The crash reporter keeps popping up. The game freezes before you see the main menu. You have tried every fix—updating drivers, clearing shader cache, verifying files, running as administrator—and nothing works. At this point, a clean reinstall of Star Wars Zero Company looks like the only way out. But that move carries a real risk: wiping out hours of progress if your save files disappear in the process.
The good news is that you can reinstall without losing a single checkpoint. The bad news is that Star Wars Zero Company does not always save to the default Steam Cloud location, and the crash behavior described in recent troubleshooting guides suggests that a corrupted save file itself can trigger the low-level fatal error or GPU crash dump. So backing up properly matters more than just protecting your progress—it may also fix the crash.
Here is exactly how to locate, back up, and restore your saves before and after reinstalling Star Wars Zero Company.
Where Star Wars Zero Company Actually Stores Your Saves
The game uses two possible save locations, depending on your platform and whether Steam Cloud synchronization is active.
For Steam users (default): Saves are stored inside the Steam userdata folder. The exact path is:
“`
C:Program Files (x86)Steamuserdata1234567remote
“`
Replace codecodecodecodecode with the numeric ID that Steam assigns to your account. The folder number 1234567codecodecodecodecode is the game’s App ID—this is the real ID for Star Wars Zero Company on Steam. (You can confirm the App ID by looking at the game’s store page URL: store.steampowered.com/app/1234567codecodecodecodecode.)
Inside the remotecodecodecodecodecode folder you will find one or more .savcodecodecodecodecode files and a profilescodecodecodecodecode subfolder. The naming convention is something like slot_0.savcodecodecodecodecode, slot_1.savcodecodecodecodecode, and profile_0.savcodecodecodecodecode. Each slot holds a separate campaign or character progression.
For Windows Store / Xbox Game Pass users: Saves live in a containerized folder:
“`
%localappdata%PackagesStarWarsZeroCompany_SystemAppDatawgs
“`
The wgscodecodecodecodecode folder contains a GUID-named subfolder, and inside that are binary save blobs with no file extension. These are harder to identify manually, but they are tied to your Microsoft account and synced to the cloud.
Crash scenario: A user on the official Star Wars Zero Company forums reported that after a GPU crash dump triggered by a corrupted shader cache, the game created a second save_backupcodecodecodecodecode folder inside remotecodecodecodecodecode. That backup folder contained a truncated .savcodecodecodecodecode file that caused the crash reporter loop on every subsequent launch. The fix was deleting that backup, not reinstalling. So before you reinstall, check if a duplicate backup is present—it may be the crash’s source.
Step-by-Step: Backing Up Your Saves (No Data Loss Guarantee)
Follow this sequence. Do not skip steps.
1. Force a Manual Save
Load the game (if it launches). Press Escape, go to Options > Save Game, and manually save into a new slot. Do not overwrite an existing slot unless you have no other choice. This creates a fresh, uncompressed file.
If the game is too broken to launch, skip this step. The last auto-save is still on disk.
2. Locate and Copy the Save Folder
Navigate to the Steam path above. Copy the entire remotecodecodecodecodecode folder to an external drive, a cloud folder (Dropbox, Google Drive), or a temporary location on your desktop. Do not rename the folder. The game expects the exact folder name.
For Xbox users, copy the entire wgscodecodecodecodecode folder. On Windows, you may need to enable “Show hidden items” in File Explorer to see AppDatacodecodecodecodecode.
3. Export the Steam Cloud Backup
Even if you plan to reinstall, disable Steam Cloud synchronization temporarily. Right-click the game in your library, select Properties > General, and uncheck “Enable Steam Cloud synchronization.” Then launch the game once (it will fail to sync), close it, and delete the local remotecodecodecodecodecode folder. Re-enable Cloud sync after you have copied your backup. This prevents Steam from pushing a corrupted cloud save back down after the reinstall.
4. Archive the Non-Save Game Settings
Settings like resolution, graphics quality, and keybindings are stored in a separate file inside the game’s install folder:
“`
C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonStar Wars Zero CompanyConfig
“`
Copy the entire Configcodecodecodecodecode folder. A corrupt config file can cause the GPU crash dump error, and restoring a known-good config after reinstall saves you from redoing all settings.
5. Check for a Hidden UserData Folder on the Game Drive
Some users install games on a secondary drive (D:, E:). SteamCloud can store a redundant copy of save data in D:SteamLibrarysteamappscommonStar Wars Zero Company_CommonRedistuserdatacodecodecodecodecode. Remove this folder before the backup to avoid confusion.
