JadedJuniper

Huh. I don't know what I did wrong earlier this morning, but it's there now. The target path leads to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users\GenerateFNISforUsers.exe, and a quick manual check confirms it is where it belongs. Maybe I just didn't look in the right location? The Start In path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users. I tested it, and the warnings aren't showing up anymore. I won't know with 100% certainty until I start downloading mods again, but as things stand I have every reason to believe it's functioning properly. Thanks for the assist, guys, all of you. With any luck the lessons learned through this frustrating little process (for all of us) will stick. Enjoy the holidays!

Okay, so I decided to start from a clean slate. I deleted all mods, including following the instructions on each for going in and manually removing the necessary files. For all intents and purposes, there were no traces of any mods on my computer, FNIS included. After triple-checking to ensure there were no signs of mods either in the data folder or Vortex's auto-selected folder, I also uninstalled Vortex and deleted all traces of it. Ditto for NMM. I re-installed Vortex. No settings were changed after installation. I used the "Mod Manager Download" link to have Vortex download FNIS. I used only Vortex's internal processes to install and enable FNIS. Once all that was done, I went into File Explorer to check and see what specifically had been downloaded, and got this: C:\users\username\AppData\Roaming\Vortex\skyrimse\mods\FNIS Behavior SE 7_5_1-3038-7-5-1-1573167075 I also checked the data file of Skyrim SE and can confirm that GenerateFNIS_for_Users.exe is not there. Maybe Vortex shouldn't install mods with the archive file name as part of the path, but it's clearly doing so for me. I have no idea why. Could I manually move the files and folders under FNIS Behavior SE 7_5_1-3038-7-5-1-1573167075 to the mods folder, then delete the then-empty FNIS Behavior SE 7_5_1-3038-7-5-1-1573167075?

I have followed that path. Vortex will not install FNIS to Skyrim SE's data folder. Period. I've uninstalled and reinstalled numerous times. It will not put GenerateFNIS_for_Users.exe in the Skyrim SE data\tools folder. It refuses to do so. In fact, none of my mods go there. Any attempt to change the Skyrim SE's Mod Staging Folder in Vortex to Skyrim SE's data folder (or the mod folder, for that matter) is rewarded with a message declaring that that folder is an invalid location for placing mods because the game "controls it", which I imagine is the UAC issue people keep referring to. I've yet to find any suggestions on how to get past that error other than to place the entirety of Steam, Vortex, and all mods in a completely separate root folder. Which, now that Ithink about it, might not fix anything, as the folder would still be in the same place relative to the games, right? So I don't know if that's the solution, after all...

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." But I must ask: is Vortex not a supported tool? Or does that line refer strictly to NMM and MO, even though the mod's page on Nexus specifies it supports Vortex? Or none of these things? From what I see in the warning, I thought it was referencing one of the mod managers. If it means something else entirely, as someone with zero awareness of the intricate details of modding I would have no way of knowing it. And if I don't know it, you can bet a gazillion others with similar ignorance would make the same mistake. If the warning is referencing one of the three primary mod managers, then an ignorant viewer such as myself will see that warning and think "What the heck? I did use one of the supported tools!" and won't understand why they're getting the warning. Bearing in mind total ignorance once again of how background processes work for Steam or how FNIS communicates with/through it, they're also not likely to understand that "<Skyrim_Data>\Tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users" is specifically referencing where the game is located rather than where Vortex is putting its mods. I myself didn't understand that Vortex wasn't putting mods in the Skyrim SE data folder in the first place until the mods started having issues and I did some research, and then I didn't know that Steam wouldn't let FNIS through Vortex be part of the Skyrim data files. And I still don't understand why Steam rejects FNIS tampering with the data files in the Program Files directory while NMM and MO can do it just fine. Allow me to demonstrate. Now, this question is going to sound stupid to you, but that's my entire point: I honestly do not know the answer. On your FNIS SE Nexus page, you state: But isn't D:\ a different drive from C:\? I thought that's what the different letter meant in the first place. All my life, I've heard them referred to as "C-drive, D-drive, E-drive", and so on. You mean "Root folders", a term I've never heard until I started looking at FNIS, isn't the same thing? This is the entire reason I started this thread in the first place; I thought that "Use root folders like D:\Games" meant I needed a new drive, and thus started looking into ways to get one. This, I feel, is the real problem: people need to have a certain knowledge to run FNIS that most people frankly don't have. As a modder, you likely expect users to have that requisite knowledge. And that's not unreasonable. But it's not going to stop people without that knowledge from trying to use the mod anyway. They will inevitably get confused and start looking for assistance, because they want to be able to use your product regardless of what they should and do not know. I honestly don't think there's anything you can do to stop that from happening. As a Technical Writer, I know from experience that you can make any set of instructions that exist as idiot-proof as possible and someone will come along to still get it wrong. You have my sympathies. ... And yes, I am very aware of which part of that quote at the top is me. I did indeed try to configure the tool. This is how I eventually came to realize the core problem is that the Program Files folders don't support Vortex-based mods; the target .exe did not exist in the designated folder because Vortex can't put the .exe there. At any rate, as soon as I figure out what the difference is between a "root folder" and a "drive" and get the correct one set up to move Steam to, I imagine I'll be set.

