manually installing mods?

[pulsehakurei]

okay there are two kinds of mods that im aware of. ones that use NMM and ones that must be installed manually.

i can do the NMM mods just fine but all the good mods are manual installs

can someone give me detailed steps how to install?

or more specifically how to install "children of the sky r2" i have no idea what im doing to be honest and would love some experienced help

thank you much!

[Jeir]

Installing manually is actually extremely simple. All you need to know is the location of your Skyrim folder, and how to copy&paste/extract files from archives such as .zip or .7z.

 

Yeah, it is quite wordy, but I wanted to make sure I got everything in...plus when you actually do it, it is simple. =D

 

General instructions for all mods:

- For .zip files:

1. Open the archive. Most modders will have the first 'layer' of the archive contain the meshes/textures/etc. folders, along with any .esp files and readmes. Example Image. If you have a data folder in there instead of something like this example, then doubleclick on it to go inside, and you should be able to find them.

2. Locate your Skyrim/Data folder. This should be C:Program Files(x86)/Steam/SteamApps/Common/Skyrim/Data.

3. Go back to the opened archive. You can either 'Extract All Files' to your Skyrim/Data folder, or copy them over. It's generally best to copy them over if there are multiple .esps and you only want one or two, or if there are a number of subfolders with different options.

4. Allow 'Yes to All' if it asks to overwrite.

5. Close the archive (and Skyrim/Data window if you copied the files over), launch Skyrim, and check the box of the .esp of the mod you just installed (assuming it has one.). All done!

 

- For .7zip/.rar files:

1. Open the archive. If you don't have it already, download 7zip and use it to open the file. Most modders/mod users use 7zip to both compile and extract mods, so no matter what, it's a good idea to get this utility. Don't use WinRAR to open files as it can sometimes mess things up.

2. Again, most modders will have the first 'layer' be the meshes/textures/etc. files. If you find a Data file inside, go in there instead.

3. Hold CTRL and click on the files you want. They should be highlighted after. You can let go of CTRL when you've selected all the files you want.

4. Once you've selected all the files you want to install, click on the Extract button.

5. A window will pop up. Type in your Skyrim/Data directory, copy/paste the one above, or use the '...' button to find it. Once done, click 'ok'.

6. Allow 'Yes To All' if it asked to overwrite.

7. Close the archive, launch Skyrim, check the box. All done!

 

Tips:

- Run BOSS to ensure the .esp is in the correct place in your load order. You may also want to look up Wrye Bash/Smash and TES5Edit to help keep your game stable.

- If there's a ReadMe, read it!

- Some mods don't have .esps included. These are usually remesh/retexture mods, and don't need any plug-ins to make them work.

- Some mods have subfolders, or have many folders in the first 'layer' of the archive for multiple options. Examples are the CBBE female body mod (has subfolders for various other options), and SMIM (has a Core folder, and many other folders with the various options.) For mods like these, either keep the mod page or the readme open to go back to if you're not sure what to do. Generally if there is a 'core' folder, you should go into that and install those files first, before looking into any other folder. Or if there is a meshes/textures' folder along with something like an 'options', you should install the meshes/textures first before doing anything else.

- Find a .bsa instead of a meshes/textures folder? No worries, copy that over instead.

Edited December 10, 2012 by Jeir