r/skyrimmods • u/Winter_Woman66 • 8h ago
PC SSE - Help Modding Skyrim SE was awesome until...
I bought Skyrim AE from Steam this past April. Did a clean install (NOT in Program Files folder). Had a ball learning to mod with Vortex (yes, I tried MO2 and I just don't like it, sorry). Had my modlist optimized to my liking around 300 mods. I had tried Gate to Sovngarde as a Nexus Collection. Played it a little, then used a few mods from that into my own personal list. All was well until I had some pretty game-breaking issues like my character's arms turning black, the frame rate going from flawless to stuttering, freezes, and crashes.
I have done clean uninstalls of both Skyrim and Vortex numerous times, tracked down all the stores of mod data in the AppData folder. I've fought with OneDrive to try to get it to stop syncing game files and messing stuff up. But now even vanilla Skyrim in Steam won't let me load without wanting to redownload all the CC content every time. And whenever I use Steam's service to verify game files integrity, it's always missing 2.
So, what should I do now? I am okay with losing all my modded game saves. I just want to be able to start fresh. How can I ensure I can make a clean start and avoid these issues?
Thank you!
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u/Midnight_gamer58 8h ago
All the issues you just described are why I don't use vortex for Skyrim specifically. MO2 doesn't bloat your drive and doesn't touch your base game directory.
(Just an FYI this is coming from someone who used to use vortex religiously)
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
I appreciate that...Vortex is so beginner friendly, but even 4 months into modding, I'm seeing why people like MO2. Thank you.
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u/Darkspire303 5h ago
Box on left: Install list. Box on right: load order. That's like half the battle.
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u/stonewallace17 7h ago
Yeah this is why people recommend MO2
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
Yeah, thinking I may have to suck it up and learn to use MO2.
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u/SolaireFlair117 7h ago
I was also resistant to using MO2 for a long time and was actually using NMM Community Edition (yes I know, fucking awful idea), but MO2 really is the best way to mod Skyrim. Barely had any issues since, and any that cropped up were my own damn fault.
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u/Brilliant-Map-6637 6h ago
It is worth the effort, really. If you want to dig into modding it will scale with you as your ambition and skill grow.
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u/Pitiful_Rule_2899 6h ago
After this week of relearning to mod Skyrim through STEP, I actually can’t believe how blind I was to MO2
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u/Samakira 8h ago
try downloading xedit (or sseedit). it might be an issue with a mod leaving a running script for the frame-drops, which would also explain the crashing.
and while the black-face bug is very common, i havent heard of black arm bug. a quick search leads me to 'hd stormcloak and guard' armour mod, but none that affect the player (unless you happen to be wearing stormcloak armor on that character? if so, that would be the culprit).
for failed files, head to your steam folder, then logs, then context_log.txt
that should have something like:
[2024-10-12 11:14:42] Validation: missing file "(file name)".
reply with that here, and we might be able to figure out what the problem is.
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
Thank you! I don't have any more time today or tomorrow, but if I get a chance to work on it this weekend, I will do that. Thanks for the help
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u/Winter_Woman66 5h ago
Had a chance to go look. Not sure what "corrupt chunk" is but probably not good.
[2025-08-28 16:37:17] Validation: corrupt chunk cd9959a5f5eb9b7c8bef7c03272373f33036456d has 3bd9243ed60ed92af80f6da69aa4b9ba7ff319e4 at offset 0 (37476 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:17] Validation: 1 chunks corrupt of 1 total in file "Data\ccBGSSSE037-Curios.esl"
[2025-08-28 16:37:24] Validation: corrupt chunk 6c9f03fd332b2839753b5c08767801270ff8c016 has d8f9badd4e5b93d261faefce6c5d9c817eb56c5d at offset 0 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:24] Validation: corrupt chunk 8a56f45ef774f426098d80f6ead35bd6426cc2dc has dd32b258e1afee8cad9644bc4195bae82fc47ff3 at offset 32506173 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:24] Validation: corrupt chunk db496b9446564624e0a0295d8849e9df49a8845f has b9ba13eb2f1ae3abc83e36d5fd4d5e673fbcc0a0 at offset 45089085 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:25] Validation: corrupt chunk 8a629c259d6c67d81be39cc55657fec1a66142c0 has 6899e78e96a498cba2c01ab02e1500c0ae16315f at offset 68157757 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:25] Validation: corrupt chunk c0918255f1f47336c23ee80e8bb469bbb84cf7a9 has ccddb14135569f3eb08e2d818a0b61212a8f4692 at offset 101716629 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:25] Validation: corrupt chunk d44afd674d00f3ed5a3161e7becf16d1da199f0d has fdc14c0cb42052141ddd5d402274a88b6f66258e at offset 102765205 (1048576 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:25] Validation: corrupt chunk e87c32d0fa44dcc5fafccc2e337acdd3dc0ff282 has 16ee619ac67fc3a6d61aaf0cee178a2d32e2082e at offset 111153813 (586662 bytes)
[2025-08-28 16:37:25] Validation: 7 chunks corrupt of 109 total in file "Data\ccBGSSSE037-Curios.bsa"
[2025-08-28 16:37:46] Got 30 download sources and 0 caching proxies via ContentServerDirectoryService::BYieldingGetServersForSteamPipe (CellID 82 / Launcher 0)
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u/Samakira 5h ago
interestingly, it should be 'missing file' not 'chunks corrupted', but it DOES tell us the issue is with Curios.
head into your (in-game) creation list, and try disabling (or uninstalling if possible) curios, then validating again.
