How to activate mods?

[Clutcha]

So once you've downloaded a mod, how do you activate it in game?

[Helrato]

Few questions first, as I don't have enough information

1. Have you played and completed Skyrim before? (Modding isn't recommended on a first playthrough)
2. Where did you download the mod? Nexus? If so, did you download it manually or via NMM (Nexus Mod Manager)?
3. Do you have LOOT to organise your load order?

[Clutcha]

Originally posted by Helrato:

Few questions first, as I don't have enough information

1. Have you played and completed Skyrim before? (Modding isn't recommended on a first playthrough)
2. Where did you download the mod? Nexus? If so, did you download it manually or via NMM (Nexus Mod Manager)?
3. Do you have LOOT to organise your load order?

1. Yes I have played skyrim many times
2. I'm using nexus mod manager
3. Yes I have LOOT

[Helrato]

Okay sweet.

So if you look at your NMM, there should be a list of all your mods that you currently have downloaded and intergrated in NMM. They should be grey, meaning that it's currently in your NMM but it's not activated.

To activate it, just double click the mod and it should initialise and install, the progress of the install can be monitored at the bottom where a few windows can pop up as your hover your cursor over it.

Once the selected mod has a green tick, that means the current mod is activated and it's in your game.

HOWEVER, before you actually open the game, you should run LOOT and sort your load order to avoid any conflicts or crash issues.

Before installing any mod, make sure you've read the mod page and have all required files/mods. As you play, make sure you save often. Many people run into problems and can't revert back to an older save because they don't save often enough. In some cases people level up 4-8 times then run into a problem and have to go all the way back.

And if you don't have the USSEP (Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch) yet then it should be your #1 priority as it fixes many bugs and glitches found in the game that wasn't done up by Bethesda. That can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266/?

Any other further questions, feel free to ask

[Clutcha]

Originally posted by Helrato:

Okay sweet.

So if you look at your NMM, there should be a list of all your mods that you currently have downloaded and intergrated in NMM. They should be grey, meaning that it's currently in your NMM but it's not activated.

To activate it, just double click the mod and it should initialise and install, the progress of the install can be monitored at the bottom where a few windows can pop up as your hover your cursor over it.

Once the selected mod has a green tick, that means the current mod is activated and it's in your game.

HOWEVER, before you actually open the game, you should run LOOT and sort your load order to avoid any conflicts or crash issues.

Before installing any mod, make sure you've read the mod page and have all required files/mods. As you play, make sure you save often. Many people run into problems and can't revert back to an older save because they don't save often enough. In some cases people level up 4-8 times then run into a problem and have to go all the way back.

And if you don't have the USSEP (Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch) yet then it should be your #1 priority as it fixes many bugs and glitches found in the game that wasn't done up by Bethesda. That can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266/?

Any other further questions, feel free to ask

Ok so I should download the mods before actually starting the game?

[Clutcha]

Originally posted by Clutcha:

Originally posted by Helrato:

Okay sweet.

So if you look at your NMM, there should be a list of all your mods that you currently have downloaded and intergrated in NMM. They should be grey, meaning that it's currently in your NMM but it's not activated.

To activate it, just double click the mod and it should initialise and install, the progress of the install can be monitored at the bottom where a few windows can pop up as your hover your cursor over it.

Once the selected mod has a green tick, that means the current mod is activated and it's in your game.

HOWEVER, before you actually open the game, you should run LOOT and sort your load order to avoid any conflicts or crash issues.

Before installing any mod, make sure you've read the mod page and have all required files/mods. As you play, make sure you save often. Many people run into problems and can't revert back to an older save because they don't save often enough. In some cases people level up 4-8 times then run into a problem and have to go all the way back.

And if you don't have the USSEP (Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch) yet then it should be your #1 priority as it fixes many bugs and glitches found in the game that wasn't done up by Bethesda. That can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266/?

Any other further questions, feel free to ask

Ok so I should download the mods before actually starting the game?

Also, if I have mods downloaded, let's say I'm playing with a mod and I don't like it, can I simply deactivate it and it won't be in the game anymore or is it more complicated then that?

[Helrato]

Originally posted by Clutcha:

Originally posted by Helrato:

Okay sweet.

So if you look at your NMM, there should be a list of all your mods that you currently have downloaded and intergrated in NMM. They should be grey, meaning that it's currently in your NMM but it's not activated.

To activate it, just double click the mod and it should initialise and install, the progress of the install can be monitored at the bottom where a few windows can pop up as your hover your cursor over it.

Once the selected mod has a green tick, that means the current mod is activated and it's in your game.

