**Problem!** "This save relies on content that is no longer present..."

[HadToRegister]

 

All you need to do is start a new game and your problems are over.

 

Never mind. I'll just pay a technician to physically take a look at it. The learning curve here is just way too steep for me. Thanks anyway for your time.

 

 

 

Pay a technician to do what exactly?

 

They're not going to be able to tell you why Skyrim keep[s loading your save game and warning you that you used to have a mod installed that you don't anymore.

Technicians fix HARDWARE, not Save Games.

 

Just install the mods you want and start a new game, that's it.

Why is starting a new game out of the question?

 

 

If you approach a technician with your problem, and they're not the most honest technician, they're going to see you as an easy mark and will charge you big money to "fix" a problem you don't really have.

 

[Zanderat]

If you still have vortex installed, open the saves tab and double click on the save in quesion. A panel.on the right should open showing any mods/dlc the game is expecting g.

[mmd6449]

 

Why is starting a new game out of the question?

 

It isn't out of the question, I just genuinely don't understand what you're telling me. I hear the phrase "start a new game" and what immediately pops into mind is having to play every level over again and rebuild a character from scratch that I've spent over 270 hours trying to create. If the phrase "start a new game" means something other than what I think it does, then please let me know. All I want to do is get my game working the way it was before I tried to mod it so that I can restore my saved games and pick up where I left off. If that means having to reinstall it and somehow import my saved games from my "Saves" folder, then fine, but that's something I don't know how to do or if it's even possible. If, on the other hand, there's a way to continue modding the game and still be able to restore my saves, then I'm willing to consider that too, but I'm really going to need you to slow down and simplify the way you explain things because I'm just not getting it. You're talking to a guy who has never modded anything in his life, has no clue what WryeBash is, what it's used for, how to configure it, or if it's even the right tool for what I want to accomplish. I'm not trying to be difficult, I just need some clarification on what you're suggesting I do.

 

 

If you still have vortex installed, open the saves tab and double click on the save in quesion. A panel.on the right should open showing any mods/dlc the game is expecting g.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. So I gave this a try and, under the "Plugins" section of the panel you mentioned, it lists these:

 

Skyrim.esm

Update.esm

Dawnguard.esm

 

Does that tell us anything useful?

Edited November 3, 2020 by mmd6449

[Zanderat]

At this point, I would verify/repair in STEAM. This will restore/repai vanilla files.

The save is clearly looking for something that isn't there.

[DoctorKaizeld]

Your dlc aren't loading. That's what is missing. Via steam verify the integrity of your game. Should fix it.

[mmd6449]

At this point, I would verify/repair in STEAM.

At the risk of asking yet another annoying newbie question, how exactly would I go about that? Other than using the Steam interface to download content and view my local files, I'm not really up on its broader functionality.

 

 

Your dlc aren't loading. That's what is missing. Via steam verify the integrity of your game. Should fix it.

I had a feeling that may be the case, but I'm still confused about how or why the issue could have arisen in the first place. The Dawnguard DLC was loading just fine until I installed Vortex. While the problem may very well not be with the Vortex software itself, could it be that Steam isn't interacting with it in the way it's supposed to? And that, by adding Skyrim to my managed games list, I somehow threw my Steam settings out of whack by mistake?

[DoctorKaizeld]

No it probably isn't Vortex. Also as dawnguard is the only DLC listed the rest of them being missing is the problem.

 

To verify integrity:

Right click game in Steam

Select properties

Switch to local files tab

Select verify integrity of files

[mmd6449]

To verify integrity:

Right click game in Steam

Select properties

Switch to local files tab

Select verify integrity of files

Ok, so that's done. The results came back as "1 file failed to validate and will be reacquired," and then nothing happened. I then started up Skyrim and still got the same error message when I tried to load a saved game. What's my next step?

 

Also, thanks for bearing with me while I try to figure this out.

[Zanderat]

I don't think you specified (or I missed it). Which version of Skyrim? Also, what happens with a new game?

[mmd6449]

I don't think you specified (or I missed it). Which version of Skyrim? Also, what happens with a new game?

Skyrim Standard Edition + Dawnguard DLC, the latter of which I installed just a few days ago. Starting a new game seems to work just fine but I'm really really hoping I can salvage my saved games.