Transferring my Fo4 and Skyrim SE mods/game state to a new computer

[DimitriDark]

Hi Nexus Community,

 

My rig has reached the end of its days and I've assembled a new PC. I have a very cleanly modded Fo4 and Skyrim SE game that I would like to transfer over to my new PC. However, it's not as simple a matter as redownloading my modlist in Nexus; I've made many changes to the individual mods using xEdit in order to improve compatibility, functionality, etc.

 

The question I'm hoping somebody may be able to answer is: How do I transfer my existing load order to a new PC while preserving the edits I have made to those individual mods? It would take me days to identify and recreate all of the individual edits I have made over time and I'd really like to dispense with all that, if possible.

 

Is it as simple a matter as following the normal back-up protocol normally used for modding (i.e. copy your Data Folder, your Ini, Install Info, Plugins) as well as copy/pasting the Nexus Mod Manager/Fallout 4/ folder, then opening Nexus and doing...something? Or is it a bit more involved than that/outright impossible?

 

Any guidance on this would be very much appreciated.

 

D. Dark

[HeyYou]

What I usually did was install the game on the new machine, then copy the entire game folder from the old machine, to the new machine. Worked perfect for me, as I installed the mods manually. I know there is a way to migrate NMM installs to a new machine, but, I don't know what the exact procedure is, I *think* I remember seeing a thread about it in the NMM support forums.......

[DimitriDark]

Thanks, HeyYou. You're a legend. I was thinking I may have to do the same thing. I have one some digging through the forums and found this post but was uncertain if this was the best protocol for populating the NMM list while ensuring that the mods themselves weren't 'fresh' installs but rather duplicates of the edited mods that I was using. I wonder if others will weigh in on this topic.

[HeyYou]

Thanks, HeyYou. You're a legend. I was thinking I may have to do the same thing. I have one some digging through the forums and found this post but was uncertain if this was the best protocol for populating the NMM list while ensuring that the mods themselves weren't 'fresh' installs but rather duplicates of the edited mods that I was using. I wonder if others will weigh in on this topic.

I tend to keep backups of esp files I have edited to my tastes...... Then, if I ever need to actually reinstall, I simply copy the entire folder of esp files to my data folder, and it's all good. :D

[M48A5]

My experience was not with a new machine, but with a new hard drive. I did the same thing as HeyYou, installed the game (in "Safe Mode") and then ran it once from the launcher so that it created a new .ini file and recognized my GPU. I then copied my game files, mod files and .ini files from the old drive to the new one.

 

Before I started the move, I printed a copy of my load list and made sure the move put everything in the same order.

[DimitriDark]

Hmm, I'm thinking I would be able to do the same except that my existing Fo4 is installed on a HDD (E: drive) while on my new pc everything will be on a single SSD (i.e .C: drive). If I copy paste things, I'm most likely going to have navigation issues with my mods where they try to reference textures, meshes and other files that are in the exact same location except for the name of the drive, aren't I?

Edited February 27, 2019 by DimitriDark

[M48A5]

Hmm, I'm thinking I would be able to do the same except that my existing Fo4 is installed on a HDD (E: drive) while on my new pc everything on the SSD (i.e .C: drive). If I copy paste things, I'm most likely going to have navigation issues with my mods where they try to reference textures, meshes and other files that are in the exact same location except for the name of the drive, aren't I?

 

I can't answer that for you, since I don't know where your games are installed now.

 

When I added the hard drive, I setup a dual boot system. Copying all the files from the existing installation (C:\Bethesda Softworks) to the new drive (H) did not require any changes in any paths. When I boot to the new drive, it is designated as "C", so any paths remain the same.

[jones177]

This is what you do

 

Copy the entire Skyrim SE folder to a portable drive(pressurves ENB).

Copy the Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition folder to portable drive(saves/inis).

Copy the AppData\Local\Skyrim Special Edition folder to a portable drive(this is your load list).

Copy the Games\Nexus Mod Manager\SkyrimSE folder to a portable drive(NMM info).

 

Install game with Steam on new computer. Install NMM.

Copy all the above files to the new computer.

[maddogfargo]

What I usually did was install the game on the new machine, then copy the entire game folder from the old machine, to the new machine. Worked perfect for me, as I installed the mods manually. I know there is a way to migrate NMM installs to a new machine, but, I don't know what the exact procedure is, I *think* I remember seeing a thread about it in the NMM support forums.......

 

I usually do what Hey You recommended for the game executable and DATA folder where all your mods are located. This will also grab your ReShade install and presets/config as well.

 

For a more complete transfer, you also need the LISTS folder and SAVES folder. This will preserve your mod load order, ini files and game saves.

 

Jones 177 details it nicely above...

Edited March 22, 2019 by maddogfargo