MO2 won't associate with .nxm downloads no matter what I do

[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

Edited June 5, 2018 by FlameNoir

[Greg]

The tag line under the Mod Organizer 2 Support title should read "MO2 support for Fallout 4, Skyrim SE and other games." The original release of Mod Organizer supported only the 64-bit games (Fallout 4 and Skyrim SE) but it has since been developed quite nicely so it now supports Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, Oblivion, Skyrim Legendary Edition, and Skyrim Special Edition.

 

I usually suggest installing Mod Organizer in its own folder off the root of the drive in a path like C:\Games\ModOrganizer or C:\Tools\ModOrganizer to keep the path somewhat short and to keep it away from the game folder and user-access controlled folders (like C:\Program Files). If you are currently using Mod Organizer 2.1.13 from Nexus, I suggest popping over to the #builds on the Mod Organizer discord and download the MO2 2.1.4 Dev Build 3 because this version fixes a lot of download issues (specifically detecting hung downloads, changes so the EU#1 Nexus server now works, fix resuming downloads, etc.). Immediately after you download this archive, open the folder where you saved the archive in Explorer, right click on the 7z file, click Properties to open the Properties dialog, click Unblock, and click OK to close the Properties dialog. Finally extract everything right into your existing MO2 folder and let it overwrite everything.

 

Now run Mod Organizer 2 (run ModOrganizer.exe from Explorer while in this MO2 folder not from a shortcut). Ensure Mod Organizer is currently configured for Skyrim Legendary Editiion not Skyrim Special Edition -- this should be the first button at the top left with the tip "Open the Instance selection dialog to manage a different Game." Once this is sorted, click Settings (the screwdriver and wrench icon at the top) to open the Settings dialog, and click the Nexus tab. Check "Automatically Log-In to Nexus", enter your username and password, click "Associate with 'Download with manager' links". and click OK to close the dialog. Finally, click "Search nexus network for more mods" (the globe icon at the top) to open Nexus in a browser and try to download a small mod with manager. Hopefully it works fine.

 

If this does not work, exit Mod Organizer and go back to Explorer (it should still be open and in the Mod Organizer folder). Double click to run nxmhandler.exe. NXM Handler should show a list two columns: Supported Game and Binary. Supported Game should be set to "skyrim" (without the quotes) and Binary should point to your Mod Organizer 2 executable (e.g. something like "C:\Games\ModOrganizer\ModOrganizer.exe" without the quotes). If you see multiple entries here, select the one most appropriate, and click Register active. If the list is empty, right click and select Add. Select Skyrim (not Skyrim SE) as the supported game, click the ... button to select the path to ModOrganizer.exe, and click OK. Click the new entry you just added, click Register active, and click Close. Go back to Mod Organizer, open Nexus, and try again.

 

If it still doesn't work and you are using Chrome, curse Google once or twice and follow DoubleYou's directions. If you are using Firefox, curse Mozilla once or twice and follow DoubleYou's directions. These are right at the top tagging "BEST ANSWER".

[GSDFan]

The primary handler is the one that was used when MO first ran and registered it. If you moved or deleted that instance of MO then that may be the problem as it is no longer there. If you click the globe icon in Mod Organizer it will register the current instance of MO as the handler for the currently managed game. You can also run the nxmhandler.exe from the current instance of MO and at the bottom to the right of the "Primary Handler" select "Register active" to make this one the primary handler.

 

I assume you have seen the post You Can Now Open NXM Files Using Multiple Programs in your search.

 

 

[FlameNoir]

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

[FlameNoir]

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.

Edited June 8, 2018 by FlameNoir

[FlameNoir]

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!

[Greg]

The patches include only ModOrganizer.exe so you would download this on top of the existing ModOrganizer.exe in your install. I suggest reading the description and deciding whether it contains any fixes or features you want.

[GSDFan]

On the discord you download a full build and install that. If anything is updated for that build it will say to download patch X and it will only be for that build.