Switch from NMM or Vortex to MO2

This guide shows you the details that you need to properly switch from Nexus mod manager or Vortex to the Mod Organizer 2 and leave all your problems behind. also shows you the new location of files and how it is easy to stay from from CTDs.

Why should I switch in the first place?

This honest comparison is coming from someone who first used nexus because of the advertisement all over the nexus website and at first when i started modding i wasn't even aware of other mod managers, so whatever problem i was facing with nexus mod manager i had to endure and find some weird workarounds, but i recently switched to Mod Organizer 2, a true savior for all the modding enthusiasts, now I'm gonna tell you exactly what's the difference in it and why it is better for both beginners and professional modders to use it.

Here are the main reasons why you should switch and start using Mod Organizer 2 right now:

Mod Organizer 2 download link[github.com]

• it does not modify game files or folder, so your game folder is kept clean, not a single file is written in there.
  
• it is Stable, not beta like Nexus mod manager or Vortex, they are both beta, but not MO2.
  
• it is open source and an active team is developing it, unlike Nexus mod manager which was abandoned for years, or Vortex that is new and Beta and needs years to eliminate bugs and problems in the program code.
  
• it supports a wide range of compressed files, not only zip or 7zip, but also .Rar and others.
  
• it is feature-rich, a lot of features that are missing from any other mod managers.
  
• it Saves you hard disk space by 1/3.
  
• it doesn't keep mods zip files inside the directory, only the extracted files, so your hard disk space is not kept hostage for duplicate files.
  
• it loads a lot faster than other mod managers.
  
• it is faster for installing mods.
  
• it is easier to install mods.
  it does Not overwrite main game files, all of the overwrites are done virtually.
  
• it shows you exact conflicts so you will never encounter a problem in game and wonder what it is caused by, because you have in-depth details of exactly which mod files are replaced by which mod.
  
• you can use it portable, which means you don't have to reinstall it if you change your OS or you want to move your whole game folder along with your mods folder to a different computer, no problem, the portable installation even keeps your OS clean!
  
• you don't have to log into nexus website.
  
• there is no information sent to nexus or other websites like those that Vortex and NMM send, absolutely no calling home.
  
• there is no advertisement.
  
• and many many more benefits...

Prepare for the Change

There is no mod transfer or automatic process to do this, you have to start over. you can't use the game files and folders you currently have, because Vortex and Nexus mod manager manipulated them and they are corrupt with lots of CTDs, STDs, bugs, crashed etc. so uninstall the game completely and delete the game folder. Delete all of your save games too.
but before that, make a backup of things you might like, such as:

• your Racemenu presets
  
• your poser mod favorite list

the reason why you have to Delete your save game is that your save game is corrupted with all of the scripts and clutters from previous mods, mods you installed and then uninstalled and more.
also mods like Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch and Poser Hotkeys Plus do require you to start a new save, they don't work with old saves otherwise things gonna be worse than they are.



You Don't Have To Download Your Mods Again.
Yes, that's right. in order to switch from Nexus Mod Manager to Mod Organizer 2 (vice versa) you don't have to download any of your mods that are already installed again, so don't worry about it.
all the compressed mod files are in the directory where you installed NMM, go there and look for a folder called "Mods". you will find all the .zip files in there.
after you switched to Mod Organizer 2, all you have to do is to add those .zip files one by one to MO2 and install them.

Mod Organizer 2: ENB installation

There is no way that ENB (Easy Now, Boris) can be installed through mod mangers, because mod managers only take control of the /Data/ folder of your game, not the Root folder, so you have to do this manually.

It's also easy this way to remove and change your ENB, all you have to do is to delete the ENB files you copied to your game folder. you can make a note of them or a screenshot.

Mod Organizer 2: SKSE Installation

1. Copy files in SKSE[skse.silverlock.org] zip package that are not in any folders directly in the game directory.
2. put the Data folder inside SKSE zip package in another zip file, so first remove it from the skse zip file then make another zip file with that Data folder and install it through the MO2 like any other mods.

Mod Organizer 2: Racemenu installation and presets location

Install Racemenu through MO2, just like any other mods.

Put your current presets in this folder:

MO2 folder\mods\RaceMenu\SKSE\Plugins\Chargen

Newly created presets(face presets and head sculpts) with the new game go to here by default:

MO2 folder\overwrite\SKSE\Plugins\CharGen

*note that "MO2 folder" Is just a made up name and it probably has a different name for you based on what name you gave it first during Mod Organizer 2 installation/portable installation.

