Vortex isn't letting me unistall any mods

SirTomatnik · April 18, 2023

I haven't been using Vortex for a long time and I found out I can't unistall any mods, only disable them.
The error I'm getting is attached as a picture.

The error also includes these details:

Error: Failed to parse manifest: "Unexpected token '', ""... is not valid JSON"

at readManifest (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\renderer.js:5290:67)

at C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\renderer.js:5296:90

at tryCatcher (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\util.js:16:23)

at Promise._settlePromiseFromHandler (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\promise.js:547:31)

at Promise._settlePromise (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\promise.js:604:18)

at Promise._settlePromise0 (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\promise.js:649:10)

at Promise._settlePromises (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\promise.js:729:18)

at _drainQueueStep (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\async.js:93:12)

at _drainQueue (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\async.js:86:9)

at Async._drainQueues (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\async.js:102:5)

at Async.drainQueues (C:\Program Files\Black Tree Gaming Ltd\Vortex\resources\app.asar\node_modules\bluebird\js\release\async.js:15:14)

Is there any simple quick fix for my problem? Or this is a much bigger issue than I assume?
Thank you for any advice and please take into account that I barely understand any of this technical stuff.

jaydawg55 · April 19, 2023

Based on the information you have provided so far, I can't tell you if a quick fix is possible or not.

What game were you using Vortex on? Some games require installing additional files (Extensions) in Vortex. Is yours one of them?

Have you ever had success using Vortex to manage mods for this game? If the answer is no, then Vortex may have been installed incorrectly.

Why did you stop using Vortex? Are you using a different mod manager now? If so, is it Mod Organizer 2 or some other mod manager?

Is the version of Vortex you have installed the most up to date STABLE version available? Vortex Beta version should only be used for testing because they are unstable and can have features that do not work properly.

What has changed in how your games are stored or installed on your PC since you last used Vortex? The error message you attached indicates that Vortex cannot find its deployment directory (folder), and/or any file it does find is not in the proper JSON format. This means that the required deployment directory was deleted, or its contents corrupted somehow. If you have changed mod managers, you might have to set up mod files differently than you do for Vortex.

If you can disable mods that means they are most likely still present inside the Vortex Game Mods folder.

From the Mods tab in Vortex, Open the following folders to verify their contents:

1. Mod Staging Folder - I believe this is the folder where the Mods to be deployed are sorted before being pushed to the Data folder inside the Game directory.

2. Game Folder - is where the game's main executable file is located. For Bethesda Games, it is also where the Data folder is located.

3. Game Mods Folder - This should contain the same mod files that you find in the Data folder inside the Game Folder.

A potential quick fix you may want to try is to Purge all mods. Once that is completed, then re-deploy (click 'Deploy Mods') the mods to your game. I am hoping that this will put your mods back in the folders they belong in so that you can do whatever you want with then (Keep or Remove).

Good luck.

Pickysaurus · April 19, 2023

Did you delete or otherwise modify your Vortex_deployment.json file? The issue is that the JSON is invalid which means Vortex may not be able to remove the files correctly.

You can try clicking "deploy mods" to regenerate it.

SirTomatnik · April 19, 2023

Based on the information you have provided so far, I can't tell you if a quick fix is possible or not.

What game were you using Vortex on? Some games require installing additional files (Extensions) in Vortex. Is yours one of them?

Have you ever had success using Vortex to manage mods for this game? If the answer is no, then Vortex may have been installed incorrectly.

Why did you stop using Vortex? Are you using a different mod manager now? If so, is it Mod Organizer 2 or some other mod manager?

Is the version of Vortex you have installed the most up to date STABLE version available? Vortex Beta version should only be used for testing because they are unstable and can have features that do not work properly.

What has changed in how your games are stored or installed on your PC since you last used Vortex? The error message you attached indicates that Vortex cannot find its deployment directory (folder), and/or any file it does find is not in the proper JSON format. This means that the required deployment directory was deleted, or its contents corrupted somehow. If you have changed mod managers, you might have to set up mod files differently than you do for Vortex.

If you can disable mods that means they are most likely still present inside the Vortex Game Mods folder.

From the Mods tab in Vortex, Open the following folders to verify their contents:

1. Mod Staging Folder - I believe this is the folder where the Mods to be deployed are sorted before being pushed to the Data folder inside the Game directory.
2. Game Folder - is where the game's main executable file is located. For Bethesda Games, it is also where the Data folder is located.
3. Game Mods Folder - This should contain the same mod files that you find in the Data folder inside the Game Folder.

