CTD just after Play

[ripple]

1) I tried to remove the two Weapons & Armor fixes and Deadly Monsters from the NMM list, bbbuuuuttttt, those three mods do NOT appear on the NMM Mods tab. They DO have checkboxes on the Plugin order list, so I unchecked them. But how do I manage to get them removed entirely?

 

This suggests that those mods were not completely uninstalled, which is odd since you mentioned you used NMM to uninstall them. Were they first installed using NMM, or did you manually install them or (god forbid) installed them using the Steam Workshop subscription?

[CaptainPatch]

Wherever the option was available I used the NMM option; if it wasn't offered, I used the Manual (only) choice.

 

The last time around (about a year ago) I _did_ install some Steam mods -- and had bugger all kinds of problems. A friend then steered me to the Nexus mods forums. So I uninstalled all of the Steam mods, and sifted through what Nexus had to offer.

 

Hmm. Steam might be the problem with the Moonpath to Elsweyr wackiness. Let me check... Nope. (I _had_ been having difficulty finding the Nexus version -- and therefore considered using Steam's) But I see that I'm not Subscribed to Steam's version.

 

Sooooo, why is BOSS complaining about those mods, but I can't find them on the NMM's Mods tab? How do I finish uninstalling them? [imagine Grasshopper groveling before Master.]

 

UPDATE. DeadlyMonsters was piggbacking onto DeadlyDragons, so that one had to go. I _did_ find the Weapons & Armor fixes (not where I expected to find it), so that's gone. Out of 57 mods, after culling problematic mods, 44 remain ... so I guess that isn't _too_ shabby. HOWEVER, I still have 8 "Bash tag suggestions" ... and I really do not understand what that's all about, nor what needs to be done. I glanced at some YouTube videos concerning making Bash patches, but those just made me more confused; it's like several distinctly different subjects, all being labeled "Bash".

 

Even more bewildering: Several mods were problematic because they required the SKSE and/or the SkyUI -- which in turn required SKSE. I downloaded SKSE, but it refused to install because it couldn't find TESVEdit -- which apparently is NOT the same as TES5Edit. Round and round they go, but they all leave me getting nowhere.

 

I _did_ manage to do some Cleaning for the Skyrim master files, plus all of the DLCs. But the more I used it, the more it seemed like Cleaning could easily turned into a Macro file that can Clean the entire game with just the push of a single button:

Open TES5Edit

Right-click, choose "Select None"

Check Skyrim.esm, Update.esm

Click "OK"

Right-click Update.esm

Choose "Apply filter for Cleaning"

... and so on, Cleaning all of the .esm files

 

All it is is a series of loops that starts with the Update.esm file and ends when the last .esm file has been Cleaned. ALL of the decision choices remain identical each time the call is made: You always choose "Apply filter for Cleaning", then "Remove all "Identical to Master" records", then "Undelete and Disable References", over and over again. It's a series or repetitions that really doesn't require a human to supervise every step of the process. Especially since whenever Steam patches the game or any of the DLCs, ALL of the Cleaning needs to be done again... and again.... and again. (Hmm. Maybe that's what TESVEdit does?)

 

Anyway, once again, thank you for bearing with me.

Edited June 4, 2013 by CaptainPatch

[ripple]

You only need to apply filter for cleaning once after loading all your plugins in TES5Edit (it takes a while to scan, depending on how many plugins you have). Then just clean each plugin flagged by BOSS as containing 'dirty edits' (and only those flagged by BOSS, for now).

 

If installed mods are not showing in NMM, or uninstalled mods are still showing in NMM, the only explanation I can think of is that they were not installed via NMM to begin with. NMM will maintain a record of the mods you install via NMM and track their resource files, who overwrites whom, etc., so you can completely uninstall all the resources.

 

At this point, I would actually recommend a complete reinstall of the game and mods. Usually, I only recommend that as a 'last resort', but in this case, a messed up installation of mods can only be fixed by uninstalling/reinstalling them--and since some of them are not being completely uninstalled via NMM, this means you have orphan files (especially the orphan script files) in your installation that may likely cause all sorts of headaches down the road and will be near impossible to track. A fresh install, doing everything 'right' from the 'getgo', will help prevent these issues (and yeah, it does mean you will probably have to start a new game).

Edited June 4, 2013 by ripple

[prod80]

anyone actually pointed out he has mods dependant on SKSE and SkyUI which are both not installed?

 

@OP: when you install large batches of mods - don't be lazy and read the mod pages about requirements... you seem to have gone through Nexus looking at most endorsed and just installed whatever you found interesting without actually going through the whole page about how it should be installed, which dependancies it has, which incompatibilities, and so on.

 

You cannot expect 50+ mods to work together just because they have 1000's of endorsements. Endorsements doesnt mean a mod is stable or well made, just that it's popular and people clicked on it. Skyrim 7k has 1000's of endorsements, yet it will break your games into a million pieces (just an example).

 

Please read through the BOSS log and start with handling all 'This mod requires that mod, which is not installed' messages. Ignore the dirty edits for now until you manage to at least open up Skyrim and play. Go read through all of the pages of the mods you have installed to understand what they do, and what they cannot do.

 

Edit; oh I see now - SKSE wont install. Well - I'd suggest you do manage to install it. It has a lot of good features to keep your games running, and a lot of mods depend on it. Same for SkyUI. I'd suggest you look into installing those.

