Hello again!

I've been plagued by paranoia concerning mods ever since I had some REALLY bad experiences with broken installs of KOTOR 1+2, so at some point I read that nTES4 and/or Multiple Oblivion Manager (MOM) could help.

I got both, but frankly I don't understand what they do!


Here's what I thought they'd do:

create an image or complete backup copy of my modded Oblivion that I can revert back to should I destroy my installation with new mods and/or other tinkering.


1) If they do, what exactly am I supposed to do to make that happen?

2) If not, are there any other tools that do that?

Or just use BAIN. Then you can completely uninstall any mod easily. However it takes a lot of skill to break a game using mods, 99% of the time it's down to installing something incorrectly.

Yes they both can do that, but if that is not happening then you will need to provide more information on why not.

They both can copy an entire install - meaning the game directory, Save game folder, and Application Data (where load order is saved) folders.

They then allow you to switch between copies by grouping these folders together and when you swap them the grouped folders get renamed as the active Oblivion copy and the inactive copies get renamed as something else.

There are differences between the two:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1210451-rel-mtes4-manager-thread-3/ is not actively supported, it calls the copies clones, it can handle Fallout3, it does not clone the BAIN folder. Some have reported it stops working (though many of the instances of it not working are the result it not playing well with UAC).

MOM is actively supported, it calls the copies images, It cannot yet handle other games, It can clone the BAIN folder. it also has issues if Oblivion is installed under UAC domain.

As to which is better at this point it really depends on your needs. If copying the entire BAIN folder is appealing then MOM is the way to go. If also handing Fallout3 then mTES4Manager is the way to go. As for copying the BAIN folder - that feature has already led to extreme reactions from normally leveled headed persons - mostly due to not understanding, I think ... I hope. It is optional and if you are willing to explore the creation and editing of the bash.ini (with three line changes only) you could set up each install (clone or image) to either share one BAIN folder or use separate BAIN folders -- both depending on your needs. For instance I have 5 Oblivion installs. 3 are Oblivion proper and they share one huge BAIN archive, another is Nehrim and it has it's own archive, and another is an install for modding/experimenting, etc and it has its own BAIN archive. I also keep a vanilla install for cloning.

If BAIN is a mystery then check out my http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084204-bain-mod-installation-projects/ (alternate guides are linked in its first post). http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084204-bain-mod-installation-projects/page__view__findpost__p__15798007 specifically talks about how to manage BAIN across multiple installs and reviews the pros and cons of having one or multiple BAIN archives across multiple installs. I do plan to at some point switch to MOM fully, but probably not until after the Skyrim update as right now with mTES4Manager I can do everything MOM can do by also using the bash.ini. I would advise against installing both - or if you do - don't have them manage the same installs - they don't work well in handling the same installs at the same time. Also the BAIN thread does not yet fully detail MOM - for not other reason than I've not yet edited it to do so.

The opening post of the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1159104-nehrim-and-mods-ii/page__view__findpost__p__16995416 explains some of the need for multiple installs with the TC.

as for what to do. Follow the instructions. I know the MOM readme is pretty simple.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1159104-nehrim-and-mods-ii/page__view__findpost__p__18448723 gives some starting pointers.

best of luck

so, finally got around to trying to deal with multiple clones / images, and hit my first snag:

using mTES4 I created the "Dummy Copy", imported and activated it.

However, when starting the setup.exe of my Oblivion DVD I can only UNinstall my existing Oblivion, not reinstall it a second time.

What to do?

1. Copy your entire install first. Including game directory, Save game files, AppData files. Back them up (copy not cut and paste).

2. Uninstall from current install leaving all the installed mods etc. Rename the legacy folders - possibly delete later after your sure all the below worked.

3. Reinstall Oblivion.

4. Make clones and examine how mTES4Manager stores the inactive clones.

5. Import your original install as a clone.

may be a good idea to defrag the drive after all this.