GFWL: How to sign in on Windows 10/11

A guide for installing and troubleshooting the Games for Windows Live DRM on Windows 10/11.

Opening

I am creating this guide after getting a new Windows 10 laptop and having to jump through the same hoops to get Games for Windows Live to sign in. The following information has worked successfully to re-download my GFWL profile on my new device. These instructions should also apply to any game using GFWL.

Changing up the guide since some people like more pictures and I guess reading is hard.

If you have useful information about GFWL not included in the guide, please share in the comments below. Links to GFWL\DRM cracks or other methods that can be seen as piracy will be removed, it's against the Terms of Service of Steam so if you want to look into that, do so outside of this guide.

Make sure you have your Windows installation disk before you start and placed in the DVD-ROM tray before using Games for Windows Live.

If that sounds strange, it means you're paying attention. Follow the instructions and you'll more than likely have no issues. Microsoft hasn't cared about GFWL in years so make sure you have those critical thinking skills if by chance you run into problems.

Initial Setup\Installation

Now before you get started trying to troubleshoot or get GFWL installed, I'm assuming in advance that you are on the latest updates on Windows 10, if you are not, you will need to update before moving forward.

You'll need install the GFWL\xlive prerequisites before sign-in to GFWL in-game will work. Otherwise, the sign-in prompt will just sit there attempting endlessly after you put in your credentials.

Now obviously you can get the gfwlclient from Microsoft.....somewhere, but I have run into issues in the past because the gfwlclient download that Microsoft provides doesn't come with xliveredist. There are also a few GFWL games that require the GFWL Marketplace client installed to work. The PCGamingWiki community has been kind enough to package all 3 in 1 zip file and I've personally confirmed that they work on Windows 10 with no issues.

FYI: Before you install all 3, right click on each and go to properties. Check on Run as Admin & run in Windows 7 compatibility. I didn't have to do this but some people mentioned it helped for them.

Download the zip file for all required GFWL files hosted on the pcgamingwiki here.[community.pcgamingwiki.com]

The zip file also includes the Sign-In Assistant install. However, you would only install the Windows Sign-In Assistant if you are still on Windows 7, I don't have any Windows 7 devices anymore but in theory everything else should apply. Once you've installed gfwlclient, gfwlsetup, & xliveredist successfully, you can launch the game and attempt to sign in.

BE PATIENT, it took around 5 minutes after signing in with my Microsoft credentials before I was prompted for the CD KEY. Once that is done, you'll need to wait around the same time for GFWL to download your profile from its servers. If everything worked successfully, you'll be able to play onllne and get Xbox\GFWL achievements normally.

STOP! If everything has worked so far, it means that GFWL is working, congratulations and enjoy your game!











If you ran into issues after that, keep reading.

Troubleshooting

The notes below are a culmination of some fixes I remembered years ago, possible fixes mentioned by those who have commented on the guide across various GFWL games on Steam, & some random info that I've come across.







Fixes that I've personally confirmed to work:

An old fix from years ago off the top of my head has been confirmed to work and this is specifically a GFWL problem. If you have confirmed that you can log into other Microsoft sites but can't log into the GFWL in-game client, this could be caused by your Microsoft password. If it is longer than 15 characters, this will prevent sign in. Once you have changed your Microsoft password to something lower, it should allow you to sign into the in-game client.




Possible fixes from the Steam community:

Recently it was mentioned that 2 factor\Multifactor Authentication may also cause a problem during sign-in. I personally have not run into this issue but it might be something worth trying if you've tried all other known fixes. Specifically, you would have to disable 2FA\MFA to allow the initial sign-in to download your profile. Theoretically once that's been completed and you signed in successfully, you can then turn 2FA\MFA back on.

It was also mentioned that the app password option that Microsoft provides on the Microsoft Account page doesn't work. There might be something here but I believe specific app passwords by Microsoft was created after GFWL was created.




Random information from the Internet:

While this is random information that I haven't really looked into, it seems that enough people use 3rd party firewalls that it's at least worth mentioning. You'll need to make sure that GFWLClient.exe is allowed both incoming and outgoing traffic.

Your router configuration can also play a factor in this. If for some reason, you aren't using UPnP, then this last possible fix may be for you. GFWL (apparently?) uses TCP port 3074, UDP port 88, and UDP port 3074. You'll need to make sure that those ports (or whatever ports that GFWL uses if this port info isn't correct) are open if you've checked everything else.

Closing

You've made it! Your determination and grit have brought you to this moment. endured the grueling trials of Games for Windows Live and emerged a different person. A round of applause, and while this guide has come to an end, I wish you all Happy Gaming!

If you'd like to see more stuff from me on Steam or elsewhere, you can follow my Steam curation page and/or my Twitch channel[www.twitch.tv].

[Holi]

sadly modern pc-s dont have a cd/dvd reader, and thats needed for my copy to work

[spicygamethunder]

Dirt 2 is not named for server shutdown when checking EA's list. In theory it should still work since it uses the LIVE matchmaking service for multiplayer.

[Sylvine]

Not working for me either, I guess they shut down the server for good ?

[Timon]

I was able to log in, I played last April, and today I'm trying to restart the game, but I'm getting the error “the profile could not be signed into live” again. I've reinstalled everything I could, but nothing works. It's crazy.

[KevinAbillGaming]

Is there a way I can still make the GFWL account? I tried logging into my Microsoft account, then inserted the keys, and it says network error each time.

[Yontra Volta]

One more thing I'd like to add, after GFWL on this guide (which is on point) there is one more issue you may run across when it tries to sign in and download profile, you may get error code 0x80151906, if this happens, go to the game files (browse local files) and set the compatibility to "Run as administrator", after your profile loads, its your call if you want to disable the administrator command

[Sagnol]

GFWL works without a problem in W10 and without any modifications.
I downloaded the setup from here:
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1012-microsoft-games-for-windows-live/
and i simply run the "xliveredist" file
I then opened dirt 2, inserted my cd key and i logged in succesfully with my Xbox account!
No crashes,no problems, everything synced succesfully

[MsOpportunity]

Just a heads up, You don't need to install all of the GFWL software. as the Live Marketplace software is as dead as a dodo.

Simply double click on the file "xliveredist" in the downloaded files from PCGamingwiki and it will install the necessay client software that the GFWL titles use to log in.No Other files are needed.

I have used this method over a number of years.

[spicygamethunder]

That is not correct, early GFWL titles did not tie the CD key to a specific game/account. People still use this characteristic to play the GFWL version of Resident Evil 5 using a key from Kane & Lynch.

If you happen to own an older GFWL game, you might be able to use the key for Dirt 2. Note that if it does happen to work, you can't use the same key in 2 games at the same time, so don't share it freely with others.

[Wolfmann Mike]

DiRT 2 ties to your GfWL Profile...

GfWL and Dirt interface that it uses requires the original email and pass, along with the same CD-Key.

CD-Keys are tied to the account, not any hardware, unless that's buried.
To the average user that has some skills, it just looks like
MS Account for GfWL is tied to CD Key because it works that simply.