How to safely switch to Nexus from Bethesda site?

[EleonDragon]

I'm new to modding. Only started the last week. I've been using the skyrim in-game system to now, but recently found out about Nexus and want to make the switch.

 

Is there any way to safely do this?

 

I only have 8 mods so far, and there are some that I wish to replace with ones I've found on Nexus. Two of the 8 will remain. Would I remove them from the in game version and re-download them on Nexus?

 

I do have a recent save that only has one mod that I will continue to use (the Unofficial Patch).

 

Any help is appreciated.

[belenbelen]

Generally mods would be the same on both sites, so you don't need to re-install them BUT; you should always check mods' description, FAQ and versions before doing anything.

 

PS: If you value your save file/ character / playthrough, try not to change the load order untill you are done with it. Some mod authors might not state this in readmes but certain mods might corrupt the save game file with their leftovers from an uninstall.

[nightscrawl]

I do have a recent save that only has one mod that I will continue to use (the Unofficial Patch).

 

I'm a bit confused on this point. So this save has ONLY the Unofficial Patch loaded as a mod? You haven't enabled or disabled any other mods on this save? If that's the case, then this whole process is going to be simple.

 

I'll give an example of what I would do, and you can decide whether to follow. The first thing to do is to ensure that all of the mods you use have Nexus versions. There are some mods that are only on Bethesda.

 

So let's say you've done that and discovered that you can duplicate all your mods. After that, just uninstall all of the mods, including the Unofficial Patch. DO NOT load the game again until you have installed the Nexus version of the Unofficial Patch. You will bork your save if you load it without the patch.

 

Since the Unofficial Patch is your lone mod on that save, you should download that first. After that, just go through the Nexus and get whatever other mods you've been looking at, download, install, set load order, and have fun.

 

 

I'd actually advise going for a fresh save altogether. I also highly recommend using Alternate Start - Live Another Life. Along with different start options, you can still use the default prisoner start if you wish. The benefit to using Alternate Start is that you can create your character immediately on loading into the game, so you don't have to go through all the beginning mess before creating your character. That reason alone is worth using the mod.

Edited October 2, 2017 by nightscrawl