How to restore backup .sav file?

[iamdave]

I was under the mistaken impression that only white items would disappear if left lying on the ground. I have now learned the hard way that my impression was wrong.

I dumped a bunch of non-white items from my backpack on the floor in Moxxi's so I would not have to make so many trips to the vending machine to sell the items won from the slots. I played the slots a long time. When I finally picked up my loot, some had disappeared !

I've got too many hours into this game to risk messing up the saves. However many posts suggest that one can restore and/or replace the .sav files. I've got Steam cloud enabled now, but am I correct in assuming that I should turn this off?

In other words, how can I restore a .sav.bak to a .sav without the game telling me that something is corrupt?

A side question: what is in the .sav? Just what will I lose (challenges, XP, etc) by moving the .sav.bak to .sav?

[Volcanic]

you would have to have access to the exact same file.
If you have, then find the borderlands 2 folder.
find the willowgame folder, then savedata.
add your old savefile to the folder savedata.
start your game.

the name of the carracter will be exact the same as the other except without the progress and lost guns.

I am still not sure if this is possible in your case though.

You have to have backed up the savefile manually by yourself.

If you havent... Too bad.

At least it wasnt OP8 legendaries i guess, be happy for that :)

Bye bye miss american pie.

[Fantastic balls]

rename the "save.bak" file to just "save"...like Save0001.sav....dude are you serious?

[iamdave]

I did a save/quit with the character. I then quit the game. So I believe that the .sav.bak just might contain the missing loot. I won't know until I attempt to use the .sav.bak.

Yes, I did make a manual backup after I quit the game and before I restarted it briefly today to redeem a SHiFT code.

I still have the question: if I replace the .sav with the .sav.bak, will Steam Cloud mess that up, and if so, will turning off Steam Cloud be the solution?

If someone has successfully restored a .sav.bak, what were the exact steps you followed?

Could I copy a "Save0002.sav.bak" to "Save0003.sav"?

[BTW, this is the Steam version on a PC]

[Fantastic balls]

the bak is the previous save...second to last one...delete the bak,so just rename it its simple

[Volcanic]

you just rename the save file, maybe you add a "2" or something to the NAME of the file.

Its really easy. Peace of cake really. rename it, then copy, then paste.

Good luck.

[iamdave]

Originally posted by andreiflok:

rename the "save.bak" file to just "save"...like Save0001.sav....dude are you serious?

Why would I not be serious? I'd really like to get the missing loot back if possible. That's why I'm asking.

[Fantastic balls]

I just told you 2 times how to do it...

[iamdave]

Originally posted by jonavolle:

you just rename the save file, maybe you add a "2" or something to the NAME of the file.

Its really easy. Peace of cake really. rename it, then copy, then paste.

Good luck.

I know how to rename, etc. Can I ask: have you done this? Do you have Steam Cloud sync turned on or off?

[Fantastic balls]

Originally posted by iamdave:

Originally posted by jonavolle:

you just rename the save file, maybe you add a "2" or something to the NAME of the file.

Its really easy. Peace of cake really. rename it, then copy, then paste.

Good luck.

I know how to rename, etc. Can I ask: have you done this? Do you have Steam Cloud sync turned on or off?

the fact that it uses a save backup system means that the cloud will act normal and not ♥♥♥♥ you up...just try it jeez

[Waste_of_skin]

Were the missing items just greens? Those will disappear eventually (After maybe 20 or 30 minutes?), but I thought anything blue or better would stay on the ground until you exited the game. That's not something I've ever actually tried to test. Just my impression from playing the game.

As for your .sav questions:

Whether or not the Steam cloud is an issue depends on what you do.

If you just remove the .bak extension, replacing your current save file with an older copy, the Steam cloud may want to replace it, but it should ask you what you want to do, and show you the dates on the local and cloud files, so if you pick the right option, you should be OK. OTOH, there's no real reason not to just disable the Steam cloud temporarily, if that makes you feel better. Some people do that anyway, because some have had problems when they presumably ended up with old copies of BL2 files from the cloud replacing their current files. Obviously if you just leave the Steam cloud disabled, then it's entirely up to you to make backups of your save files (and profile.bin).

If you actually copy the .bak file to a new save file (eg. you do not have a Save0002.sav, so you copy Save0001.sav.bak to Save0002.sav), then the Steam cloud shouldn't be an issue, because it doesn't have a Save0002.sav file. OTOH, as above, there's no real reason not to just disable the Steam cloud temporarily, if that makes you feel better.

The game and Steam won't tell you that anything is "corrupt" if you rename/copy a .bak file. As far as the cloud goes, the only thing you really need to worry about is it possibly replacing the older file with a newer one.

The .sav files contain your character-specific data. Completed challenges, mission progress, XP, inventory and bank, etc. So, if you replace your current .sav with an older copy, you would lose anything added to that character in between. Your character would be back to exactly the way they were when the old .sav was created.

FYI, profile.bin contains your "player" data (unlocked heads and skins, Gold keys, BA rank, etc.). So, for example, replacing a .sav file would not change your unlocked heads/skins.

[iamdave]

Thanks.

I've been doing a bit of googling...

Here's a link that discusses the disappearing loot issue: http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/70961/how-much-time-is-there-before-my-loot-disappears

Apparently, all loot will disappear after sufficient time has elapsed. Good to know even if, for me, it's belated information.

I've downloaded the gibbed save game editor and used it to verify that the .sav.bak file does contain the missing loot--4 items, probably greens. I think what I'll do is a) turn off Steam Cloud sync, b) write a little script to backup my saves, c) play for a while to verify nothing's messed up, d) use gibbed to export the weapon code from the .sav.bak and put it back into the current char's backpack ... or perhaps I'll find I don't really need it and my L52 Salvadore will find better stuff soon.

After sinking close to 1500 hours into this game (I love it and I hate it), I am extremely reluctant to just experiment.

[Waste_of_skin]

I thought I remembered seeing some details somewhere, once upon a time, concerning how long items stayed around, but I didn't try too hard to find them again. But, yeah, it was some of the same info in your link.

If you just lost some green items, I wouldn't worry about it. I can't remember the last time I used green gear in normal play. It shouldn't be too hard to find some new stuff to replace whatever you lost.

[*FancyFedora]

hi i recently accidentally deleted my save file is there anyway to get it back?

[iamdave]

Maybe it's still in your Recycle Bin (windows). Otherwise go to the folder Documents\My Games\borderlands 2\willowgame\savedata\<numbers>

If you actually deleted that entire folder, then you're probably screwed unless you had Steam cloud enabled since you've lost your profile.bin file

In that folder you will find files named SaveXXXX.sav where XXXX are digits/letters.

The file with the latest date is the save file for the most recently played character.

There should be a corresponding SaveXXXX.sav.bak file

You can try to use the BAK file -- rename it to SaveXXXX.sav

Otherwise if you did not have Steam cloud enabled, you're out of luck. Always make backups. Always.

[*FancyFedora]

no i didnt delete it via the folder i deleted it while trying to delete my other save in-game