Enable Hidden Secret “Debug” Menu in Microsoft “Minesweeper” Game in Windows Vista and 7
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This article will help you in enabling a hidden secret “Debug” menu in Microsoft Minesweeper game which comes pre-installed in Windows Vista and 7. This secret “Debug” menu will allow you to cheat in the game. You can instant win, show mines, show cheat keys, quickly customize game 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 Minesweeper game window looks like following screenshot:
And when you enable secret “Debug” menu, it looks like following:
As you can see, the new “Debug” menu allows you to instant win, show mines, cheat keys 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 game style and board background as shown in following screenshot:
How to Instructions:
Following are simple steps to follow to enable hidden secret “Debug” menu in Minesweeper 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\Minesweeper\en-US\Minesweeper.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 -> 163 and replace existing code in right-side pane with following code:
163 MENU
LANGUAGE LANG_ENGLISH, SUBLANG_ENGLISH_US
{
POPUP “&Game”
{
MENUITEM “&New Game\tF2”, 40006
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “&Statistics\tF4”, 40003
MENUITEM “&Options\tF5”, 40004
MENUITEM “Change &Appearance\tF7”, 40002
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
POPUP “Change Game Style”
{
MENUITEM “Minesweeper”, 40020
MENUITEM “Flower Garden”, 40021
}
POPUP “Change Board”
{
MENUITEM “Silver and Blue”, 40022
MENUITEM “Green”, 40023
}
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “E&xit”, 40005
}
POPUP “&Help”
{
MENUITEM “&View Help\tF1”, 40008
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “&About Minesweeper”, 40007
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “Get &More Games Online”, 40025
}
POPUP “&Debug”
{
MENUITEM “Toggle Cheat Keys”, 40010
MENUITEM SEPARATOR
MENUITEM “Toggle Show Mines”, 40011
MENUITEM “Test Text”, 40013
MENUITEM “Win”, 40015
}
}
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 Minesweeper.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\Minesweeper\en-US\ folder with this new one.
To replace default file, first rename it to some other name like Minesweeper_backup.exe.mui and then copy and paste new downloaded Minesweeper.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.
It still doesn’t show the debug menu. i saw it in the mui, and i edited it, and nothing happened. then i downloaded your file, replaced it, and ran the command, and still nothing. i’ve done this 3 times.
Echoing Lai, did the steps exactly as mentioned nothing happened, downloaded the modified Mui and replaced the original, both times ran the mcbuilder in admin cmd and still nothing. Please advise.
Hey Ask VG, i have a link to get XP style mine sweeper for windows 7/8!! minesweeper.info/downloads/WinmineXP.html
First off the additional layouts for Minesweeper in Windows 7 (ie. Classics or flower Garden) can be done with out this modified MUI. That’s not a hack or a function of the debug menu.
On windows 7 x64 all file it’s useless….. i have put inside and nothing i can change the from flower garden or classic!!
How i can use this modified file ?
I did all those steps x10 but debug menu still won’t show up, please help
^^ Did you try the steps given in the NOTE section at the end of the tutorial?
It seems that you have to restart your computer after installing the hacked .mui file.
Then, play a game and loose, replay the same game and click on “toggle show mines”.
The mines are displayed; just click all the safe blue tiles. you win but this cannot be how it was meant to happen…I mean you will always lose 50% of the games and win 50% of the games.