I don't understand how that's possible. I know it says that, I did read it. But all I did was click the Mod Manager download link and let Vortex do the rest. I didn't go into the File Manager and toy with any files, I didn't manually move anything. I clicked the download link, Vortex downloaded it. I clicked the install button. I clicked the Enable button after it installed. All sources I've been to have at least one person declare this is exactly what you're supposed to do. But it doesn't work, and I'm trying to figure out why. As I mentioned above, it may be because I need to move the Steam library to a new location. I was hoping for some confirmation from here, a place I'm expecting to be more reliable in its knowledge and awareness, to provide confirmation before I started screwing with things that could potentially break Steam. It's exactly because I'm a noob who would rather mod his game than break it that I came here in the first place. If my inexperience and ignorance offends, then I apologize. I'll avoid making any queries in the future.

I did a little digging, and it appears I didn't have the full information. What I was looking at was for separating individual games. What wasn't mentioned was moving the entire Steam library into a separate location on the C:\ drive. I have since found out how to do that. I'll probably try that next. But before I do, I might as well show the FNIS output. Dunno if it helps, but I feel I should point out that I tried installing the FNIS Sexy Moves mod as a test (I already had SkyUI) and got direct confirmation that FNIS isn't detecting it through an in-game alert. I get the code below regardless of whether I run FNIS from the Vortex tool or from the actual .exe in File Explorer. FNIS Behavior V7.5.1 12/21/2019 4:32:19 PM Generator: C:\Users\jp_co\AppData\Roaming\Vortex\skyrimse\mods\FNIS Behavior SE 7_5_1-3038-7-5-1-1573167075\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users\GenerateFNISforUsers.exe >>Warning: Bad installation. Generator not run from <Skyrim_Data>\Tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users. If you use a mod manager, run FNIS from its list of supported tools.<< Skyrim SE 64bit: ??.??.?? - C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\ (Steam) >>Warning: Expected generator path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\data\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users<< Skeleton(hkx) female: Default (99 bones) male: Default (99 bones) Reading FNISBase V7.5.1 ... All Anim Lists scanned. Generating Behavior Files... Creature Pack not installed 0 animations for 1 mods successfully included (character). 2 Warning(s).

So I finally decided to move my Skyrim SE mods to Vortex. As with so many before me, I ran into the (apparently common) problem where FNIS refuses to recognize that my other mods exist. I've done extensive research into the matter and found many different suggestions, but the only thing I can find that seems like a definitive answer is that you need to install Skyrim SE to a separate drive for FNIS to work. This is strange, as this wasn't a problem at all with NMM or MO. I don't have any separate drives, so I investigated what to do to change that. I have since discovered that I can 'partition' a separate drive out of my C drive. I don't want to go toying with this unless I am absolutely reassured it will work. So my question: If I create a partitioned drive from C and move Skyrim SE and my mods to it, will Steam and FNIS play nice together or will Steam still consider that a "Windows" drive and refuse to let FNIS work? Assuming this is the right course of action, what would be an appropriate partition size? Knowing Skyrim SE is 12 Gb by itself, I was thinking 20 Gb would be more than enough for my purposes, but there may be background elements I'm not aware of.