Got a save file which won't work with your copy of Resident Evil 4? Whether you found it somewhere on the internet, got it from a friend, or you made it yourself on another account -

• Some people would like to continue playing the game on the next chapter when they reach a part of the game which consistently crashes on their system.
  
• Some people played this game way back when and don't want to repeat the first playthrough in order to play with the big toys.
  
• Some people like single-player games to be a little easier.
  
• Some people should be rewarded for buying the game, rather than just finishing it via the pirated edition on which they started, and to which their in-progress save file is tied.

There are plenty of reasons for it, and we're breaking no one's Terms of Service here. No harm, no foul. Single player-games are best enjoyed however that one, single, player wants to enjoy them, and anyone who disagrees can disagree all they'd like. It doesn't affect them.

The whole process should take less than five minutes.

This process is a minor major pain in the arse if you aren't familiar with certain advanced techy tools. So I created a tool[nathanjrollins.github.io] which automates the hard parts of this process.

• Back up your save file.
  Always keep a spare copy of your file. Copy it somewhere else. Somewhere safe. If anything goes wrong, the game will completely destroy the save file which we fed it, and we will not be able to recover that file. It's not in the recycling bin. It's been swallowed by the void. Let's be sure to keep a copy safe somewhere else.
  
  Here's how to back it up:
  
  • Find your Steam installation directory and your RE4 save file within it. For most people this should be something like
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[STEAM_USER_ID]\254700\remote\
    Note that "[STEAM_USER_ID]" is your individual Steam user ID, and will be a different string of numbers for everyone. If there are multiple, make sure you're in the one corresponding to your Steam account. "254700" on the other hand is RE4's Steam game ID, so "[STEAM_USER_ID]\254700" just means "[Your_User_Directory]\[Your_RE4_Save_Files]".
    
  • Copy this save file (savegame00.sav) somewhere safe. Pretty much anywhere else. If the file isn't here, just run the game, and when the game tells you (on the title screen, as soon as it comes up) that you need to create new save data to proceed, let it. The save data should exist now, and you can close the game.
    
    DO NOT GIVE THE GAME OR THE TOOL YOUR LAST COPY OF ANY FILE.
  
  
• Open up the tool.[nathanjrollins.github.io]
  
  
• Click the button on the page, and give it your own save file.
  This is any save file which you created yourself, even if it's brand new and otherwise empty. This file contains your ID data, which we need.
  
  
• Click the button again, but this time give it the save file we would like to use, but can't.
  The tool will copy our ID data from the first file into the right locations of this second file, making it appear as though we created the file ourselves with the very same account we're using now.
  
  
• Click the "Download" button and save this resulting file somewhere.
  This is the final finished result file, which the game should be able to load properly. It's best to keep spare copies of everything - I wouldn't just save it right back into the RE4 save directory. A staging area somewhere else is wise.
  
  
• Place a copy of the newly-downloaded file where RE4 expects to see a save file.
  • Remember, for most people this should be something like
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[STEAM_USER_ID]\254700\remote\
    ^ This is actually displayed on the tool's webpage, complete with the user ID from the first save file uploaded.
    
  • Be sure the file has the exact same name as the file we originally found here did. The game will only find it if it's in the right place with the exact same name and filetype extension.

• Have a copy of the save you'd like to use.
• Have a copy of a save which you, just now, created with the system you'll be playing on.
• Overwrite the following locations within the save file you want to use with the data at these locations within the second file (which you've created legitimately yourself):
  • The 4 bytes @ 1E40 (this is your Steam idv3)
    
  • The 4 bytes beginning 8 bytes from the end of the file
    
  • So, like:
    
    XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX OO OO OO OO XX XX XX XX
    (If anyone knows what these bytes are, I'd be very interested - supposedly a CRC hash of some sort)
  
  If you don't know what all of this means, that's okay. You should use the other method, though (:
  
  There are other versions of the above floating around the internet, but after extensive testing, I've found that these 8 bytes (2x4) are the only bytes we should be copying. No more, and no less. All of us who have overwritten large swaths of bytes just to get things to seem to work in the past have probably overwritten something important along with the ID data. Oops. But hey, all the more reason to use the automated tool!

• The game might tell you that there's no save file.
  Just agree, let it make a new one, then replace that new one with the one the program gave you (again). You do have backups, right?
  
  
• You may need to temporarily disable the Steam Cloud if you encounter issues.
  If the cloud is enabled, it may keep copying an old, incorrect, corrupt save file back over the new one we're working so hard to get in place properly. The cloud can be re-enabled later once everything's working right, and then it'll even store our newly appropriated data (:
  
  
• Note that "other versions" of the game may have stored their save file in another location.
  Google RE4's other possible save locations - the first couple links will have it.

• The text on the tool's web page should be enough information for anyone to get through the process.
  So feel free to just toss a friend the link to the page rather than this whole painfully verbose guide. You can click the bubble toward the bottom for more info.
  
  
• I do not know if this will work to allow you to use a save file from the old release with the newer edition of the game.
  I have no experience with the older edition, but if the save file format remains the same across both editions, maybe it'll work anyway? If you happen to try it, I'd love to know how it goes (:
  
  
• If this helped...
  Giving this guide a good rating will help other people to find it, so please thumb it up if it worked for you and/or link it into the hands of anyone you come across who may have a need for it.
  
  
• If this isn't working for you for some reason...
  Rumor has it that there's a program out there which can disable the game's save file verification while this program is running. This way you can have the game load someone else's save file while the trainer program's "Disable CRC Check" script is running, and when you save that same file later, it'll save it with your own ID data instead so you'll be able to load it at a later point in time without having the trainer running in the future. I cannot vouch for the safety or efficacy of other people's stuff, though. See Aneorthisio's comment below if you're looking for more info about this method (and I'd really recommend virus scanning the program and reading the trainer's scripts before loading or executing them, as it's always wise to be wary of running executable code from random people on the internet).
  
  
• If you see anything that needs fixing...
  or if you have any ideas for how to improve the tool, collaboration is welcome! There's a link to the project's source code in the corner (of the tool's web page).
  
  
• Lemme know
  if anyone has any questions, issues, solutions, or any notes at all (:

Godspeed, bruv.