Heya,

Like many of you, I've installed and tried many mods in the past. Some I kept using, others got removed. The thing is that although the .esp file is gone, all other related files such as textures,models, sounds, etc are still left in my data files folder. Is there a way to check which files a mod is currently (not) using? Something to clean up all unused files from my hard drive, or any alternatives. (fresh install and transfering all used files by mods?)

Thing is I'd like to make a backup copy of Morrowind to my external hard drive, but I don't want any unnecessary files to take up disc space.

Fresh Install, use Wrye Mash to do all the installing, so when you decide in the future you don't want a mod anymore, it automatically removes the entire thing for you....and re-installs equivalent meshes/textures from other mods that are no longer over-ridden by the removed mod.

You can do this with TESFiles. Run it, telling it to export all the files from the mods you actually use. Then, purge your Data Files folder of everything that was added by any mod, and put the stuff that TESFiles exported all back in - keep a backup of your old files, though, just in case you lost anything important! Run Morrowind and make sure everything workss okay, replacing any missing files that you saved in your backup, then once you've determined everything's all right, you can delete the backup files to free up space.

This WILL get rid of any pluginless replacers, though, so make sure you still have the archives for them so you can keep things looking pretty!

I just look at the "Date Created" and "Date Modified" times. Anything after 2002 or 2003 is probably from a mod. Also, if the file name isn't in the typical Bethesda annotation, or is in a specially-named folder, it's probably from a mod.

I half-installed a lot of mods, so I don't know what half my stuff was even from. I suppose I could uninstall and re-install the game + patches. :shrug:

I believe this is the thing I was looking for, will try this out later.
Thanks for the swift replies.

Start using the Installers tab in Mash after that. Seriously.

Yep, I agree with this. Wrye Mash is one of the best tools you can use for keeping track of everything.