HOWEVER, before you actually open the game, you should run LOOT and sort your load order to avoid any conflicts or crash issues.

Before installing any mod, make sure you've read the mod page and have all required files/mods. As you play, make sure you save often. Many people run into problems and can't revert back to an older save because they don't save often enough. In some cases people level up 4-8 times then run into a problem and have to go all the way back.

And if you don't have the USSEP (Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch) yet then it should be your #1 priority as it fixes many bugs and glitches found in the game that wasn't done up by Bethesda. That can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266/?

Any other further questions, feel free to ask

Ok so I should download the mods before actually starting the game?

Whenever you're installing a mod, the game should never be open.

But if you're just downloading a mod, then download away, it'll just be in your NMM once the download is completed and all you need to do is activate it.

Also, remember not to remove any mods in the middle of a playthrough, it may cause minor problems.

Basically:
1. Download a mod or mods
2. Install mod(s)
3. Run LOOT and make sure everything is applied
4. Run game and play

Rinse and repeat

[Clutcha]

Originally posted by Helrato:

Originally posted by Clutcha:

Ok so I should download the mods before actually starting the game?

Whenever you're installing a mod, the game should never be open.

But if you're just downloading a mod, then download away, it'll just be in your NMM once the download is completed and all you need to do is activate it.

Also, remember not to remove any mods in the middle of a playthrough, it may cause minor problems.

Basically:
1. Download a mod or mods
2. Install mod(s)
3. Run LOOT and make sure everything is applied
4. Run game and play

Rinse and repeat

But do I need to fresh start on the game to have them incorporated in the game?

[Helrato]

If you're playing with a mod, and you have second thoughts about it and decide to deactivate or uninstall it, then it leaves a "residue" if you will, on your game. If it was a scripted mod, then the ramifications are worse. Generally speaking you don't want to uninstall anything, if you do, and you load up a save, it will say something like "_____ is no longer in the game, are you sure you want to continue?"

That's basically the game telling you it had something in it, but it's not there anymore, which can cause problems because it's like leftovers.

But should you really really need to uninstall something, then make sure you go back to a save that didn't have that mod in it.

Eg. I download a mod and install it, I run LOOT and go ingame. I play for 10 mins (assume I save once or twice) and realise I don't like it. So I uninstall it and then resume playing from my original save from before the mod was installed. This is also why you should save often

[Helrato]

Originally posted by Clutcha:

Originally posted by Helrato:

Whenever you're installing a mod, the game should never be open.

But if you're just downloading a mod, then download away, it'll just be in your NMM once the download is completed and all you need to do is activate it.

Also, remember not to remove any mods in the middle of a playthrough, it may cause minor problems.

Basically:
1. Download a mod or mods
2. Install mod(s)
3. Run LOOT and make sure everything is applied
4. Run game and play

Rinse and repeat

But do I need to fresh start on the game to have them incorporated in the game?

No, most mods you can just install it and pop, it's in your game no worries. No need for a fresh game.

But in very rare instances some heavy mods may require a fresh game to function. So make sure you read the mod page carefully, they're usually in sections so it's easier to read. So if you don't want to read it all, see if there are sections like "Requirements" or "Installation", as well as any other bold or largely emphasised text from the author

[smr1957]

Most mods are safe ti install mid-playthrough (if they are not, the mod author will give you that info - usually on the description page or the installation instructions), but, like Helrato said - not while actually playing the game.

As to removing mods, exactly what Helrato said. The complete information related to this is below:

From Arthmoor:
"3. There is no such thing as a clean save. It does not matter who tells you there is, it doesn't exist in Skyrim. You cannot remove any mod, not even the patch, without there being some data that's been permanently changed. Doing this repeatedly WILL damage your save and WILL eventually lead to it becoming corrupt and unusable. Bethesda's own developers have confirmed the only way to properly remove a mod is to load a save made BEFORE that mod was introduced into the game. If you started a new game with 10 mods installed, you're going to be stuck with those 10 forever."

Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch by Unofficial Patch Project Team - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71214/?
Posts section, second stickied post
posted @ 2:08, 8 Feb 2016 , stickied at 2:08, 8 Feb 2016

and Ilja:

"You can't remove mods from ongoing game. Skyrim bakes script data to save file. There is no such thing as a clean save, when mod is removed. "Clean save" is for mod updates only. This includes work done with Save Script Cleaner. That tool cleans obsolete entries and orphaned scripts from the game, but script data will remain in the save file, causing Papryus to constantly check it and creating errors.