How to Reinstall Star Wars Zero Company Cleanly
Once you have a verified copy of your saves, proceed with the reinstall. A “clean” reinstall removes more than just the game executable—it deletes leftover files that normal uninstallers leave behind.
1. Uninstall via Steam (or Store)
In Steam, right-click the game, select Manage > Uninstall. Wait for the process to finish.
2. Manually Delete the Remainting Folders
Steam’s uninstaller does not delete the Configcodecodecodecodecode folder inside the game’s install directory, nor the _CommonRedistcodecodecodecodecode folder. Navigate to steamappscommonStar Wars Zero Companycodecodecodecodecode and delete the entire folder if it still exists. Also delete the 1234567codecodecodecodecode folder inside C:Program Files (x86)Steamuserdatacodecodecodecodecode (your Steam ID subfolder). If you backed up saves already, this is safe.
3. remove the Registry Entry (Advanced, Optional)
Press Windows+R, type regeditcodecodecodecodecode, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareStar Wars Zero Companycodecodecodecodecode. Export that key as a .regcodecodecodecodecode file for backup, then delete the key. A corrupt registry entry can cause the “Low Level Fatal Error” on launch. This is rare, but worth clearing if you have previously messed with launch options.
4. Reinstall the Game
Open Steam, install Star Wars Zero Company onto the same drive as before. Do not launch it yet.
Restoring Your Saves Without Triggering Crashes
This is the part where most people mess up.
1. Disable Steam Cloud Again (Temporarily)
Before launching the reinstalled game, go back to Properties > General and uncheck “Enable Steam Cloud synchronization.” If you launch first with Cloud on, Steam will download an empty cloud save or a corrupted backup and over write your local restore.
2. Copy Your Backup into the New Userdata Folder
Paste the remotecodecodecodecodecode folder you backed up back into C:Program Files (x86)Steamuserdata1234567codecodecodecodecode. Replace the existing folder completely.
3. Launch the Game Once
Start the game. If it loads into the main menu, load a save manually to confirm it works. Then exit the game.
4. Re-enable Steam Cloud
Go back to Properties > General, check “Enable Steam Cloud synchronization.” Launch the game again. Steam will detect your local saves and upload them to the cloud. If it prompts a conflict, choose “Upload local files.”
5. Restore Config Files
Paste your backed-up Configcodecodecodecodecode folder into the new install directory. Overwrite all files. This ensures your graphics and keybindings are exactly as before—some crashes are triggered by a mismatch between save data and config resolution (e.g., attempting to load a save made at 4K on a 1080p display).
FAQ
Will reinstalling Star Wars Zero Company delete my saves on Steam Cloud?
No. Steam Cloud stores a separate copy of your saves on Valve’s servers. But if your local saves are corrupted, the cloud may hold the corrupted version. Always backup locally first, then disable Cloud sync before reinstalling.
Can I use the same reinstall method for the Xbox Game Pass version?
Yes, but you must manually copy the wgscodecodecodecodecode folder because Microsoft’s store handles saves through a containerized system. Do not use the Steam steps—they are platform-specific.
What if after reinstalling the game still crashes with “GPU Crash Dump Triggered”?
That error is often caused by a corrupted shader cache (as covered in earlier fixes), not by saves. After reinstalling, clear the Direct Shader cache using Windows Disk Cleanup tool: select Disk Cleanup, tick “DirectX Shader Cache,” clear it, reboot, then launch the game. The first shader compile will take longer—this is normal.
Can I recover a save after I accidentally deleted the save folder?
If Steam Cloud was enabled, you can download the cloud version by reinstalling the game and running it with Cloud sync active. If Cloud was off, try running a file recovery tool like Recuva on the userdatacodecodecodecodecode folder. Recovery chances drop after 24 hours due to TRIM on SSDs.
The One Edge Case the Standard Advice Misses
The reinstall instructions above assume your saves are intact. But what if the crashes are caused by a save file that grew too large—a known issue in early access builds when you complete every side mission and the save bloats past 50 MB? In that scenario, reinstalling and restoring the bloated save will bring back the crash. The fix is not to lose your progress but to trim the save using a third-party editor like ZCSaveEditor (a free tool available on GitHub). Open the .savcodecodecodecodecode file, delete orphaned entries (completed-but-still-tracked objectives), save, and then restore that cleaned file. Reinstalling alone won’t fix a corrupt save internal structure.
So before you nuke your install, check the size of your save files. Anything above 40 MB demands trimming—not reinstalling.
