Microsoft Solitaire Collection: TriPeaks won't load - Windows 10

Catherine Cus replied on June 24, 2017

"Sometimes, uninstalling and reinstalling the game doesn't update the game version automatically. That's why we have to manually update the affected games from the Windows Store."

Hmm, let me check again.

Norman Diamond replied on June 21, 2017

'and then I uninstalled that application, and went to the Microsoft Store to find the application again, downloaded it, and installed it'

My words are still there, haven't been moderated out.

Wait, you mean a fresh download from the Microsoft Store doesn't get the latest version?

...

I'm trying to add an edit here. Internet Explorer crashed twice (I use IE in Windows 10 because Edge crashes even more). I'll try again.

I followed instructions in this page:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/b5e4e2e4-cc9d-47ef-8782-7a1c81e735ef/check-for-updates-for-apps-and-games-from-windows-store

When I clicked 更新プログラムのチェック (check for updates), the Store application displayed some rotating dots for about a minute, and finished without displaying any message.  Since this updater is different from Windows Update, I don't know if this means it found updates to install or not.

...

I looked at this page:

http://support.xbox.com/en-US/games/troubleshooting/game-freezes-stops-responding-windows-10

Solution 1: Exit and restart the game

Done a dozen times.

Solution 2: Restart your device

Hmm, my last restart was on 2017-06-14 as needed for ordinary Windows Update. The problem seems to have started AFTER this restart. Maybe a Windows Update on that day disabled solitaire games.

Solution 3: Check your device for Windows software and driver updates

As mentioned, there were big updates 2017-06-14. Today the only update available was for Windows Defender.

Solution 4: Check the system requirements for the game

Windows 10? Core i7? 32GB of RAM? 1TB of free space on the C: drive?

Solution 5: Check that you have network connectivity

Wow, someone without network connectivity would be able to read that support page?

Solution 6: Sign in as a different user

I'll skip that. I don't sign in and it seems my user name is guest.

Solution 7: Repair or reinstall the game

Done, as already discussed.

Solution 8: Check whether your account has been banned from a game

Is guest banned? Let's see...

http://support.xbox.com/ja-JP/browse/games/game-titles/

The last item on the first page is frequently asked questions about Microsoft Solitaire Collection...

The list of suggested workarounds is different in Japanese than in English.

The first suggestion is to check Xbox status. I don't have an Xbox and don't log in to an Xbox site. No wait, this suggestion only applies if there's a warning message, and I don't have a warning message.

Some suggestions look pretty much the same as in English.

Then there's one, check the firewall and antivirus program. These are built into Windows 10, Windows Defender and Windows Firewall.

Then there's a Windows 10 Application Problem Solving Tool. Just a moment, I'll run it.

...

The Troubleshooter wants me to log in to a Microsoft account. I've done that before and it's not pleasant. I do some amount of logging in to a Microsoft account, for example to participate in this forum. But I don't log Windows sessions into Microsoft accounts. I tried it once. When switching from an ordinary local Windows account login to a Microsoft account login, and when switching back, it made me close all applications that were open in my Windows session.

But I took a look at the account settings, just to look. Where did this Holiday Calendars account come from? I thought my Windows accounts were ... wait, my wife's account isn't showing there. And I know about the hidden Administrator account, but it's not showing there either. Well, enough with looking there.

I clicked Next in the Troubleshooter. It gives an error saying that a Microsoft account is needed.

Does Microsoft Solitaire Collection now depend on having a Microsoft account? Was this requirement added by one of the Windows Updates on 2017-06-14? And without it, Pyramid and TriPeaks just hang in loading going around and around?

Sometimes, uninstalling and reinstalling the game doesn't update the game version automatically. That's why we have to manually update the affected games from the Windows Store.

We'd like to know the results after performing the solutions we've provided.

We'll be waiting for your response regarding the status of this issue.

I wrote:

"Maybe the reason for not having Tripeaks.ark or Pyramind.ark is that last week I went into Windows settings, found the Microsoft Solitaire Collection application, and reset the application twice ... and then I uninstalled that application, and went to the Microsoft Store to find the application again, downloaded it, and installed it."

Microsoft's Forum Moderator replied:

'Another possible reason as to why you're encountering this issue is due to an outdated version of the game.'

I looked again to see if my words "and then I uninstalled that application, and went to the Microsoft Store to find the application again, downloaded it, and installed it" had been moderated out, but no, they're still visible.

Hi Norman,

Another possible reason as to why you're encountering this issue is due to an outdated version of the game. To resolve this, we suggest that you visit this link and follow the steps on how to check for updates for apps and games from Windows Store.

Refer to Game freezes or stops responding on a Windows 10 device for more troubleshooting solutions that you may perform.

Let us know how it goes after performing these solutions. We're here to clear things up.

Below the gameprogress directory, I had a subdirectory named guest but no others. Maybe that's because I don't log in to Xbox or anything else to play solitaire on my PC.

I didn't have a Tripeaks.ark or Pyramid.ark but in some other subdirectories I found 5 other .ark files.  I deleted them.

Maybe the reason for not having Tripeaks.ark or Pyramind.ark is that last week I went into Windows settings, found the Microsoft Solitaire Collection application, and reset the application twice ... and then I uninstalled that application, and went to the Microsoft Store to find the application again, downloaded it, and installed it.

Anyway, after deleting my 5 files that ended in .ark, I tried running Microsoft Solitaire Collection again.  I got as far as clicking the TriPeaks tile.  It's still loading.

It's still loading.

It's still loading.

It's still loading.

It's still loading.