(PLS)How do I transfer my saves and my mod with vortex for backup because I'm reinstalling windows

[dederara]

How can I transfer all my data and save to a new pc or the same pc with new windows

 

 

You see I backup my save file in my game(document) and my mods are in drive d which is hard external and is not related to pc, so if i reinstall my windows steam will be deleted as well as skyrim itself

 

 

I'm making backup of every file I see, but please I really need a long explanation with details.......I really don't want to mess my play-through. How exactly do I transfer my new file with my saves to a new pc?*(No new game im talking about my cureent saves)

 

Thanks.. and pls help

 

 

sorry for my english

[VulcanTourist]

You don't specify how you are managing those mods. How you do so will determine the best way to back things up for use after you've reinstalled Windows and the game, etc.

 

Thanks to the Windows Registry and other unavoidable evils, there is no practical way to back up software that is actually INSTALLED into Windows. That is not true for "portable" software, which is fully independent and can be uninstalled and reinstalled simply by deleting and restoring their directories, but portable software for Windows remains a rarity, especially from big publishers. The problem with this: you can't back up software information locked away in the Registry (at least not trivially), and even when software uses independent configuration files they truly are "independent", scattered willy-nilly all over the freaking place depending upon the psychotic whims of the developer. Even aside from the horror of the Registry, trying to find and back up the state data of all installed software is a PITA.

 

So... you will be forced to reinstall and reconfigure Steam and whatever mod manager you are using, at the least. You could probably manage to avoid having to re-download all your Steam games, and there are several ways to do that: (1) use Steam itself to create a Library on the external drive and move everything to it, (2) move the entire SteamApps directory elsewhere yourself and then create an NTFS junction or symbolic link, where SteamApps used to be, to "point" to the new location. In either instance there would be a bit of extra work after you reinstall Steam to make it aware of the alternate location, either defining the Library location in Settings or deleting the default SteamApps directory and recreating the junction/symlink.

 

With respect to mods, I can't help you at all without knowing how you manage them. If you're not using Vortex, I probably still can't help much, as that is my current familiarity. Mods managed by Vortex can be backed-up fairly easily by saving certain Vortex sub-directories. The Vortex\downloads directory contains every mod you've ever downloaded (and not explicitly removed), and the Vortex\<gamename>\mods directories contain all the currently installed mods. It would probably be better to save the entire <gamename> directories, though, as those also contain other metadata you probably want to keep.

 

Reinstalling Windows is not at all a painless task, and the more software you have the more painful it gets. I have hundreds of applications installed! I've been carrying forward and upgrading the same install of Windows, for this reason, since the days of Windows XP. I'd sooner slit my wrists than have to reinstall AND reconfigure all of it!

Edited September 6, 2020 by VulcanTourist

[dederara]

Is it possible to transfer steam to my drive d....Because my games and ,my vortex are installed in drive d, but steam primary files are in drive c and my drive c seems to get corrupted, so I'm not sure what should i do to not lose steam in future

[VulcanTourist]

Is it possible to transfer steam to my drive d....Because my games and ,my vortex are installed in drive d, but steam primary files are in drive c and my drive c seems to get corrupted, so I'm not sure what should i do to not lose steam in future

You might want to grab yourself a licensed copy of Hard Disk Sentinel. It can help identify existing storage issues and predict future ones... if you're not ignoring its warnings for over a year like my wife did!

 

I'm not going to tell you that it's safe to simply move the entire Steam structure to another disk and try running it directly from there. I could probably make it happen on my own machine if tinkering was required, but it would be dangerous for you to try it. It would be far safer to back up the SteamApps subdirectory, reinstall Steam to the external drive, and then restore the SteamApps directory from the backup (and overwrite). That might or might not preserve Steam's awareness of what games are installed, but you could then use the Verify Files feature to force it to assess what is actually there (and re-download anything that is missing). Of course for any games you're modding you'll have to be careful that the file verification doesn't wipe out any vanilla files that you have modded or altered.

 

Be aware that the external drive may be slower than an internal SATA platter drive, depending on interface, and is definitely slower than any SSD. Hard Disk Sentinel might help you assess whether it's time to replace your boot drive before it's too late.

[crmcdonaljr]

When I reinstalled Windows 10, I didn't lose anything program wise. Drivers were a different issue, I had to reload the printer and my video card optimizer. Windows kept all my files and programs. Everything worked when I was thru. If you want the belt and suspenders, try Idrive or some other cloud service provider with Vulcan's advice. Windows has pretty good at this. Used to be you had to format the hard drive and then reload everything.

[VulcanTourist]

When I reinstalled Windows 10, I didn't lose anything program wise. Drivers were a different issue, I had to reload the printer and my video card optimizer. Windows kept all my files and programs. Everything worked when I was thru. If you want the belt and suspenders, try Idrive or some other cloud service provider with Vulcan's advice. Windows has pretty good at this. Used to be you had to format the hard drive and then reload everything.

I got the impression that he was faced with more than a simple overwrite reinstallation; he mentions a new pc and a corrupt boot drive specifically. The process becomes more difficult if it's not, especially for someone who is not well-versed in Windows, filesystems, and mass storage hardware. I've carried forward the same Windows install since Windows XP (or NT?) across half a dozen systems and close to 20 years, so it can be done, but I have more technical background than the average player. He also mentions in another post that modding Skyrim has proven too difficult and frustrating for him, so I tried to prepare him for the worst and see how he responded.

Edited September 10, 2020 by VulcanTourist

[crmcdonaljr]

 

 

"I got the impression that he was faced with more than a simple overwrite reinstallation; he mentions a new pc and a corrupt boot drive specifically. "

 

You're right if he has to install a new hard drive or he get's a new PC. I had to reinstall Windows because of corruption. At the time I was unsure if the hard drive was going out; it wasn't because the new install fixed everything. That was 2 years ago.

 

Not trying to snipe your advice, that's why I referenced it if he wanted to do more than my post. From his post, I can't tell what the fundamental problem is. Corruption, hardware, desire for new computer, or a combination? For me a new installation fixed the corruption. I'm cheap and like to keep my computer for as long as I can. A new Windows installation is pretty much plug and play.

 

 

[worm82075]

Save game files are completely operation system independent and no obstacle exists in simply coping them to a safe storage and restoring them after the re-installation of the OS and game are complete. if you are trying to save your vortex install my advice is don't. start from scratch and use your download history to rebuild it. If you want to avoid the downloads then copy the mod folder from the hidden file folder user/app data/roaming/vortex/skyrim se/downloads and then restore it after vortex is installed.