Simply put, i cant figure out how a probe functions, or what its supposed to do. I mean, I know they disarm traps. My problem is, how exactly do they go about doing this? I know of no console command (unlike open/lock) to remove the trap. I checked the probes, and theres no scripts on them. I was hoping someone could explain the mechanics of how probes work, and if there are alternate methods of 'disarming" traps, cause its really weird!

Equip the probe just like a weapon, then "attack" the chest with the probe.
Your chance of success depends on your Security skill and the quality of the tools you're using. Your Fatigue and Luck also play a factor.

This probably belongs in Cheats, HINTS, and Spoilers and should be moved.
That being said, you need Probes to disable a trap. Get the best quality probes that you can. It may take several tries but you should be able to disable a trap. Remember traps can hurt your char or even kill them.
Equip the probe and keep trying until you disable the trap. Traps are easier to disable than locks are to pick.
Open spells, scrolls etc. aren't effective against traps.

he knows how to disarm traps.. hes asking about mechanics behind probe.. and if there's a console command to disarm traps.

Exactly. Ive been playing the game for quite some time, before Oblivion. But in that time, ive never been able to figure out what is actually happening, from a mechanical point of view, when you use a probe to disarm traps. It confuses me because theres no spells for this, theres no console command, nothing. It seems the only way to disarm something is with a probe, and thats just...weirdl

maybe the probe pre-triggers the trap

Wow..so like, no one knows how these items work (in a mechanical sense, not a "What does it do" sense.)? It seems really unusual to me, to just have this *one single thing* be completely separate from the whole of Morrowind. Without any spells or console commands that do the same thing, i find it infinitely odd that "Probes" even exist. Its also strange because its the only reason anyone would take Security over Alteration (I think it has something to do with that, infact.)

The only other way to disarm a trap is to use telekinesis, and activate the trapped object from a distance.

There you go. There's your "other" way.

I've never once used a Telekinesis spell. Don't have a clue how it works or what you can do with it, exactly. I've always relied on stealth and violence to get what I want.

It's not intuitive, but the way telekinesis works is that putting your crosshairs on objects can activate them from farther away. So that note in front of the guard on the other side of the room is much easier to steal...

Don't worry, you are not the only one to notice the probes are a little different from most of the mechanics of Morrowind. I mean, there is a spell you can buy and make thru the spellmakers and cast tht makes a container locked, as well as a spell to unlock. there is no such spell for traps. Add to that the fact that traps have a difficulty level (and the corresponding spell has a magnitude) that makes not all locks the same, but traps have no such magnitude/difficulty. It makes you curious to whether there is any reason to buy the different types of probes.

Personally, I think that the security skill/abilities is one place that the developers of MW made a mistake. For example, I think that looking at a container should NOT allow a trap to be detected/lock level to be known. perhaps when you try to open/activate the container then it should give the appropriate response (like saying the container is locked or even have the container explode!!!)

What it may have been is that there is a set timeline and then the game is released. This means that if you have a looming deadline coming up some things might get trimmed down to "workable" status instead of fully programmed features. I cannot speak for bethesda but I find this is the best darn RPG period. So certain things can be overlooked, even if they don't make sense compared to the rest of the game.

ST

Well, I would say that the way traps and probes work in MW is precisely how such things work in real life. A security expert, honest or thief, can sometimes (depending on skill) detect the presence of traps on things by investigating them prior to attempting to actually open them. Likewise, they use special tools to deactivate the trap prior to attempting to unlock the object. Or in reverse... a security expert putting traps on something locks it and then places the trap on/around it (normally with some method of getting past the trap or deactivating it for the authorized owner).

The lack of this in Oblivion really stinks.

Right, if you imagine it as something mechanical like a tiny lever or button that when moved, causes the spell to activate... using a probe can keep it from moving... or something like that?

Here's an example of how the probes could be working. Keep in mind this is just my speculation. We'll use a trapped chest for this.

When the lid of the chest is opened, it releases a spring loaded lever. This lever strikes a detonator, causing an explosion or releases a poison gas. The probe either prevents the spring from releasing or prevents the lever from striking the detonator.

I assume by "mechanics" of them, you mean the equation that the game engine uses.
Well, the only one I know for Security is for lockpicking, but disregard the Lock Level, and it's probably the same equation:
1.25(Security skill + Agility/5 + Luck/10)(lockpick multiplier) - Lock level

That seems to be how the game determines how you interact with the Trap. (with the addition of course, that the Trap will be set-off if it is Activated)
The trap "explosion" is itself a Spell. There's no script used to set it off, but instead the Trap function seems to be hard coded into the game as something that just uses the Spell once.

There are no spells to disarm traps because Bethesda never created that function as a Spell. They could have if they wanted, but they saw no reason to do it.
Spell Effects are hard coded into the game, and new ones cannot be added.
MWSE might be able to simulate a disarm-trap spell, though.

Not all actions are writen in script. Only specific things are, like telling a NPC to move in a certain way. I believe that doors and chests and whatnot are programmed in the engine to not be relyant on scripts to be locked or trapped. Put simply: Probe aren't scripted because they don't need to be. It's just part of the base programming. It's the same as there being no script that makes your character move when you push the right button. It just happens. Or how none of the common spell effects are scripted. It comes down to the fact that there are more types of coding than just scripts. Many of which we simply can't see without the assistance of outside programs or hacking.