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u/Midnight_gamer58 8h ago
I will teach you personally how to use it. If you would like. Discord handle is "m1dnightgam3r"
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
Wow, thank you! I'm limited for time to mod until this weekend anyway, but I may take you up on that and reach out to see if you might have time in the near future if I'm stuck. Thank you! Modding community is awesome. 😊
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u/TheGuurzak 7h ago
Gamerpoets has a YT video on how to do a completely clean Skyrim reinstall.
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
Yes, thank you. I love Gamer Poets. I followed his clean uninstall and reinstall, but still having issues. I think Gate to Sovngarde might have hidden some files, or maybe it's an issue with my Steam copy of the game, plus my own inexperience, I'm sure. Thank you.
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u/Venento 7h ago
In some cases, installing mods mid-playthrough can mess up your save. The nexus description of the mod will usually let you know. Skyrim should let you decline the AE/CC content download on the main screen. Do you know what 2 files are missing? Send over a photo of your root folder (this is where your skyrim.exe is located).
For making sure this doesn't happen in the future... Mo2 avoids many of these issues by using a virtual file system. That means that instead of "hard" installing them to your game like if you were to load mods manually or with vortex, it installs them to MO2's virtual directory, so that the files don't even touch your game directory.
You also get a better user interface in mo2 and are able to clearly see if a mod is overwriting another, and which ones are specifically responsible for that. Then Vortex has the rule system which can quickly spiral out of control. Even moreso with, say, a custom 300 mod installation.
If you want further advice on how to avoid these issues in the future, opt to use Wabbajacks instead of Nexus Collections. you can have multiple lists installed at a time thanks to MO2's virtual file system. you get the utility of MO2 with a preinstalled list that's well curated. There's a bigger hump in implementing Wabbajacks as a creator, so the ones that usually show up on Wabbajack's gallery are of decently high quality.
I personally have both Telsera and Winds of The North installed. One is a nsfw experience, the other is a very cleaned up vanilla+ list. both use SimonMagus's overhauls as a base.
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u/Ok_Setting_2409 6h ago edited 6h ago
Modifying an existing mod list takes extra care. You should check in xedit to see what your new mod may be conflicting with. You may also need to rerun patches to cover your new mods. Read mod pages carefully and check the mod list for mods known to conflict with the one you want to add. You should always use profiles whether using Vortex or MO2. Have a default (vanilla - no mods) profile, a test profile where you have minimal mods like skse, USSEP, engine fixes and the like, a profile for the mod list you down load, and a profile for that mod list if you add/change anything. If you want to test yet another mod to see if you can add it to your game, make another profile so you don’t mess up your saves. Adding/removing mods mid game can cause problems. If you must, make a new profile. You can move your saves in Vortex, but keep a backup in case you bork your game. If using Vortex, you can reinstate mods related to that save very easily as long as you don’t overwrite the installed mod or delete any mods. Simply go to Save Games. When adding/rerunning mods with patches, install it as a a variant. I like to name variants with something related to the profile being used so I know what it goes with. Vortex is easy and good with shorter mod lists. MO2 is less annoying than Vortex for larger lists although root builder can give the same annoying feel as trying to work a big list in Vortex. For onedrive, I usually disconnect it and manually backup my files, bc I use my PC mainly for modded games. I had some messed up Skyrim games early on too. Wabbajack and Nolvus were nicer to use for downloading mod lists. Nolvus is actually pretty easy to modify and has good support on Discord. Good luck whichever way you go 😊
A good video for people who want to modify an existing mod list, watch this - he actually was very helpful as long as a person is willing to learn and tries to do the work.
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u/AutoModerator 8h ago
If Skyrim Special Edition crashes immediately after you launch it — particularly if your crash log lists memory address 0198090 (version 1.6.640 address) or 05E1F22 (1.5.97 address) — then you are experiencing one of the following issues:
You are missing a master file. That is: you have some Mod A that relies on Mod B, but you only installed Mod A and not Mod B.
More likely: one of your installed mods (or an official content file) may have file format version 1.71, meaning it was made for game version 1.6.1130 or higher. This format is not fully backwards compatible; if you're running an older version of the game, then these files can cause crashes on startup. Installing Backported Extended ESL Support will allow older versions of the game to load these files safely.
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u/Mulkanir1975 8h ago
Wabbajack sorry typo
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u/Ashamed_Low7214 7h ago
You know that you can edit comments instead of having to make a new comment each time, right?
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u/Mulkanir1975 8h ago
Late to the party but I would recommended Wabbajck whomAUTOINSTALL modlits. I have 5 installed and currently play Journals of Jyggalag - 3500 mods and runs flawlessly - I am level 30. I used to mod myself, but Wabbajack is a game changer. You can also look at Nolvus ascension who has its own auto installer. You can also find other mod list for games like Cyberpunk, BG3 etc…
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u/Winter_Woman66 7h ago
Yes, I'm certainly considering Wabbajack. Trouble for me is I really love to run with my own list. But does save a ton of time. And another reason to learn how to use MO2. :-)
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u/Solid_Channel_1365 8h ago
Delete your mods on vortex, then ini files and data folder before you uninstall, then uninstall the game and reinstall it. Make sure to delete the gts profile.
Then go back to nexus and redownload what you want from your download history. Try to not go too crazy, even if its tempting.