FlameNoir

So, I want to play an unarmed character. I've got a perk overhaul mod that gives them perks, but I hate the weird and inelegant vanilla animations. Thankfully, there are several mods that provide plenty of alternatives. Except, I can't figure out how to install them properly. When I try to install them after downloading, MO2 tells me that there is "no game data on top level." I read that this is because there is no .esp file, and that what I need to do is "make sure the file structure of the mod folder matches your Skyrim data folder." But that's where the problem is, because my Skyrim data folder doesn't HAVE the same structure as these mod folders, or the same structure as shown in the installation guides on these mods. The mod installation guides tell me that I need to put the animation files under Skyrim\data\meshes\actors\character\animations, but... maybe it's because I'm using Steam, but there IS NO DIRECTORY like this! Oh, sure, there's Steam/steamapps/common/skyrim/Data, but it stops there. The only folders under Skyrim/Data are Interface, LSData, Scripts, shadersfx, Sound, Strings, TES5Edit Cache, and Video. There is a .bsa file labeled "animations" in the Data folder, but if that's some kind of compressed animations container file, how do I merge the animations mod with it??? btw I don't even know what a .bsa file is, unless it's a .boyscoutsofamerica file /s I'm so confused, and I have no idea how to make this work. Help would be very appreciated. btw the mods I tried to install were https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50416 and https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/77045?tab=description

Update: BethINI is my savior! Thank you for recommending that. I think there was something wrong with my ini files, or maybe they weren't present in the first place. But either way BethINI has solved my woes. I am once again in appreciation of the support on this forum. Thank you so much!

Ok, I figured out how to delete the Skyrim.ini files, but I cannot find any .ini files in my Mod Organizer folder at all. I will try going through the application but I'm not an expert in using it beyond the basic "download mods and order them" functions. Edit: Ok, i cannot find any .ini files of any kind inside the download directory of Mod Organizer. There is no AppData folder that I can find in my main C: drive, but even if there were, I'm not sure any MO-related files would be there, as I installed MO onto my D: drive. But the directory it's installed in has no .ini files whatsoever! I tried running MO like you said in an effort to make it "generate" them or something, but it seems not to have done so. I wish I could understand how all this stuff works so I could fix it myself more easily... sigh.

Ok, sorry for the delay (computer issues give me anxiety because I feel so blind and incompetent). I want to do this but I'm not sure where to find the default Skyrim .ini or the MO profile .ini.

I tried this, and it is in fact set to the proper Nvidia card. But, when i created this vanilla file, it told me that an "ini was missing" or something like that, and it said it wanted to copy the ini from the vanilla file. So maybe this means that the ini associated with my normal profile is messed up?

I already tried the uninstall and reinstall route and it did not work. I want to try what you've suggested but I don't know how to check if my computer has built-in intel graphics... I imagine there would be no reason for it to have something like that, since my laptop was ordered custom from Gigabyte--so why would they include a redundant intel graphics thingy? But then again maybe they did. I just don't know how to check.

So, first of all, I am not playing Skyrim Special Edition, and I have no plans to (I'm playing regular because not all the mods I like are compatible with SpecEdi). However, I am using MO2, and based on my previous experiences getting help on this forum I think this is the best place to post. Moving on, then, the issue (as the title states) is that the MO2 launcher won't work. What puzzles me, though, is that the regular Skyrim launcher totally DOES, and so too does the Skyrim Skript Extender launcher. The exact error message is as follows: "Failed to initialize renderer. Your display doesn't support the selected resolution. Please set a different resolution in Skyrim's launcher under 'Display Settings'." The issue, oddly, is that there is NOT, in fact, any issue with my display, my resolution, or even my Skyrim launcher... I know this, because when I launch the game via steam (either via SKSE or just the regular skyrim game) the game works fine! I'm using a gigabyte laptop (several years old) with a 1920x1080 display, with a nvidia Geforce GTX 870m and 16 gigs of ram. Also, I have no idea where this "display settings" option is, as there is not actually any part of the Skyrim launcher menu labeled as such... I assumed it just means the "options" menu, which does indeed contain display-related settings, but I'm also mildly concerned there may be some other menu somewhere I'm unaware of. This MAY have something to do with the fact that a few months ago I had to factory-reset my computer due to some BIOS and driver issues, which consequently resulted in a full wipe of my primary C: drive; all of my Steam games are stored on a separate D: drive (they're both inside the laptop) but I had made the shortsighted error of installing MO2 on the C: drive. Now, all of my C: drive files WERE backed up, and re-downloaded in one big folder that is still sitting on my desktop to this day, simply titled with my comp username and containing everything that was backed up. When I decided to try playing Skyrim again, I couldn't for the life of me figure out where the MO install had saved my mods, so I just took the installer from the backed up files (luckily I kept that) and installed the program fresh, THIS TIME onto my D: drive, and used my NexusMods download history to re-download all of my old mods. So, tl;dr, the MO2 launcher gives me an error that doesn't make sense because it doesn't line up with the results I'm getting when I (successfully, might I add) launch the game via the regular launcher or SKSE. edit: by the way I did try updating MO, which prompted me to do a fresh install and gave the option to place it in a new directory... I really had hoped this would solve my issue, but it seems it has not. My next step is to uninstall and reinstall skyrim/SKSE. Will update results.

