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Install order of mods and how it affects uninstalling


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#1 chuft

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Posted 22 July 2019 - 03:17 PM

I have read an offhand reference or two in various places to install order for mods, and how installing something late in the order "made it easier to uninstall" or something along those lines.

 

I am wondering what this means.  As an example, I just did an install of BGT, and ran the music utility to change the music to BG1.  I then installed the tweak pack and SCS stratagems.

 

Assuming I get far enough in my game, at some point I will want to switch the music to BG2 music when the Shadow of Amn part starts.  Am I hosed in some way by running the music utility before doing the long, massive tweak installs?  Will I have to do them all over again if I want to change the music?

 

Just wondering what people mean by installing something late in the order makes it easier to remove later.

 

Thanks.



#2 jastey

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Posted 22 July 2019 - 09:31 PM

The backup data of the mod is created upon installing. So, if a mod gets uninstalld, it will restore the version of the game is found before being installed.

Meaning: if you install several mods, then every mod makes a backup of how the game was after the mod before. And in reverse, to be able to restore the game as it was, all mods that were installed after the mod you actually want to remove / change need to be deinstalled first so the backup data can be restored, then your actual mod will be changed, and then all following mods have to be reinstalled later. WeiDU can remember some of the install choices, but some you need to redo by hand then, yes.

 

So, if a mod is installd last, you can just reinstall it without hassle. But if there are 5 mods after it, those 5 mods have to be deinstalled before the mod in question is touched by Weidu, and afterwards the 5 mods will be reinstalled since you didn't chose those to be deinstalled so WeiDu will reinstall them to your game.


Edited by jastey, 22 July 2019 - 09:32 PM.


#3 The Imp

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Posted 22 July 2019 - 11:59 PM

But if there are 5 mods after it, those 5 mods have to be deinstalled before the mod in question is touched by Weidu, and afterwards the 5 mods will be reinstalled since you didn't chose those to be deinstalled so WeiDu will reinstall them to your game.

And this is a process that can fail massively as it's automated and produce incompatible with your saves.

And yes, in case it's unclear, one can uninstall mod components by just running the setup-*modname*.exe they are part of and selecting U in the component that have been installed.


Yep, Jarno Mikkola. my Mega Mod FAQ. Use of the BWS, and how to use it(scroll down that post a bit). 
OK, desert dweller, welcome to the sanity, you are free to search for the limit, it's out there, we drew it in the sand. Ouh, actually it was still snow then.. but anyways.


#4 chuft

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Posted 23 July 2019 - 03:24 AM

Thanks.  So it sounds like I don't have to remember the order they were installed in or manually uninstall the last ones first, but the auto-reinstall of them will still require my input and may result in incompatibility with saves.  Thank you.



#5 The Imp

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Posted 23 July 2019 - 03:18 PM

So it sounds like I don't have to remember the order they were installed in ...

Yeah, the thing is, the install writes a file called weidu.log into your game folder which is the log of what was installed when... you can open the file with Notepad.

Now, installing multiple mods and some of them being BIG programs, like say SCS, has a potential of ruining the reinstall process BADLY, so it's recommended to not really consider taking it lightly. As the reinstall will take longer than it's install process itself.


Yep, Jarno Mikkola. my Mega Mod FAQ. Use of the BWS, and how to use it(scroll down that post a bit). 
OK, desert dweller, welcome to the sanity, you are free to search for the limit, it's out there, we drew it in the sand. Ouh, actually it was still snow then.. but anyways.