Change the location of game files, saves, and mods

[Jeanbonobo]

Hello,

 

Sorry in advance, I'm new to the world of modding. I just bought a ssd, i would like to transfer all the files of Fallout 4, the saves and NMM from my actual hard drive to this new ssd. I'm afraid of corrupting my saves by moving mods ... etc So can you tell me how to do that, it would really help me

 

Thanks

Edited August 12, 2018 by Jeanbonobo

[Crosstieger]

I used to move my entire installation between two pcs back and forward all the time. I'm not giving you any guarantee that this will work for you but this is how I have done it multiple times.

 

First: There is no need to move the save files. They are store within the documents folder of your user profile (C:/user/<your user>/documents). It is possible to move the entire documents folder over to the ssd but not really worth it since the save files are not that big in size. Second: You will need to reinstall the game and nmm in order to correctly update all the paths but don't worry this will be rather simple and painless.

 

So here we go:

 

You do this at your own risk!

 

1. Backup everything
   And by "everything" I mean the following directories:
   - The entire FO4 game directory "\steamapps\common\Fallout 4"
   - The appdata folder "C:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Local\Fallout4" (This is where you would find the load order file for example)
   - The "Install Info" and "Mods" folder of NMM (If you don't know where those folder are located click on the little arrow left of the gear wheel icon in NMM and click on "open NMMs mods folder")
   
2. Make sure you backed up everything!
   
3. Backup done?
   
4. Now uninstall Fallout 4 through Steam and uninstall NMM. Sound crazy right?
   - Make sure that all files are deleted since Steam for example won't delete the files installed by a mod
   
5. Download Fallout 4 again but this time select the ssd as your Steam library
   - Once downloaded start the game at least once. You can quit as soon as you are in the menu
   
6. Reinstall NMM and select the ssd as the new location
   - Quit NNM for the next step!!
   
7. Now you need to copy the files from your backup to the new destination and override anything if asked
   - So the entire FO4 folder into the new Steam library
   - The entire content of the appdata folder. This folder will always keep its location and shouldn’t be changed.
   - The “Install Info” and “Mods” folder
   
8. Now start NMM again and you should see all your mods as they used to be. Check the plugins tab to make sure all the esp’s are active
   
9. Start the game and enjoy.

 

Again, you do this at your own risk!

[Jeanbonobo]

It worked ! Thanks for your help !

[Crosstieger]

You're welcome.