[CaptainPatch]

... don't be lazy and read the mod pages about requirements... you seem to have gone through Nexus looking at most endorsed and just installed whatever you found interesting without actually going through the whole page about how it should be installed...

 

Edit; oh I see now - SKSE wont install. Well - I'd suggest you do manage to install it. It has a lot of good features to keep your games running, and a lot of mods depend on it. Same for SkyUI. I'd suggest you look into installing those.

[chuckle] Pot. Kettle. Black. Just kidding! I see the wisdom in your advice and will ... _try_ to comply in the future.

 

I am wondering, though: If SKSE refuses to install, how do I _make_ it install? SkyUI won't install unless SKSE is already present. And SKSE won't install unless TESVEdit is present. And TESVEdit can be downloaded from... where, exactly? Searching Mods didn't turn it up. Further, how does TESVEdit differ from TES5Edit? Does one displace the other, or can they peacefully coexist?

[ripple]

I am not....clear, on what sort of issues you have with installing SKSE. It's not a mod, so I assume you are installing it manually, like all utilities (which should be installed manually, not with a mod manager, since they are not 'mods' so much as 'modding tools'). So basically, you just extract the contents from the archive into the Skyrim installation directory. Install it much the same way as you install TES5Edit.

 

TES5Edit is the same as TESVEdit. I guess some people are...Romans.

[CaptainPatch]

Messing with all this is... enlightening, I suppose. I have certainly learned a LOT more about modding than I ever intended to learn. (Being the quintessential consumer. Sort of like a drone bee I guess.)

 

Looking closer at what I have got: Apparently I _did_ successfully download SKSE (v1.6.14). What triggers an error message is the skse_loader.exe application file. The exact error message is "Couldn't find TESV.exe."

 

Just going over the SKSE Readme is rather daunting to a totally UNsavvy user such as myself:

 

1. Copy the .dll and .exe files to your Skyrim directory. This is usually in your Program Files folder under Steam\SteamApps\common\skyrim\. If you see files named TESV and SkyrimLauncher, this is the correct folder. Do not copy these files to the Data folder as with a normal mod. The "src" folder is only useful for programmers, most users can ignore it.2. Copy the .pex files in Data\Scripts\ into the Data\Scripts\ folder of your installation. The .pex files are needed by all users of SKSE. 3. Copy the .psc files in Data\Scripts\Source\ into the Data\Scripts\Source\ folder of your installation. The .psc files are only needed if you have the CreationKit installed and intend to create or compile Papyrus scripts.4. Launch the game via running skse_loader.exe. Steam must be running before launching Skyrim.

Unlike installing any vanilla mod, this looks more like "... and jump through a LOT of hoops, just to make this functional."

Is there any way to filter out any mods that require SKSE from a Mod Search? This is all starting to look and feel like "Nexus Mods: a modder's compilation of additions, made by modders for modders."

[Jeez. I can't even get the spoiler tags to work right! I would think that everything between [s...] and [/s...] would be either Hidden or Shown. But noooo. If there's a paragraph break anywhere within the block -- as is the case for step-by-step instructions, ONLY the first paragraph gets Hidden.]

Edited June 5, 2013 by CaptainPatch

[ripple]

Installation of SKSE shouldn't be so troublesome. You basically just extract the contents into the game directory (the same directory as you TESV.exe) and retain its directory structure. The easiest way to do this is to copy the SKSE archive into your game directory folder, and extract all contents there. Use Windows Explorer to navigate the directories and folders. The error message you received suggests that either 1) the contents have not been extracted into the game directory (you may have extracted them into the game data directory instead), or 2) your Skyrim is not updated to the latest patch (although in that case, SKSE should tell you it needs to be updated).

 

SKSE is an essential 'meta-mod' (if for no other reason than the addition of the 'clearinvalidregistration' function). A lot of mods use SKSE for good reasons.

Edited June 5, 2013 by ripple

[CaptainPatch]

Actually, when I extracted it, I simply let the Wizard use the default path. (I figure the programmers have a MUCH better idea of what goes where than I do.)

 

Since the game gets played on nearly a daily basis, and the setting is for automatic updates from Steam. I can pretty much guarantee I've got the most recent updated version of Skyrim (and Dawnguard, and Hearthfire and Dragonborn).

 

Something of a tangent: One of the things that I really, really hate about Win 7 -- an OS that generally works well for me -- is what M$ did to Windows Explorer. Supposedly, it's supposed to make things easier by bunching things into folders of "logically" related items. But that ONLY works if the user thinks that "logical" uses the same definition that the M$ programmers use. To me, "logical" would be to just order files alphabetically within alphabetically sorted folders, like it was done with the Win XP version of Windows Explorer. It never took me more than a minute or two to locate a given file in XP. Now, in Win 7, I'm looking at 20 minutes _minimum_ to locate practically anything where all I have is the file name.

 

In this specific case, The Win 7 Search feature of the Start menu can't even locate TESV.exe. That means I'll have to do a hide-and-go-seek routine until I _finally_ look into whichever folder it happens to reside.

 

This seems very much like the same argument I've had with every professional IT guy I've encountered. They contend that something is "easy"; they do it all the time! Sure it's easy: once you ALREADY know how. They seem to universally forget what it was like to follow a circuitous path through a menu-driven system. Usually, that first encounter is similar to trying hit the pinata after you've been blindfolded and spun around a dozen times.