Enable Hidden Secret “Debug” Menu in Microsoft “Chess” Game in Windows Vista and 7

Summary: Chess Game Debug Menu

This article will help you in enabling a hidden secret “Debug” menu in Microsoft Chess game which comes pre-installed in Windows Vista and 7. This secret “Debug” menu will allow you to cheat in the game. You can enable self play mode, rotate board, change board view, quickly customize chess piece style and board background using this new secret menu.

Description:

Recently we shared a detailed tutorial about revealing secret “Debug” menu in Windows Vista and 7 built-in games:

Revealing Hidden Secret “Debug” Menu to Cheat in Built-in Microsoft Games in Windows Vista, 7

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The above mentioned method requires editing of a system file using Resource Hacker tool. Its a bit complicated task and requires expertise to properly edit system file.

If you don’t want to edit the file manually, we have also provided an already modified file at the end of this tutorial for your convenience. You just need to download the file and replace existing file in your Windows with this new one. That’s it.

Result Preview:

By default Chess game window looks like following screenshot:

Default_Chess_Menus.png

And when you enable secret “Debug” menu, it looks like following:

Secret_Chess_Debug_Menu.png

As you can see, the new “Debug” menu allows you to enable self play mode, rotate board, change board view and many other things in the game which are not accessible without using this hack.

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And that’s not all. You also get direct access to options for customizing chess piece style and board background as shown in following screenshot:

Secret_Chess_Menus.png

How to Instructions:

Following are simple steps to follow to enable hidden secret “Debug” menu in Chess game in Windows Vista and 7:

1. First download and install Resource Hacker using following tutorial. The tutorial will also help you in learning how to use this awesome tool:

All About Resource Hacker in a Brief Tutorial

2. Now launch Resource Hacker and open following file in it:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Chess\en-US\Chess.exe.mui

Note 1: Here C: is the system drive where Windows is installed. If you installed Windows in any other partition, replace C: with that partition letter.

Note 2: “en-US” folder is found in English language Windows versions, if you have a different language version of Windows, replace en-US with your own localization string like fr-FR, etc.

3. Now expand Menu -> 129 and replace existing code in right-side pane with following code:

129 MENU
LANGUAGE LANG_ENGLISH, SUBLANG_ENGLISH_US
{
POPUP “&Game”
{
MENUITEM “&New game against computer\tF2”, 32771
MENUITEM “New game against hu&man\tF3”, 32772
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “&Undo\tCtrl+Z”, 32775
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “&Statistics\tF4”, 32776
MENUITEM “&Options\tF5”, 32777
MENUITEM “Change &Appearance\tF7”, 32778
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
POPUP “Change chess pieces”
{
MENUITEM “Porcelain”, 32799
MENUITEM “Frosted Glass”, 32800
MENUITEM “Wood”, 32801
}
POPUP “Change board”
{
MENUITEM “Porcelain”, 32796
MENUITEM “Marble”, 32797
MENUITEM “Wood”, 32798
}
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
POPUP “&Help”
{
MENUITEM “&View Help\tF1”, 32784
MENUITEM “&About Chess Titans”, 32785
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “Get &More Games Online”, 32786
}
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “&Resign”, 32779
MENUITEM “E&xit”, 32780
}
POPUP “&Debug”
{
MENUITEM “&Rotate Board\tCtrl+R”, 32781
MENUITEM “&Self Play\tCtrl+P”, 32782
MENUITEM “Toggle &Top Down View\tCtrl+T”, 32783
MENUITEM “&Full Speed Render\tCtrl+F”, 32789
}
}

4. Now click on “Compile Script” button and save the file.

5. That’s it. Now launch the game and get ready to enjoy hidden “Debug” menu.

Download Already Modified MUI File:

If you don’t want to modify the MUI file manually, you can download following ZIP file, extract it and you’ll get already modified Chess.exe.mui file.

Download Link (for Windows 7)

Download Link (for Windows Vista)

You just need to replace existing .MUI file present in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Chess\en-US\ folder with this new one.

To replace default file, first rename it to some other name like Chess_backup.exe.mui and then copy and paste new downloaded Chess.exe.mui file in this folder.

NOTE: If you don’t see the “Debug” menu after replacing the file, do as following:

1. Click on “Start button -> All Programs -> Accessories“. Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run As Administrator“. If you are prompted to enter password, enter the password and continue. You can also open Command Prompt in Administrator mode by typing “cmd” in Start Menu Search box and press “Ctrl+Shift+Enter“.

2. Now type mcbuilder and press Enter. Wait for a few seconds to finish the command process and then restart your system.

Now you should get “Debug” menu without any problem.

Published in: Windows 7, Windows Vista

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

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