Saving my fallout files. All of it.

[KiloDel]

Since nexus is no longer supported I can't re-download my old mods if I remove them. And some of my old mods are no longer even on the website so not even vortex could do it. My plan is to transfer the entire fallout 4 game+already installed mods to an external hard drive for safe keeping so I can free up space for other games. The problem is I don't know where all the files are or how to do it without breaking everything. I want to be able to later drop all the files back into my computer so it can work again without re-downloading everything.

Edited January 18, 2020 by KiloDel

[kjenik]

In the future, i would recommend that you download all mods manually. That way, you have a backup of mods before installation.

 

I use Vortex, and just drag and drop the mod files into vortex, and it works great. I also try to copy/paste text and information about the mods into a readme file, so i have instructions for installation etc if the mod disappers from Nexus.

[StormWolf01]

Hiya Kilo. This is actually a really good idea, especially if Bethesda drops any more bombs on us like they did back in November where they changed more than just the .exe file and some of us didn't want the update.

 

OPTIONAL - The fallout 4 folder itself, is pretty large. I myself don't trust Windows Copy and Paste to handle that much load. I use a program called FastCopy https://fastcopy.jp/en/ which is a really easy to use MANUAL (it doesn't have a scheduler, so you have to start it only when you want it) backup utility that is quick, and easy on system resources. It also frees up your copy and paste clipboard, in case you need it for other things.

 

The game files themselves that you are going to want to back up, are as follows -

C:\Fallout 4  (This will vary depending on where you have your game installed.)
C:\Users\yourusernamehere\Documents\My Games\Fallout4  (yourusername is whatever name you use to log into the computer)
"C:\Users\Yourusernamehere\AppData\Local\Fallout4\

(Edit- I forgot my other code tag there, hahaha)

 

Now, you will also want to backup your manager folders as well. I don't use any, so I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I Can't help you out there. But you want to make sure that you get all of them. Since you mentioned vortex, I'd recommend just doing a windows search for vortex to bring up any results for folders in your computer.

 

I also agree with manually downloading and storing the mod files.

1) In case you ever have to reinstall vortex or whatever you use.

2) In case your main drive goes out, or becomes unusable.

3) It makes it tons easier to reinstall the mods if needed.

4) You can download them, then install them later if you want to.

5) Vortex is having some connection issues for some people.

 

What I do, is I have a specific folder on my extenal drive called Game Files. But you can call it whatever you want. Then inside that, I've got a Folder for Fallout 4, and then a subfolder called Mods.

Inside mods, I've got them categorized. Such as Weapons, Armors, Settlements, etc etc.

 

When I download a mod, I download the pics, so that I can see what it is, at a glance. Then I copy the URL for the mod page. I open the folder I put the pics in, then create a new text document that I paste the URL for the page into. This is so that I can find the page again, very easily if I need to.

Then I copy and paste the mod description into the doc. This way, I have any instructions the modder may have left, or the location of where an item might be.

Then of course, I download the mod.

 

Hope this helps some, and sorry about not knowing the Vortex file structure.

-Storm

Edited January 18, 2020 by StormWolf01

[jones177]

I have fallout 4 safely stored on an external HDD along with my heavily modded Oblivion, Skyrim and Skyrim SE.

 

I either used NMM or manually added mods.

 

Create a folder on your external HDD called fallout4. In that folder create 2 more folders called Saves and AppD.

 

Copy the Fallout 4 folder from C:\Steam\steamapps\common to your external HDD in the folder "fallout4".

 

Copy the save game folder from C:\Users\**user name**\Documents\My Games(file called fallou4) to your external HDD and put it in the folder "Saves". This folder also has your ini files so make sure you copy the fallout4 folder and not just the saves folder.

 

Copy the appdata files from C:\Users\**user name**\AppData\Local(file called Fallout4) to the AppD folder you created on your external HDD. This is your mod list/load order. You can not recreate your game without it.

 

If you want to save NMM files as well copy the C:\Games\Nexus Mod Manager fallout 4 folder the your external HDD.

 

When you want to play your modded game again, install with Steam then copy over all the files.

 

I stopped modding Oblivion in 2011 and Skyrim in 2016 but it is nice to reinstall them for a nostalgia visit.

The strange thing is that when I stopped playing them they CTD all the time but with modern hardware they do not CTD at all.

[StormWolf01]

 

When you want to play your modded game again, install with Steam then copy over all the files.

 

This won't always work. It's better to remove the new files and then drop in the old ones.

 

Also, as long as you know ur backup files are ok, you can delete out the game files and just leave the folders there, if ur clearing space.

As long as Windows has the registry information, (IE- you didn't UNinstall the game) for when the game was installed, it will still run again when u put the files back in.

Windows doesn't care if the files are original or copies, it just wants everything to be where it expects them to be.