If you removed scripted mods from ongoing game, then you will have to start a new game." - Ilja

http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/343788552537617802/#c343788552538346202

"You can't uninstall most mods from ongoing game. Skyrim bakes script data to save files and unisntalling the mod does not remove it. It only causes errors in Papyrus scripting system.

Even if mod does not use any scripts, it's changes would need to be subjects of Skyrim vanilla respawn/refresh system." - Ilja

http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/1368380934258855911/#c1368380934263549103

Your options are:
1) continue with the mod in place (NOT an option if the mod is actively breaking or bugging the game)
2) load a save made before the removed mod was installed
3) start a new game

Pure mesh/texture replacment mods are safe to remove. So are mods using vanilla assets and vanilla spawns.

[smr1957]

One more things as regards using LOOT - it doesn't always get everything right. There are certain mods which it places in the wrong order, which is why you should always double check your load order even after LOOT has sorted it and the results have been applied.

You might want to post your load order here for others to check, just to be sure. To post your load order, just click on the 3 verticle dots in the upper right corner of LOOT screen, click on copy load order from the drop-down menu, and then paste.


In addition, as regards LOOT telling you to clean mods other than the Masters (Update.esm, Dawnguard.esm, Hearthfires.esm, Dragronborn.esm), DO NOT clean ITMs (unless the mod author or a reliable forum regular says otherwise) as LOOT does not pick up whether these edits (ITMs) are necessary or not, and some mods require them to run correctly. Do, however, clean deleted references, as these may cause problems in your game.

As to cleaning the Masters, see:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=818230170

See:
Advanced Tips : Memory, .Ini's and Myth Busting (v2.6) by Nazenn - http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/619573787397876592/
Note #2 - Cleaning Files With TES5Edit

[Rmanwide]

What about this. I've heard of people having problems with their game so they disable all their mods and re-enable them one by one till they find the one that was causing the problem. Will this cause a problem? Do disabled (not uninstalled) mods cause a problem?

[smr1957]

Originally posted by Rmanwide:

What about this. I've heard of people having problems with their game so they disable all their mods and re-enable them one by one till they find the one that was causing the problem. Will this cause a problem? Do disabled (not uninstalled) mods cause a problem?

They are using a clean save when doing that (or they should be) - that is the only way that works.

Disabled mods that have never been enabled (and have therefore not had any of their info baked into the save) would not cause a problem. If you mean is it okay to disable a mod mid-playthrough, no - absolutely not, for the reasons stated in my post #10.

[ZoneLoner]

So, i am having a problem similar to this one. I manually downloaded a mod off the Nexus for a armor mod. I have moved all the files into the data folder of skyrim and tried it out. When i pressed escape, it said that the mod was there. But when i tried to find or build the armor mod, it wouldn't work. It wasnt there, i have reinstalled the mod multiple times to make sure i had all the files. Nothing. I cant figure out why the mod isnt appearing in my game. I have looked some stuff up and it says that i need to "activate the esp file using the launcher" but there is no option to activate esp files and so forth on the launcher! I dont know what to do, can any of yall help me out here?

[Helrato]

Originally posted by DevilSlayer:

So, i am having a problem similar to this one. I manually downloaded a mod off the Nexus for a armor mod. I have moved all the files into the data folder of skyrim and tried it out. When i pressed escape, it said that the mod was there. But when i tried to find or build the armor mod, it wouldn't work. It wasnt there, i have reinstalled the mod multiple times to make sure i had all the files. Nothing. I cant figure out why the mod isnt appearing in my game. I have looked some stuff up and it says that i need to "activate the esp file using the launcher" but there is no option to activate esp files and so forth on the launcher! I dont know what to do, can any of yall help me out here?

First of all, you're installing a mod manually, which is not recommended at all. By manually, I mean you are downloading a mod manually and you're clicking and dragging it into your game folder. That is called Manual Installation. This is bad because you cannot manage it much (or at all for that matter) once it's in your game folder.

Oldrim had an option for mod management on their launcher, but SSE does not have this feature on theirs.

If I understand correctly, you aren't using a mod manager at all. I would not install a mod the way that you did.

This thread is very old, Nexus Mod Manager is no longer an option. I highly recommend you look up Youtube for guides for using either
1. Vortex
or
2. Mod Organiser 2 (MO2)

Knowledge in one of these mod managers is key, manual installation is a method bound for disaster sooner or later.

I personally use MO2 because it's based off a virtual destination that doesn't actually affect your game folder in steamapps/common. Also because I don't know much about Vortex and I don't care for it much because I already mastered MO2.

Look up both and see what works for you.