New location of Skyrimprefs.ini in Mod Organizer 2

Skyrimprefs.ini don't go to the Documents folder anymore, they go to:

MO2 folder\profiles\Default

*note that "MO2 folder" Is just a made up name and it probably has a different name for you based on what name you gave it first during Mod Organizer 2 installation/portable installation.

Miscellaneous mods and Installations

Mods that fix Skyrim crashes

SSME: SSME - skyrim startup memory editor. these files: "d3dx9_42.dll" and "same.ini" go to the main game directory (the root folder) so they must be copied there manually, not by any mod manager.

New link to developer's website:
http://www.mzin.moe/?p=140
Add "PoserDataGen.exe" to the Mod Organizer 2, run it always through MO2.

the generated poser pack files will go to here:

MO2folder\overwrite\skse\plugins\poserhotkeys\poserdata

you Should add the contents in the overwrite folder as normal mods in the Mod organizer 2 otherwise the game might fail to load.

if you add another poser pack some time later, you gotta use PoserDataGen to generate poser data for that pack and add the generated files to the overwrite files that we turned into mods.

BodySlide and Outfit Studio:
Install it normally through MO2 by adding the zip file. after that add the bodyslide and outfit studio exe files to the MO2 and always run them through Mod Organizer 2.

Final thoughts

If there is anything missing in this guide that I forgot to add or if you need more information regarding to your switch to Mod Organizer 2, let me know in the comments below and I will answer it asap.

Happy modding

[Brucasco]

Does this also work for Skyrim LE as i would like to change there from NMM to MO2

[athield]

@Sakuele.pantallori -It's been 7 months but I figured someone should respond to your comment.

Unless I am very much mistake (which is possible), you should not need to start the game over just for switching mod managers.

All that matters from the save state's perspective, is whether everything is in spot it was supposed to be when the save was made.

The game world might care but not much and you may have to manually trigger the start of some mods via command line (though I really doubt it).

What matters to your save, and your sanity, are the same things that always have: Load order, load order, and load order.


Starting over from a new state gives you a lot more flexibility, so is kinda the modder's version of "Have you tried turning it off and on again". But if you haven't changed the mods installed, or the load order, you should be mostly crispy.

[samdokan]

Hi everyone,
I've played skyrim for a bit in completely vanilla mode before start modding, and since I was new with this stuff, when I started modding i downloaded Vortex, and did everything with it... now, as many I'm used with it and I want to change to MO2. Reading this guide I realized that I have to unistall the game and delete the game folder aswell as my game saves. But since I have about 79 previous game save made when I was playing skyrim still in 100% vanilla state with not a single mod installed, can I move all those saves in an external folder to maintain them and then put them again in the game save folder once I'll reainstall skyrim? Will it work or will cause some sort of problems?
I hope I explained myself clearly, I'm not really good if this kind of stuff, don't even know if my question has some sort of sense.

Thanks on advantage for those who'll help me!

[uvtears]

Firstly, thanks for this guide! After mucking about with adult mods and trying to get one to work, than the much better successor and its plugins, my game just failed to start up. So I decided to make the move to MO2 after a friend recommended it, but had no idea where to really begin.

Secondly, to everyone wondering why people bother with stuff outside Bethesda dot net? There's a world of QoL, immersion-improving, genre-bending, graphics-enhancing mods that you can't find in the mods Bethesda is willing to host lmao. As the author of this guide herself says, there's adult mods, for one thing, but then there's simply so many great armor mods in foreign languages, tons and tons of textures, models and environmental enhancements, overhauls that Bethesda can't or won't host on their paltry mod servers. Bethesda dot net is a joke.

[timpendragon]

As soon as I'm done this playthrough, I think I'm going to switch from Vortex to MO2. Haven't encountered any serious problems yet, and I've managed to fix the few that have come up, but MO2's ease of controlling the load order and conflict awareness (ie, some of my clothes are invisible, and I don't know what's causing it with Vortex) will be very helpful.

Is this guide still current, or have procedures changed at all?

[Grognak]

@Purpleboye_ in the folder you created for vortex where you can find the mods is a dowload folder with all the compressed mods (just above your skyrim mods folder)

[Purpleboye_]

Vortex doesn't keep my mods in an archived file format in the staging folder. All of the mods are uncompressed folders. I believe I may actually need to re-download every last mod. Either that or try my luck re-compressing them.

[Handsome young man]

Totally agree with this post. Vortex or NMM is a headache to use. MO2 literally makes my modding experience convenient and easy.

[!HotCakeX]

;)

[GD]

I am glad I am not alone :D