Hi there - I got the Virtual Families game from shockwave and I just re-downloaded it so that I could have the latest version (1.00.05) but it doesn't recognize that I have already started 5 families with the previous version (1.00.01)? I have all the .ldw files but for some reason the new version thinks that no games have been played.
I did make a backup of the previous game directory before doing the upgrade - so I still have the older version (and when I run the .exe in that directory it sees my saved games).
Any advice on how I can get the new version to see my old game files?

The changes and bug fixes in all of our game updates (1.00.01 through 1.00.05) were carefully done in such a way as to make sure that the savegames from previous versions would continue to load in the new version. However, Shockwave (and all other game sites) repackage our games before selling them, and they may have made changes that prevent successful loading of earlier savegames. We have seen reports that at least one other game site's version of Virtual Families won't load savegames from a previous version.

hi, this post actually applies to my latest game question, i downloaded the game from the site yesterday to upgrade my version but I have'nt installed it yet. If I understand your answer correctly then i should not lose my current families when I install the updated version but it would be a good idea to back them up previous to install ...just in case?

Provided you originally downloaded the earlier version from LDW and not another site all you need to do is install the latest version over the top. Your savegame files will not be affected. However, it won't do any harm to back them up first just in case something goes wrong during the install.

I got mine thru HO games newsletter and it gave me a new link will it keep my saved games?

We can't say for sure whether your savegames would work or not, since we don't control the way other game sites handle their updates. You might try backing everything up before updating, just in case.