Forum Discussion

eheys's avatar
4 years ago
Solved

MEA Can't save

I bought MEA via steam, but now it can't save. Literally nothing is saved. Custom characters are gone, game display settings are gone every time I start the game. And every time  I have to start from the first mission again and fight my way to the Ark and then try to save. But it never saves.

Load Game screen is just empty. 

Load Latest Save screen is just an unhelpful error: Failed to load save data.

Save Game is always a New Empty Slot and nothing else. I manually saved several times and yet nothing shows up. 

Tried the following:

  • ran game in admin mode
  • no Documents/BioWare/Mass Effect Andromeda/Save folder
    • manually created the folder but no saves
  • changed Documents folder permission to no longer be read only
  • specifically enabled the game in Kaspersky (It was default allow by global policy, now it is app specifc.)
  • disabled Kaspersky entirely. 

I am on Win 10. 

Does MEA on Steam save somewhere else?

  •  
     
    issue resolved after uninstalling steam, all games, then reinstall steam under my documents, then reinstalling mass effect andromeda under my documents (the default steam library folder, due to reinstalling under my documents, have now been placed under my documents).

20 Replies

  • holger1405's avatar
    holger1405
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @eheys 

    Virus Scanners or other security software often block access to game files or prevent a game from saving, especially older games. 

    It is not a matter of uninstalling the AV but to configurate it correctly if it is overprotective.

    Do you use OneDrive?

    Do you use any Sophos products?

    Please create a DxDiag in text file format and post it with your next reply. You can do that  with the "Choose file" button at the bottom right corner of the reply window. 

     

  • holger1405's avatar
    holger1405
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @eheys 

    Press the Windows key and "X" at the same time > Click on "Command prompt (Administrator)" or "PowerShell (Administrator)"

    • In the CMD or PowerShell window, at the prompt type or copy and past:  takeown /f "xxxxxxxxxxxx" /r   (Replace the X with the full path to the C:\Users\>your user name<\Documents" folder, the quotation marks need to stay in.)

    • hit ENTER

    • You should get a success message.

    • In the CMD or PowerShell window, at the prompt type or copy and paste: icacls "XXXXX" /grant YYYY:F /t /c /l /q   (Replace the X with the full path to the C:\Users\>your user name<\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Andromeda" folder, the quotation marks need to stay in, Replace the Y with your user name)
    • hit ENTER
    • You should get a success message.
    • Reboot.
    • Test.
  • eheys's avatar
    eheys
    4 years ago

    @Holger1405

    xxx is my username, and here are the cmds that was run. No errors from those cmds.

    takeown /f "C:\Users\xxx\Documents" /r
    icacls "C:\Users\xxx\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Andromeda" /grant xxxx:F /t /c /l /q 

    rebooted, still can't save. 

  • holger1405's avatar
    holger1405
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @eheys 

    You got a success message after both commands? 

    Please clear your temp files:

    • Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time
    • Into the new window, type or copy & paste:  "%temp%"   (Without the quotes.) > hit "ENTER"
    • Now your Windows Explorer should have brought you to the "C:\Users\>your user name<\AppData\Local\Temp" folder. > Delete all files and folders in it.
      (If some files or folders can't be deleted, reboot and try again.)

    Then clear your Origin cache.
    All settings in Origin (only in Origin not in the games) are back to default settings after this.

    • Close Origin completely.
      (right click on the Origin symbol in the task bar > close)
    • Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
    • Type or copy and paste "%ProgramData%/Origin" (without quotes) into the new window > hit ENTER
    • Delete all the files and folders in the Origin folder, except for the "LocalContent" folder.
      (The "LocalContent" folder must remain untouched.)
    • Delete the "Mass Effect Andromeda" folder inside the "LocalContent" folder.
    • Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
    • Type or copy and paste "%AppData%" (without quotes) into the new window > hit ENTER
    • Now your Windows explorer should have brought you to your "C:\Users\>your user name<\AppData\Roaming" folder.
    • Delete the "Origin"  folder inside the "Roaming" folder.
    • In the address bar of your Windows explorer click on "AppData".
    • Open the "Local" folder.
    • Delete the "Origin"  folder inside the  "Local" folder.
    • Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
    • Type or copy and paste "C:\ProgramData\Electronic Arts\EA Services" (without quotes) into the new window > hit ENTER.
    • Restart your PC. > Log in online for the first time > test offline.

    Repair the game.


    (Origin > Game Library > right click MELE > Repair)
    (Steam > Game Library > right click at MELE > Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game files.)

    Test.

  •  
     
    issue resolved after uninstalling steam, all games, then reinstall steam under my documents, then reinstalling mass effect andromeda under my documents (the default steam library folder, due to reinstalling under my documents, have now been placed under my documents).
  • sweetpoison0011's avatar
    sweetpoison0011
    Seasoned Ace
    4 years ago
    @ Awesome. You might want to consider partitioning the HDD drive (or SSD for what matters) to tweak the overall performances.

Featured Places

Node avatar for Mass Effect Franchise Discussion

Mass Effect Franchise Discussion

The fate of the galaxy lies in your hands. Join the Mass Effect community forums and tell us how you'll fight for it.Latest Activity: 9 hours ago
19,318 Posts