2 genuine copy of Skyrim on 1 computer

[ohmlet]

Hi there. I have a problem running second account of Skyrim (+NMM) in the same computer.

I have 2 original copy of game but on the second account NMM just won't start (IO error - no permission to write C:\Games\Nexus Mod Manager\Skyrim\Mods\cache\).

Chosen mods for both accounts are different. On one account - no problem. The second account only bare bone Skyrim works without NMM.

Is there any solution for that?

In short:

1 computer, 2 copy of game, 2 different accounts on Nexus, 2 different accounts on Steam.

 

I will be grateful for any suggestions?

[rarborman]

thinking...

 

Ok attampt to be helpful to the max 2.

 

Do you have 2 copies of nmm, and steam linked properly to the two separate versions of skyrim?

 

You'll probably get permision to write errors if it cannot write to where you have the cashe, try either running it as administor, or moving and redirecting the files location to somewhere it has permision to write.

 

Also this so totally should probably be elsewhere besides the mod troubleshoot section, like maybe where NMM queries go if thats your problem, and not certain mods not working or causing crashes.

 

Also stuff I dont know can you even start the games and get saves worked out separately for the accounts, is it like different user partitions on the computer as well?

Edited October 28, 2012 by rarborman

[bben46]

The file structure of Bethsoft games uses the Windows Registry to track the location of various parts of the game - such as the ini files, saves and other stuff. When the game is installed, it doesn't matter where on the computer., it will still use the same Registry settings. So when you install the second copy, it overwrites the original registry settings with the new ones. :rolleyes:

 

I have seen 3 possible ways to get around this.

1. run the second copy in a virtual windows - essentially a second copy of windows. Meaning you will need to pay for that second copy - this can be done with Win7 and a virtual copy of WIN XP.

 

2. Have 2 hard disks with a separate copy of Windows and the game on each. I did this for a while with Oblivion. You need to change which disk you boot from.

 

There is a third way, and it only needs one copy of the game to run multiple separate copies of the game on a single computer with just one hard drive - as many as you want. :thumbsup: I did this with Oblivion also , and uploaded the instructions as Dual Oblivion. I haven't tried it with a Steam game yet though. The trick is to swap any parts - such as ini files, save games. data folders and anything else needed between the various games as needed. That way you can have separate ini files, separate mods (data folder) separate save games

 

There were several mods that used the same technique and did this for Oblivion, Nehrim & the non steam Fallout3. The mods were never redone for anything else - I don't know if they will work with the steam versions or not - although I think they might with a few changes.

 

Here is a link to my old Dual Oblivion to give you an idea of what it involves. http://wiki.tesnexus...p/Dual_Oblivion

 

 

And here is a link to one of the mods that superseded mine. http://oblivion.nexu....com/mods/35263

 

Here is another that claims it works with the steam version of Oblivion. http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/41271

[ohmlet]

Thanks guys!

 

rarborman:

Yes there are problems accessing different set of mods to each of accounts. Admin - mo problem. User - depends of "windows good will". Usually there is a mess.

 

bben46:

Thanks for suggestion. Windows doesn't work correctly on 2 different copy/setups of this same program for various users. Linux does it perfectly. Problem with Linux - it distinguishes difference between upper and lower case in file names. I'm too lazy to modify internally all sets of mods installed for both accounts... btw it's over 10GB.

But your suggestion to run 2 windows on start gave me something to think about. Thank you.

[rarborman]

I know all to well the annoyance of restartin NMM for the 15th time because its not administratior activated, or in sandbox mode due to antivirus, hope you get it sorted, this is the tant amount of my advice to give.for your situation.

[Ez0n3]

With Beth games, I generally opt for the single install with multiple Data folders. The way I get around the issue bben46 mentioned (separate load order and save files) is to re-map them into the Data folder using MKLINK and Directory Junction Points. That way, it will use the save files and load order that is embedded in whichever folder is named "Data".

 

Rename the "standard locations" from:

Load Order: C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame\

Save Files: C:\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame\

To:

C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame_BAK\

C:\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame_BAK\

 

Make a new folder structure in the Data folder(s) like:

PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame\

PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame\

 

Copy the files from:

C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame_BAK\

C:\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame_BAK\

To:

PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame\

PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame\

 

Make two junction points using the command prompt from the standard folders to the newly created substitutes in a "default" BethGame Data folder:

 

MKLINK /J "C:\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame" "PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\AppData\Local\BethGame"

MKLINK /J "C:\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame" "PathToBethGame\BethGame\Data\Users\UserAccountName\Documents\My Games\BethGame"

 

Replacing "UserAccountName" with your user account, "PathToBethGame" with the actual path to your installation and "BethGame" with the actual BethSoft game name.

 

With that done, renaming Data folders automatically switches plugins, saves and load orders. Any changes from then on will be independent from the rest.

 

To add a new "profile", I copy a vanilla Data folder ("Data_VAN") to "Data_SomethingElse" and off I go. Just be sure to sync Data folders after any patches. I generally use something like:

Data_DEV (development mode - dev mods)

Data_PLAY (play mode - many mods)

Data_VAN (vanilla mode - no mods)

Edited October 29, 2012 by Ez0n3