there are two of each file, one ending in ".ess" and another ending in ".ess.bak". Drag the ".ess" file onto your desktop, not the ".ess.bak". You can delete the ".ess.bak" one.
• Rename the file you just dragged onto your desktop anything ending in ".dat" (Example: myskyrimfile.dat). Make sure it ends in ".dat", because sometimes on my computer when I name it, the ".dat" doesn't stay in the name. Just double check is all I'm saying.
• Open Modio.
• Select "Open from a device" under "Quick Actions" just like before.
• Select your profile, select "Skyrim", and select the same save you extracted from earlier.
• Now in that new window select the "File Contents" tab.
• Right-Click on the "Savegame.dat" and select "Replace File". Choose the same file I had you take out of your Skyrim Saves folder and put on your desktop.
• Go back to the "General File Info" tab and press "Rehash and Resign". Then Press "Save to Device". A new window will pop up, select your profile.
• Exit out of that window and shut down Modio.
• Remove your flash drive from your computer.

Your save is now ready to be moved back onto your XBox, however before you transfer it back onto the XBox hard drive I would delete the original file on the hard drive, this being because two saves of the same name cannot exist on the same memory device. Just like before, by naming the file ".dat" you converted it back into the XBox file format. When you load up the game on the XBox the preview picture will be all fuzzy just like before and will go away just like before.

Now You're Done

As far as I can tell almost every console command will still work when the save is put on the XBox making this a good way to make super-powered chracters, create unique play-throughs, and (if your into this kind of thing) unlock certain XBox LIVE achievements. Happy save transferring!

Notes

• Downloaded PC mods will not transfer onto the XBox.
• This technique will also work for Oblivion and Fallout 3 as well as many other Bethesda games.