LOOT Advisory Re: Cleaning Mods

[smr1957]

The following has all been stated in other places, but since we still see people saying they have cleaned all their mods according to what LOOT has advised, thought it pertinent to place in one discussion.

As regards LOOT telling you to clean mods other than the Masters (Update, Dawnguard, Hearthfires, Dragronborn, Saints and Seducers, Rare Curios, Fishing, and Survival Mode) and Creation Club content, which should NOT be cleaned, unless the mod author specifically states that it is safe to clean their mod, the mod should not be cleaned. If the author says that it is safe to clean their mod, then you may do so, using xEdit's autoclean function.

For the previous version of xEdit (version 3 series) it was recommended that people 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. However, deleted references were safe to clean and they should be, as these may cause problems in your game. It is important to note that LOOT is a sorting tool, not a diagnostic, and anything that it states other than regards sorting should be taken with a very large grain of salt. USE IT FOR SORTING ONLT!
This was changed in xEdit version 4 series, and if a mod author says clean is safe to do, the autoclean function is safe to use.

Ilja:
"As a general note: it is worth to mention that cleaning mods is not supported, unless mod author or forum regulars especially recommend doing so for spesific mods. Not all "dirty" edits are unwanted and cleaning them may break the mod. LOOT only tells that these edits exist. It does not know if they are needed or not." - Ilja
http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/485622866448653331/#c485622866448823239

"Be careful when cleaning mods. Not all mods should be cleaned, despite that LOOT says so. LOOT only detects dirty edits from mods, but it does not know if they are needed or not.

Mod authors are mostly aware of the problem, so they usually clean their files. Edits left in files are usually required. However, they do not usually remember to comment the mod, so that LOOT would know if those edits are required." - Ilja
http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/357286663686405782/#c357287304423390982

As to cleaning the Masters and Creation Club content - DO NOT! There have been issues where using xEdit auto clean has resulted in sections of worldspace not appearing in game - and despite it being said that it has been fixed, the risks are not worth it. This has been a major shift in the previously generally accepted philosophy, however, this is due to changes that were made to xEdit and the way they have been implemented, as well as how the xEdit team is approaching the implementation of changes to the tool, and so, since the introduction of xEdit 4 series, and the discovery of major issues that resulted due to cleaning the masters, not cleaning the masters became what is recommended.
And it is not just myself recommending against cleaning based upon my own research into xEdit and its issues regarding the cleaning of the Masters, there is also the below:
This, from Arthmoor (Posted March 24, 2021):
"Personally my advice would be to just ignore cleaning the official master files at this stage of things. xEdit has had a number of recent bugs filed due to issues with old form versions and file data in these plugins which have caused serious errors during gameplay and have resulted in several hackish workarounds being added to xEdit to account for these things."
https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/topic/4110-manual-cleaning-skyrim-and-skyrim-se-master-files/page/7/#comment-177924

And on 12/3/2021 at 6:53 AM, Wasarion said:
So why would all the mod authors that made the cc-mods in the AE bundle release them not cleaned? Loot say 40 of them are dirty.
And Arthmoor replied:
"Because those are not mods, they are official DLC, and 3rd party utilities are not permitted for use when you are a contract employee for the company.

IMO they should be treated as such and not cleaned as a general rule."
https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/topic/5970-skyrim-special-edition-fixes-mod-suggestions/#comment-181793


For more info, 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


NOTICE REGARDING THE USE OF xEdit WHEN CHECKING FOR ERRORS
(Mostly applies to ported Oldrim mods)

Due to the insufficiencies of the Check for Error function in xEdit 4 series, particularly as applies to ported Oldrim mods, and the fact that its Autoclean function does not offer options as to what should be cleaned, it is recommended that for these specific things, individuals use xEdit version 3.2, which may be downloaded here:

For xEdit 3.2, see here:
https://github.com/TES5Edit/TES5Edit/releases/tag/xedit-3.2.2

scroll to bottom of page and click this:
SSEEdit_3_2_2.zip 5.32 MB

The reasons for this have been documented in this thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/489830/discussions/0/4198997399063021490/

Pictures have been posted showing exactly what the issue is. All these things are easily reproducible to anyone who wishes to see for themself with their own eyes on their own machine.

For all other editing functions, xEdit 4 series is still the premier tool available and no one should have any doubt or hesitation in using it. This is an issue regarding one specific feature. Unfortunately, this specific feature concerns items and errors that may lead to games suffering CTDs. As such, I personally strongly recommend that individuals use the above alternative.

NOTE: it should be pointed out, that for mods made using the newest version of the CK, autoclean is perfectly fine to use - just not on older mods made using the old CK or those which have been ported from Oldrim, and definately not on the Masters.

[MonkeyMon]

I guess you write all that for my post, but I have not cleaned my files saved with LOOT, and I know that not all the modifications can be cleaned, but the one I deleted could be, and my game runs again.
Anyway, thanks for the info.

[smr1957]

Originally posted by MonkeyMon:

I guess you write all that for my post, but I have not cleaned my files saved with LOOT, and I know that not all the modifications can be cleaned, but the one I deleted could be cleaned and my game runs again.

You think too much of yourself.

That was something I've had in my files for a long time - but an individual in the OTHER forum brought up about cleaning - was in response to that, so may as well post here.

And frankly, with this one exception, you are not worth replying to if you don't take the advice of those who actually know what they are talking about.

[MonkeyMon]

Originally posted by smr1957:

Originally posted by MonkeyMon:

I guess you write all that for my post, but I have not cleaned my files saved with LOOT, and I know that not all the modifications can be cleaned, but the one I deleted could be cleaned and my game runs again.

You think too much of yourself.

That was something I've had in my files for a long time - but an individual in the OTHER forum brought up about cleaning - was in response to that, so may as well post here.

And frankly, with this one exception, you are not worth replying to if you don't take the advice of those who actually know what they are talking about.

I don't know why you are to agressive with me... I don´t hate you... and I say Thanks...

[smr1957]

Then my apologies - not all my moods are good ones!