A potential quick fix you may want to try is to Purge all mods. Once that is completed, then re-deploy (click 'Deploy Mods') the mods to your game. I am hoping that this will put your mods back in the folders they belong in so that you can do whatever you want with then (Keep or Remove).

Good luck.

The game is Skyrim Special Edition.

Yes, Vortex has worked perfectly in the past with no problems like this.

I stopped using Vortex simply because I stopped gaming regularly for like 2 years and now I'm just trying to get back into it.

I have the most recent version of vortex installed.

My games are still stored in the same exact way as years ago so I don't think this is the cause of the problem.

i will attempt your potential fixes as soon I have the opportunity, thank you

SirTomatnik · April 19, 2023

Did you delete or otherwise modify your Vortex_deployment.json file? The issue is that the JSON is invalid which means Vortex may not be able to remove the files correctly.

You can try clicking "deploy mods" to regenerate it.

I haven't modified or deleted anything vortex related by myself, I only interact with "vortex things" just through vortex itself.

I will try to deploy the mods then, thanks for the advice.

SirTomatnik · April 19, 2023

Did you delete or otherwise modify your Vortex_deployment.json file? The issue is that the JSON is invalid which means Vortex may not be able to remove the files correctly.

You can try clicking "deploy mods" to regenerate it.

Turns out deploying the mods just results in "failed to deploy mods"

SirTomatnik · April 19, 2023

Based on the information you have provided so far, I can't tell you if a quick fix is possible or not.

What game were you using Vortex on? Some games require installing additional files (Extensions) in Vortex. Is yours one of them?

Have you ever had success using Vortex to manage mods for this game? If the answer is no, then Vortex may have been installed incorrectly.

Why did you stop using Vortex? Are you using a different mod manager now? If so, is it Mod Organizer 2 or some other mod manager?

Is the version of Vortex you have installed the most up to date STABLE version available? Vortex Beta version should only be used for testing because they are unstable and can have features that do not work properly.

What has changed in how your games are stored or installed on your PC since you last used Vortex? The error message you attached indicates that Vortex cannot find its deployment directory (folder), and/or any file it does find is not in the proper JSON format. This means that the required deployment directory was deleted, or its contents corrupted somehow. If you have changed mod managers, you might have to set up mod files differently than you do for Vortex.

If you can disable mods that means they are most likely still present inside the Vortex Game Mods folder.

From the Mods tab in Vortex, Open the following folders to verify their contents:

1. Mod Staging Folder - I believe this is the folder where the Mods to be deployed are sorted before being pushed to the Data folder inside the Game directory.
2. Game Folder - is where the game's main executable file is located. For Bethesda Games, it is also where the Data folder is located.
3. Game Mods Folder - This should contain the same mod files that you find in the Data folder inside the Game Folder.

A potential quick fix you may want to try is to Purge all mods. Once that is completed, then re-deploy (click 'Deploy Mods') the mods to your game. I am hoping that this will put your mods back in the folders they belong in so that you can do whatever you want with then (Keep or Remove).

Good luck.

All the folders have their contents. I have also tried deploying the mods as Pickysaurus told me to, which didn't work too. It seems i will have to attempt purging the mods then.

Tannin42 · April 20, 2023

As Pickysaurus explained, the vortex_deployment.json file is defective (the one mentioned in the error message)

You should try to purge (Purge button on the Mods page). If that fails, remove the vortex_deployment.json file and then try to purge again.

After purging, check that the game directory is clean (as in: Vanilla unmodded state plus pontentially some configuration files the skse plugins or tools might have created but not the mods themselves).

Then deploy again, that will create a fresh deployment manifest.

SirTomatnik · April 20, 2023

As Pickysaurus explained, the vortex_deployment.json file is defective (the one mentioned in the error message)
You should try to purge (Purge button on the Mods page). If that fails, remove the vortex_deployment.json file and then try to purge again.
After purging, check that the game directory is clean (as in: Vanilla unmodded state plus pontentially some configuration files the skse plugins or tools might have created but not the mods themselves).

Then deploy again, that will create a fresh deployment manifest.

Purging the mods sadly also doesn't work, but I also can't seem to find the vortex_deployment.json. It just seems to be missing completely. Like it's already deleted or something.

Here's the error message I got after trying to purge the mods:

Failed to parse manifest: "Unexpected token",""... is not valid JSON"

Backup couldn't be read: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'D:\Vortex Mods\skyrimse\vortex.deployment.json'

Also these details if that helps: