How can I find missing .bsa or loose files?

[Tomska111]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I decided to remove mods that I am was no longer using, however when I tried to open the game it CTD while loading my save game. As I am using MO I checked which ESP's were missing and reinstalled all of them. This did not fix the issue. So, unless I am mistaken, the game must be crashing because of missing BSA or loose files, right? Is there anyway to find which of these files the game save requires, like how MO can tell me which ESP's are missing? Obviously I cannot remember which mods I removed, and I also deleted the installers so I can't go through that to help me.

If I am wrong then please do correct me. BTW, using a new save does work just fine, but being 70+ hours into the campaign I'd rather not start fresh.

 

Thanks

Edited September 13, 2015 by Tomska111

[Tomska111]

Bump

[Jannifer]

You've just encountered the main problem with removing mods in mid-playthrough. One of the main reasons for using MO is that it doesn't write information to your Skyrim\Data folder. So, you haven't accidentally deleted anything that shouldn't be deleted. Even if you had, verifying the game cache through Steam should set things right.

 

You now have two options. You can reinstall the mods you just uninstalled, or you can start a new game. I know this is not a wonderful choice, but Skyrim stores a lot of surprising information in your game save. When you remove mods in the middle of a playthrough, the save still expects to find information which is no longer there. This inability to find stuff is one reason game saves wind up corrupted and unplayable. There are other reasons, some of which are mysterious, but uninstalling mods is a big culprit.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Jannifer

[Tomska111]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know that removal is a bad idea, I only thought the issue was with missing .esp files, not bsa or loose files. When I went through them I thought that none of the mods that I removed would be game breaking if deactivated. Clearly, I was wrong.

I also deleted the original installers, so I have no way of finding which mod(s) I am missing by looking through the installers. That is why I asked if there is a way to find missing files using a gamesave scanner of some sort. I know MO can detect missing esp files, but it cannot detect missing loose or bsa files.

So, is there any way to find what loose or bsa files are missing? Or is it just a lost cause? :/

Edited September 14, 2015 by Tomska111

[SolidZeroX]

bump

[Grospolina]

As you haven't provided any information, I can only speak to the original poster's situation.

 

For one thing, removing mods in the middle of a game is a bad idea and can cause problems like crashing. Some mods have an uninstall procedure to prevent this. Still, it's best not to remove mods until you start a new game, unless they're just texture/mesh mods without an ESP. As a last resort, you can try to clean your save using FallrimTools. Be aware that if you delete the wrong data, you can lose mod settings or screw up your game further. Always keep some old saves.

 

For another thing, Mod Organizer lets you disable mods, which effectively makes them invisible to the game. Deleting them outright without any testing is just dumb, especially if you've already deleted the original install archives.

 

Mod Organizer keeps each mod separate and contained, so it doesn't really make sense that BSAs or loose files were deleted apart from the ESP. Just re-reinstall the mod if there's a problem. BSAs have to be named the same as the ESP.

 

Also, all of the original vanilla resources are contained within the vanilla BSAs, so the likelihood of deleting vanilla stuff by accident is nearly impossible. If you've truly messed with them or deleted them, then just go into Steam and "Verify integrity of game files".

 

If you've installed mods manually or with NMM/Vortex and are just using MO to launch Skyrim, then you're not using MO properly. All mods should be installed using MO.

 

As for the last question, MO has a Saves tab on the right side. You can go to your save and find out what ESM/ESPs were enabled. Wrye Bash can also do this.