How To Do A Clean Install Of Skyrim Se

Always do THIS Before Starting | Clean Install 2022 Skyrim Special Edition Modding Guide — Left: Vanilla Game Binder
Right: Modded Game Folder

What you're seeing now is something really amazing. You are the witness of an entirely vanilla Skyrim Special Edition game. It's wonderful. Clean, organized and most chiefly stable. Think of this every bit your healthy newborn child–one that you volition be able to mold and shape as you please. For comparing, this is my heavily modded game folder. Ugly right? I know. Unfortunately, we won't exist able to preserve the slim nature of this binder entirely only nosotros volition practise the best we can to keep information technology as clean and pristine as possible.

I thing that I want you to see though is that, if nosotros open up upward both data folders (past the way, this is where all the data needed for your game to operate is stored), we run across there isn't too much discrepancy between the ii. Ideally, with Mod Organizer, the mod management tool we'll be using for our game, these folders should wait identical. Make clean and pristine. I have another files in here because I play around with the Creation Kit and other mod development tools if you're wondering. These aren't important for now.

Why This is Of import

I'm showing you this considering chances are you've probably already installed mods on your game. Be information technology manually, i.due east. putting files in this folder by hand, through steam, or perchance even another modern management tool. Regardless of which of these methods y'all used, at that place take withal been boosted files placed in this binder. And these files can cause issues for usa later down the road unless we reset the game dorsum to its a vanilla country. If the game is vanilla before we mod it, nosotros won't have any problems unaccounted for afterward down the route.

Install Locations

Alright so now that yous understand why we need to reinstall our game cleanly. Now let's talk virtually where we desire to install our game. Permit's open up file explorer and head to This PC. Every bit you can run into, I have 4 drives on my computer: C, D, Eastward, and F. Yours will most definitely exist dissimilar from mine. What you volition definitely run into-through is a C drive. Local Disk C. Let's open that up. This is the bulldoze where your operating organisation is installed and also one that nosotros want to try to avoid installing SSE to. Installing SSE here tin can cause ambassador and permission issues with certain mods. Your best bet is to have a separate SSD from your C drive for your modded games. Hard drives can have ridiculously long load times with lots of mods so you want to avert them.

If for some reason you lot don't have whatsoever other drives or C is the but SSD you will accept to install your game here. When doing this, DO Not install Skyrim into the Programme Files or Plan Files (x86) folders. This will about certainly pb to prior issues. The problem is that past default Steam automatically installs games to the Program Files folder. Because of this, nosotros will need to uninstall and reinstall Skyrim Special Edition to a more than appropriate location. I honestly suggest moving all games out of at that place and only install Steam on your C root directory merely that'southward a niggling piece of communication exterior of this guide.

Binder Structure

If you do have a separate drive that you want to dedicate to modded titles, I suggest creating a folder inside it for modding utilities and a library folder for your games as you see here. Though it's up to you. Y'all will demand a place to store your modding utilities though so definitely make a folder for those.

Relieve Directory

The other important directory to notation is your Saves folder located in C, Users, YourUserName, Documents, My Games, Skyrim Special Edition. Also included hither are two files chosen Skyrim and SkyrimPrefs.ini. These are where your Game Settings are stored. If you don't encounter .ini at the cease information technology's considering you don't take filename extensions enabled. To enable those hit view and bank check File proper noun extensions. Seeing these is very important for modding and so I suggest keep them enabled. Basically, they just tell you what kind of file you lot're looking at. Anyhow, you'll want to delete everything in here manually like so. If y'all desire to backup your saves y'all can merely there are no guarantees they volition piece of work with an entirely different mod load society.

Non-Steam Users

If you lot're not using Steam this is probably as much of this guide as yous'll discover helpful as I'll exist going into the installation details for that further. Just remember to uninstall SSE using your game DRM and reinstall it to i of the locations specified. After uninstalling, it's a good idea to go dorsum to the binder it was located and make sure there'south nada left equally unremarkably only the vanilla game files will exist uninstalled. Delete what's left and so reinstall. Run Skyrim and get to the main menu to recreate the ini files previously discussed. After that, quit out and yous'll exist all set upwardly with a clean game.

Steam

For those of y'all interested in the Steam details, allow's begin. The first thing we want to do is tell steam the location we want to install our game too. Open upwards steam and in the top left click steam and open up up the settings. Get to downloads and hit Steam Library Folders. If your preferred location is already in this list you can skip this next role. Hit add Library Folder. Select the drive you lot want to install to–for me that my dissever D drive SSD.

Navigate to the location you desire to install to here. I'thou going to follow my previous communication and just put it in my root directory which is already opened. Over again, recollect that if you're installing to C Practice NOT install in either of the Programme Files folders. Hit add together Library Folder. I similar to name mine SteamLibrary only if you're only using it for modded games yous can name it ModdedGames or something to that effect. Only remember its name and location as you will oft need to visit information technology. Click Ok. And you lot're good to go. I'm going to cancel considering I already have it.

Manual Reversion

Next upwardly we want to uninstall our previously installed game. If y'all take slow net connection or only want to salve time when reinstalling you lot can always navigate to your old Skyrim data directory, copy these primary asset files and paste them into a newly created information folder in the new Skyrim Special Edition location y'all plan to install to. This is for more advanced users and so I won't be going into that further. Only know that manually resetting Skyrim to Vanilla is ever an pick so long equally you lot know which files to continue.

Steam Install

Every bit for the balance of u.s., we open upwards Steam. Notice Special Edition, right-click and uninstall. Let's become back into the quondam install path and delete the Skyrim Special Edition binder if it's nevertheless there. Just to brand sure everything is gone. By default, its directory is C, program files, steam, steamapps common. Later that, go back into steam and reinstall. You tin can create shortcuts if you wish merely if you're following my guides you won't need them and then leave them unchecked. Choose the install location we just created or 1 you had from earlier. To reiterate, once again, Non one in Program Files. Hit next, Agree to the EULA, await for Steam to locate the required space and Finish.

Let's Run the Game

In one case the download is complete, run the game from Steam. Let information technology detect your hardware. Information technology should detect Ultra if you have whatsoever kind of remotely decent hardware. If it messes this up for some reason though and you know your hardware is adequate, open up up options and select ultra yourself. Hit ok and play. Once we get to the principal menu, the game should have generated the appropriate files and we tin quit out.

Awesome! You lot're Done!

Congratulations! You now accept a Special Edition that'due south so fresh and and then clean, make clean. You're also fix to start modding. If y'all desire to keep information technology clean, continue post-obit my guides where nosotros'll use Mod Organizer.