User:GrantSP/Cleaning Bethesda DLCs

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Cleaning the Bethesda DLCs with xEdit[edit | edit source]

xEdit is the generalised term for the tools called: TES5Edit, FNVEdit etc. The actual executable for each game is just a renamed copy of xedit.exe. The same result can be had by calling xedit.exe with game specific switches.

As STEP recommends the use of Mod Organizer for all mod management, xEdit needs to be installed, and run from within MO. The instructions in that guide Mod Organizer explain how to do this, including which switch applies to which game.

To remove errors in the Bethesda master files the following steps should be used. We will use the example of the Update.esm from Skyrim as the file that is cleaned, but substituting the correct name for each game is all that is needed. e.g. DeadMoney.esm from <falloutnv>/data or BrokenSteel.esm from <fallout3>/data


  1. Make a backup of Update.esm from <skyrim>/data directory by copying it to the desktop (or somewhere else handy).
  2. Run xEdit through Mod Organizer.
  3. Right-click the list of plugins and choose [Select None].
  4. Double-click Update.esm, or place a checkmark in the box to the left and then press [OK].
  5. Wait for the message: Background Loader: finished in the right panel, and then right-click Update.esm and select [Apply Filter For Cleaning].
  6. Wait for the [Filtering done] Processed Records: message in the right panel, and then right-click Update.esm and select [Remove "Identical to Master" records]. If the Warning! prompt pops up, click [Yes, I'm absolutely sure].
  7. Wait for the [Removing "Identical to Master" records done] Processed Records: message, and then right-click Update.esm and select [Undelete and Disable References].
  8. Wait for the [Undeleting and Disabling References done] Processed Records: message, and then click the [X] at upper right of the program window to exit the program.
  9. At the prompt, checkmark Update.esm and Backup Plugins and click [OK].
  10. Restore the backed up Update.esm from step 1 to the <skyrim>/data directory.
  11. In Mod Organizer, at the bottom of the left pane modlist is the Overwrite mod, now labelled red because files have been written to it. Double-click to open it.
  12. In Overwrite you will find two items: a xEdit Backups folder and Update.esm. Since you already restored your own backed up Update.esm to the data directory, right-click and delete the xEdit Backups folder and click [Close].
  13. Right-click Overwrite and select Create Mod..., name it Cleaned Update ESM, and click [OK].
  14. Drag and drop the new Cleaned Update ESM mod to the top of the left pane modlist.