Ok cool thanks for the help. Sorry for the title typo, I couldn't figure out how to fix it :|

Ok, that makes sense and I figured out how to get to that. But now I have the reverse problem: I want to update one specific mod, but I only see an option to IGNORE the update. Is there a button somewhere to only update one specific mod?

Back when I was using Mod Organizer 1, I used some kind of setting to prevent a certain mod from updating, because I disagreed with a nerf that the author had implemented to something added by the mod. Now I have upgraded to Mod Organizer 2, but I can't find this setting anywhere. Am I just dumb? Is it not present in this version? If it's the second case, then they should really fix that. Also, I could not find any option to individually check for updates on a SINGLE mod--when I right-click on any of the mods in my load order, it always brings up the same dialogue box, which seems to offer only the option to update EVERY mod. What's up with that? Thanks for the help, Flame Noir

Praise Talos! My problem has been fixed! I think my mistake may have been that when I used nxmhandler to 'set associated program' I did not actually click the row that that I wanted to set it to. But, given the various things you recommended, all of which I did, it could have been any of them. Regardless, I appreciate it greatly! This is much more significant to me than mere convenience, it is the alleviation of an actual stress burden on my mind. That may sound dramatic but I'm not even exaggerating. Praise the Nine!

Ok, so I have joined the discord and am downloading the 2.1.4 dev build. My immediate question is thus: there seems to be a patch release, should I download this instead? Or do I have to "apply" the patch to the build release? Or should I not bother? Also--@GSDfan, no I did not find that one on my own. It could be that the search terms I was using interfered (I believe I was putting ".nxm") or I may have just thought it was not relevant to me... like I said, I'm a complete n00b in terms of this situation. I will read it and see what I can understand--thanks.

Ok, just want to say I really appreciate the detailed responses and also the clarification on where I should/shouldn't post. I have not done anything yet because I had a long day and got wound up over this and another, different mod issue in a comppletely different game that I also can't solve. So, tomorrow I will do my best to apply what has been suggested! Much appreciated, FlameNoir

So, I know there is a MO2 subforum, but the rules said it was only for Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4, neither of which are relevant to me. I am using MO2 (or TRYING TO) for Skyrim legendary edition, so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post there. Anyway I have done lots of research and either the fixes I found in other threads are not working, or I am too much of a neophyte and I am not applying them properly. I have uninstalled and reinstalled MO1 Legacy and MO2 multiple times to no avail, I have attempted to use nxmhandler.exe multiple times in various different ways, I have clicked and dragged mods and folders to different directories. No matter what I do, every time I try to "download with manager," I get a red-circle-with-x windows error popup that says no program is associated with the file type. I tried to go into the settings in MO2 and click the little rectangle that says "Associate with 'Download with Manager' links," but then when I open up settings again, the box is not clicked! And, of course, clicking it has no result in terms of downloading. Now, I am aware that I can manually download mods and drag-and-drop them into the mods folder in the MO2 directory. Ignoring the fact that this is rather inconvenient, this issue has now become a serious bother to me. I am somewhat neurotic and obsessive and I am greatly upset that I cannot get this program to work properly, especially since I installed it on my potato school laptop and IT WORKED PERFECTLY. I feel like I'm trying to solve a rubiks cube in the dark, and it is zapping my neurons. It may be relevant that I used the old version (not legacy, I am referring to the pre-legacy version 1.3.something) of MO for a very long time. Upon discovering that I could no longer "download with manager," I decided to upgrade to MO2, but this proved to be more challenging than I anticipated; it's quite possible that my current issue is a result of a mistake when I originally tried to install it. I should have just downloaded the 7zip version, but noooo, I had to pick the installer... as I said before, I may be retarded, but please, anyone who can help me with this, I would really appreciate it. When I tried to use nxmhandler.exe, I was quite confused; I successfully associated it with the relevant game (I think; is SkyrimSE supposed to mean Special Edition or Script Extender?), but at the bottom it says "Primary Handler: E:\ModOrganizer\Mod Organizer\nxmhandler.exe," which is NOT the correct directory. My whole Mod Organizer folder is located in Documents in my C: drive (I did this because a thread I saw on this site suggested not installing it anywhere near skyrim or program files), yet nxmhandler.exe will not let me change this? I even tried MAKING a directory that agreed with the listed location, and I copy-pasted nxmhandler.exe into it, but it doesn't seem to have fixed anything. Thanks for any help. -FlameNoir TL;DR the new EU legislation ruined my life /s