First time modding Skyrim!

[Blue_Two]

I know, one heck of a place to ask that.  But I'd seen a lot of the videos of modded versions of Skyrim, and I figured I'd give it my best shot.

 

To say things went well, not well... is a bit of an understatement.  I got a few mods to run, but my only problem is I have no idea what goes where and where I'm supposed to drop files or even how to get mods I download off of here to play nice with a mod manager (I constantly get "oh, this is read-only, sorry" types of errors when I go to try and get everything under one mod client).

 

Some advice would honestly be very welcome- how do I get LL mods to play nice with a mod manager like NMM or Mod Manager?  And once I get everything in there that I want, how do I make sure everything is all stable and running and working all at once?

[Frankfranky]

Michael at GamerPoets has you covered.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP13Fc1v1r4&list=PLlN8weLk86XjyJvXZ2MDBJRyeBPDMKZqx

 

Here is where his series starts. It is not only a click by click guide series, he will tell you what, how and why. Don't lose heart. A lot of us have been at this for 6 years and more. Not getting it to work perfectly and look like a Hodilton vid first time around is perfectly normal. The only starting advice I have, is bin NMM. Get Mod Organiser. Michael will guide you through both, whatever you decide. Make sure you give him a like and a subscription. He is a good guy.

[Blue_Two]

I went ahead and deleted Skyrim and everything associated with it so I can follow the guide from the beginning.  Hopefully this is going to go better than the first time!

[Blue_Two]

Nope.  It's still being a pain in the butt.  I'm struggling with even getting MO to work- it just doesn't want to download files from Nexus even though I made sure I had the right password and everything set up.  I try to run the Generate command and it just doesn't want to recognize the Creatures mod either.  I'm getting a bit of a headache trying to figure it out.  Is there any place I can get step-by-step directions as to exactly what to do so I can at least get these installed and running so I can mod to my heart's content?

[Fifoo]

First step before be sure that something on your computer isn't blocking downloads. It could be your firewall, antivirus, ad blocker, no script, Windows UAC or not being signed on as an administrator.

 

If the problem does not come from there, try this:

 

- Click the MO globe button.
- Go to the Nexus tab in Settings and click the Associate with "Download with manager" links button.
- Go to your ModOrganizer directory and run the nxmhandler application. If the program is pointing to Mod Organizer, click the Register Active button, click yes at the prompt, and close. If the program is not pointing to Mod Organizer, right-click in the window and select Add, select the game you are handling, browse to the appropriate ModOrganizer.exe application, click OK, click the Register Active button, click yes at the prompt, and close.
- After that, go to the Nexus mod page, download your mod via the button Mod Manager Download, normaly a message will pop-up, click yes to validate nxmhandler.

 

See this troubleshooting Guide:Mod Organizer if you have any problem with MO.

 

If, despite all this, it doesn't work, it could be a sign of an incomplete uninstall.
Since you seem to have several problems, it would be nice to start on a healthy basis. For that, you have to reinstall Skyrim cleanly and thus start by uninstalling it.

I advise you to do as follows:

- Uninstall any utility related to Skyrim.
- Delete local content via steam (same for the creation kit if necessary).
- Remove my documents/games/Skyrim.
- Remove common/Skyrim.
- Remove any remaining Skyrim-related unnecessary folders created during a previous installation.
- Remove the trash.
- Take a quick look at CCleaner and check for any errors in the registry, the free version works well.
- Restart the pc.

To install Skyrim again and the software you want to use, it is best to follow the first steps of this helpfull guide by installing what you want.

I strongly advise you to never download Skyrim's mods via steam workshop, it only brings problems. Only install the complete Skyrim game whith the DLCs and the Creation Kit. And as this is the first time you are modding Skyrim, be aware that some mods are to be avoided because they are obsolete, unstable or even dangerous for your saved games.

Take a look at this page: Unstable and Outdated Mods Masterlist.

Take the time to do all this properly and without any doubt, be careful because it takes a bit to be forced to start from scratch. Feel free to ask questions, there are plenty of people here who are eager to help you.

 

Sorry for the long post and have a happy modding time.

[Blue_Two]

Went ahead and cleaned out everything.   I think CCleaner knocked loose a few things that were keeping it from working...  hopefully it gets everything all squared away!

 

I have another question, though... does it matter what mods I download and install first, or does it only matter when it comes to load order?

 

I'm thinking of grabbing FNIS first... how does that work, and when am I supposed to run the generate thing?  Right after I install it?

[Frankfranky]

you didn't go to gamer poets and watch the vids did you?. No. All of the answers to all these questions, and the next 20 are in the first 4-5 vids. If you refuse to find out how to do things correctly, you are much better off with NMM. Stuff will break sometimes, and you won't be able to fix it without a fresh install, but you don't have to learn anything, you don't have to watch videos. You can just d'l till it all breaks, then post that a texture mod broke the civil war.

[Blue_Two]

I'll go back and give them a re-watch, then.  Maybe it just flew over my head and I missed it the first time.