Plugins seem to be active in Vortex from uninstalled mods

[Joizen18]

So i have quick question, i am planning on starting a new playthrough of Skyrim. Before starting i decided to clean my load list and uninstalled and re-installed a few mods. However, i noticed something (atleast to me) weird. When i looked in the "plugins" tab in Vortex i noticed, that there are still "active" plugins from mods that i have deleted. Should i just ignore this, or should i delete them aswell? i am somewhat reluctant to delete them, since i see a big risk that i could delete some relevant plugins and mess up.

[alexander_dougherty]

If you can identify the plugins from uninstalled mods, delete them.

If you can not identify the plugins, you have two choices A) leave them alone, B) delete all your mods and reinstall the ones you want.

[Ilja]

Your links could be disconnected. Use Purge option to clear them from Vortex.

That should clear up all obsolete links. You might need to use Deploy All option after, but Vortex should handle the load order automatically.

[Joizen18]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Your links could be disconnected. Use Purge option to clear them from Vortex.

That should clear up all obsolete links. You might need to use Deploy All option after, but Vortex should handle the load order automatically.

i tried using the "purge" option but the plugins are still there for some reason ...
thank you very much for the answer though, i will look into it further.

[Gun Slinger]

I'm not a expert. But I have played Sykrim with and without mods for years. I always start a new game (Before I choose my mods) with a clean install. I first delete everything and do a new install to a different drive. Why you ask? Once installed a mod changes things that cannot be unchanged. I believe others will back me up on this idea. If not just ignore this post.

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Gun Slinger:

I'm not a expert. But I have played Sykrim with and without mods for years. I always start a new game (Before I choose my mods) with a clean install. I first delete everything and do a new install to a different drive. Why you ask? Once installed a mod changes things that cannot be unchanged. I believe others will back me up on this idea. If not just ignore this post.

You are absolutely correct. Game bakes script data to save files. You do not need to do a clean install of the game. Just be sure that old scripts are not lingering around in save files.

Vortex and MO2 do not install any files in to Data folder, so there is no need to wipe the folder clean between games.

However, Vortex uses links that are deployed in to Data folder. My understanding was that in this case links were lingering in Data after mods were disabled from Vortex.

[CaveMan]

When playing Skyrim, after you unsubscribe from a Steam Workshop mod, the mod will still exist on your hard drive. This is to reduce downloads from the Steam servers in case you want to subscribe to it again. Also, its plugin will still be visible in Vortex too under the Plugins tab. However, you may want to remove the Skyrim Steam Workshop mod entirely from your hard drive.

To permanently delete the Skyrim Steam Workshop mod form your hard drive and Vortex, do the following.

1. In Vortex, go to you Dashboard and for SKSE ensure that Set As Primary is NOT selected.
2. In Steam, head over to the Steam Workshop and select Your Files -> Subscribed Items -> and then Unsubscribe from the Steam Workshop mod that you want to remove.
3. In Steam, start Skyrim. It should be running without SKSE since we disabled it via Vortex in step number one.
4. In Skyrim from the VERY FIRST main menu screen, select Data Files.
5. In Skyrim, from the Data Files menu, find the ESP file that you want to remove and ensure from this menu that you have unsubscribed from it. Otherwise, it will just install itself again the next time you fire up Skyrim. :P
6. In Skyrim, from the Data Files menu, select ONLY the ESP file that you want to remove and click the Delete Selected button.
7. Exit Skyrim.
8. Back in Vortex, go to your Dashboard and for SKSE ensure that Set As Primary is selected. This will allow you to launch your modded Skyrim game via Steam.
9. In Vortex, the Steam Workshop mod should no longer appear in your Vortex Plugins section! :D
10. In Vortex, under Mods, click the Deploy Mods button.
11. In Vortex, run FNIS from the Vortex Dashboard and do another mod deployment via Vortex. This step might not be applicable to everyone but it won't hurt.
12. Congratulations! The Skyrim Steam Workshop mod is now completely removed from your hard drive and Vortex!

Enjoy! :D

PS

I am currently playing Skyrim LE in 2023.