Finding Saved Games

[quix]

Hey Everybody,

I'm running ksp 1.04 on windows 8.

I have a mind-boggling problem. I can't find my save games in the KSP\saves directory. When I run KSP without administrative access, the game finds and loads my saves just fine, but I can't load any mods. When I run KSP (the very same .exe) with administrative access, I can use my installed mods, but the game doesn't find my save.

So anybody know where my saved game/ships might be?

Thanks!

Edited September 29, 2015 by quix
Answered

[MarvinKitFox]

I have a really radical, innovative idea for you.

In Windows 8, click on the magnifying glass thingy.

type , without the quote marks, "persistent.sfs"

Write down the locations where this file is located.

[quix]

Naturally, that was the first thing I tried. The search only returns the readme file.

[Kryxal]

Also make an extra save with admin access, so you have something to "spot" that location for you.

[SpeedDaemon]

Are you using the KSP store download version, or the Steam version?

Running as admin will mess up anything that looks in the user profile directory for files.

I've not used the Steam version, but if so, it might not be allowing the loading of mods from a protected folder (Steam's default program files location).

Can you uninstall, and try installing it to a custom folder or something, and see if that works without running it as administrator? Or try the .zip download version, and put it somewhere your user has full rights to.

EDIT: reinstall KSP to a new location, not Steam

[Yasmy]

I'm keeping my Windows machine back at version 7, so I can't answer for Windows 8, but I have had similar problems in the past with programs which were installed with admin privileges but run without admin privileges and want to write save files to the install directory. Bits and pieces end up in C:/Users/<username>/AppData/Local or C:/Users/<username>/AppData/Roaming or something like that. Like MarvinKitFox said, use search to find them.

So for my Windows KSP installs, I keep them all out of the Program Files directories, and instead have them all in C:\KSP\. E.g.:

C:\KSP\0.14

C:\KSP\0.16

...

C:\KSP\1.0.2

C:\KSP\1.0.4

All the save data is safely stored in the install directory, because Windows doesn't consider this to be a directory owned by admin and used by multiple users who want their own set of saves, screenshots and whatnot.

[quix]

Ok, so.

I did do a search for persistent.sfs before I posted. It turned up the readme file. :/ I made a save in the admin mode, it saved in the normal location. My instinct is that KSP recognizes when windows doesn't let it save in the default location and tries to save somewhere else, but that is just a guess. It is also possible that Windows might be redirecting it someplace else.

I have the KSP store version. I put it in program files because I thought that would be a good idea... I'm planning to move it as soon as I find my saves.

- - - Updated - - -

UPDATE: Files found! thanks particularly to Yasmy and SpeedDaemon

For future people with this problem: When KSP tries to write in a restricted folder without admin access, Windows redirects KSP to save in

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\<directory KSP tried to use>

Thanks for the help everybody. I'm not sure why the saves didn't show up on my first search, but I've got them now.