Unable to use LOOT ... any other options?

[Flemming]

So recently decided to start a new modded game of F:NV and for some reason, LOOT refuses to open for reasons, and after spending an entire evening with a friend trying to find the cause, I've thrown my hands up and come here to see if there are any other options for load order programs.

 

Or, am I going to be stuck trying to finagle my load order manually? Thank you in advance for any help offered.

[dubiousintent]

I would strongly suggest you focus on correcting the problem getting LOOT to run. The only real alternative is to learn about "master and dependent" mod relationships and do so manually. (If you do choose this option, start with the wiki "Missing Masters" and "Merged Plugin Guidelines for Personal Use" articles for background.)

 

The usual reasons for such problems with a program are that you are trying to run a "command line" program from within Windows instead of from the "Command Prompt" (which is not the case with LOOT), or you are trying to run it where it does not have sufficient privileges. LOOT does not have to be installed to the same folder tree where the game is located. It just has to be pointed to where the game files reside. Meaning: install it somewhere other than under the "C:\Program Files(x86)" folder tree.

 

* Regarding "privileges": Did you install Steam to it's default location? If so, please see the wiki "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article for why the original default Steam behavior of installing games to the "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files(x86)" folder tree was bad (they learned better, and don't do that any more); and why "disabling UAC and running as Administrator" is NOT sufficient, with instructions how to move it. This is the single most important thing you can do to fix and protect yourself against problems in the future. As much of a PITA as that is, it's never going to be any easier than now. System updates often cause issues with games installed to these folder trees. With the game moved out of the default location you will not need to be running it as an "Administrator Account", which is safer. Please see the 'Restoring to "Vanilla"' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article as well.

Disabling "User Account Control" (UAC) only stops Windows from prompting you to grant "administrative" credentials to an application that the system says must have a "UAC elevation". Disabling UAC does not automatically then enable the permission for such applications. Instead, (for all intents and purposes) it automatically denies them. (Please read this MS article on how it works in Win10. The basics have been there since the inception of UAC with Vista.)

If you did move Steam out of the default location, then likely any access privilege problem is one of "File and Folder permissions" on the parent "root" folder under which you installed the games. If this is not set correctly to allow at least "System", "Administrators", and "Users" to have "Full Control" then you can't overwrite other files or make changes. You then (while logged in as an "Administrator Account") need to enable the "Properties | Security | Advanced | Change Permissions" setting of the parent folder to enable the box: "Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object", so those changes get applied to the existing files and sub-folders.

This will affect LOOT because the "Data" folder and the files in there it is sorting will be "protected" against changes such as their time stamps, even though you want to.

 

* If you are trying to run LOOT from within a mod manager, then most likely you have not configured it correctly for that manager. It depends upon which manager you are using. Check it's documentation or support page regarding "third party" or "additional" programs.

 

-Dubious-

[Flemming]

For the record, the problem I'm having with LOOT is a missing DLL, that should be there because as far as I can tell it comes with the MSVC 2017 x86 redistributable that LOOT requires. I've already been through multiple uninstall and reinstalls of everything, so, yea, I don't know. This problem is beyond me.

[dubiousintent]

Which DLL in particular? Check the Windows Eventlog under the "System" and "Apps" tabs for an entry about it.

 

-Dubious-

[Flemming]

The missing DLL is MSVCP140.dll. It comes up as an error message whenever I try to open LOOT.

[M48A5]

See this: Missing MSVCP140.dll https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_programs/missing-msvcp140dll/285e7f92-55c7-4ebb-ab8c-0519c930f4f3

[Flemming]

Now when I attempt to open LOOT, an error message is popping up saying api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing.

 

GAH.

 

Ahem. Searches are just suggesting installing the 2015 version of Visual C++, which is already installed.

[FiftyTifty]

Why would you want to run LOOT in the first place? It's only feature that isn't piss-awful is the Skyrim BSA redating.

[dubiousintent]

When you have "missing" system files after they have been installed, you have to consider whether or not you are having disk problems or have been running programs such as "registry cleaners" which may be breaking things. It never hurts to run "chkdsk" and "system file checker (SFC)". Opinions on the usefulness of LOOT aside, you have a file problem you should resolve.

 

MSCVC Libraries are "layered", rather than "cumulative". Different programs require different versions, so it is common for an older system to have multiple versions installed. Any single error may mask other errors that will not appear until the masking one has been resolved. Re-installing versions in release order is the safest way to recover. Sometimes it is necessary to perform a complete re-install or "recovery" of Windows and run system updates in order to be sure you have all files. It depends upon how messed up your system seems to be.

 

-Dubious-