By Sean3h. The executables 'RUN' info in the right pane is periodically removed

[wolverine2710]

Originally Nexus user Sean3h posted this in the Nexus MO forum. So that this discussion will not get buried on the nexus forums I created the question here and will respond to it here.

I've been using MO with New Vegas with decent success but I'm having a frustrating problem that's occurring somewhat frequently. Every so often when I open MO it seems to reset my program settings in the top right, where you can boot other tools through MO, to default settings. I don't know if this is only an issue with New Vegas, but is this a known issue with a potential fix?

I myself have not experienced this problem and I don' think it is related to the specific use of Fallout New New Vegas (FONV). I can't recall having seen  reports about this before, but don't have a perfect memory. If others have experienced it please DO mention it here.

 

Making regular or even daily backups of the Mod Organizer (MO) related files is good practice. Its described in the 'Advanced' tab of the S.T.E.P. MO wiki.  Should something go wrong you can go back to a previous working situation/date.

 

The [CustomExecutables] part of the ModOrganizer.ini contains the info you described. Unless you know exactly what you are doing do NOT edit this file. On startup MO checks for "automatically recognized executables" and updates the [CustomExecutables] section. It looks as if sometimes the custom added executables gets removed or are overwritten. See the 'Third Party Programs' tab in the wiki for more information.

 

Questions: Do perhaps other settings get removed or it is just this information.

 

Please create a 'bug report' ticket for it in the issue tracker so Tannin can have a look at it. I also invite users with the same problem to update it. The more information Tannin has the better.

[GSDFan]

I am going to take a guess here, I believe you are talking about the drop down list to run the executables and not the shortcuts on the toolbar.

 

Mod Organizer (MO) has the ability to set a custom order of the executables by drag and drop in the “Modify Executables†dialog and also to remember the last used executable.

 

In version 1.0.7rc8 there are four default entries populated in that dialog for you.

 

You have the ability to drag and drop an executable, say BOSS, above the four default to set it at the top. Unfortunately this will only be for the current session. Once you restart MO the four default entries will be at the top and everything will be below them. This is a default behavior. If you had run BOSS before exiting MO, it will be remembered and be in the run box on restart.

[Sean3h]

The [CustomExecutables] part of the ModOrganizer.ini contains the info you described. Unless you know exactly what you are doing do NOT edit this file. On startup MO checks for "automatically recognized executables" and updates the [CustomExecutables] section. It looks as if sometimes the custom added executables gets removed or are overwritten. See the 'Third Party Programs' tab in the wiki for more information.

 

Questions: Do perhaps other settings get removed or it is just this information.

 

This is exactly the issue, yes. As for other settings, no, everything else is fine.

I am going to take a guess here, I believe you are talking about the drop down list to run the executables and not the shortcuts on the toolbar.

 

Mod Organizer (MO) has the ability to set a custom order of the executables by drag and drop in the “Modify Executables†dialog and also to remember the last used executable.

 

In version 1.0.7rc8 there are four default entries populated in that dialog for you.

 

You have the ability to drag and drop an executable, say BOSS, above the four default to set it at the top. Unfortunately this will only be for the current session. Once you restart MO the four default entries will be at the top and everything will be below them. This is a default behavior. If you had run BOSS before exiting MO, it will be remembered and be in the run box on restart.

I'm not trying to re-arrange the order; I'm just adding new executables. I can then open and close MO freely without problems. However, every so often I will open MO and get a version history update and the tutorial message, and my custom executables will have been removed. However, as I said above, all my other settings are fine.

 

I added custom executables when I used to mod Skyrim as well and never had this issue.

 

I have also submitted a bug report as per the request of the OP.

[DoubleYou]

It sounds like something is deleting the ModOrganizer.ini periodically. That's what triggers the tutorial message and the custom executables. Perhaps your antivirus?

[wolverine2710]

If the modorganizer.ini file is indeed removed you also have to fill in your username/password, upon startup MO have its default layout, plugin settings are removed etc. Did that happen in your case?

 

Can you have a look at the create time of the modorganizer.ini file. This will tell you if it has been created again (looks most likely) or that the MO.ini contents has been garbled. It IS strange that this as you stated only happens for FallOut New Vegas (FONV) and not Skyrim.

 

Thanks for creating bug "Bug report #452  -  Custom added executables are occasionally being removed when opening MO" you wrote

MO, when opened, will appear with the version update history and a tutorial message, with the executable tab reset. This only happens once every dozen or so times, and all the other settings, as well as installed packages and load order, are fine.

When installing mods they are installed in the mods directory. Files generated by Mods or Tools end up in the /overwrite directory. All profile related files are stored in the /profiles directory. Info about Profiles can be found in the STEP MO wiki, in the Profiles section.  This all is separate from the ModOrganizer.ini file. Hence those weren't lost/reset as you have mentioned.

[Sean3h]

It sounds like something is deleting the ModOrganizer.ini periodically. That's what triggers the tutorial message and the custom executables. Perhaps your antivirus?

Avast is set to scan any .ini files whenever they are executed, so on the off chance that is the problem I added the MO directory to the exclusion list.

If the modorganizer.ini file is indeed removed you also have to fill in your username/password, upon startup MO have its default layout, plugin settings are removed etc. Did that happen in your case?

 

Can you have a look at the create time of the modorganizer.ini file. This will tell you if it has been created again (looks most likely) or that the MO.ini contents has been garbled. It IS strange that this as you stated only happens for FallOut New Vegas (FONV) and not Skyrim.

 

I haven't had to add my username/password again, no. Though I did uncheck the 'installation' tab from the package list on the left and that seems to have reset too.

 

The last create time was '‎23 ‎October ‎2013, â€â€Ž01:07:38' which would have been about the time this problem first occurred, though it has definitely happened a few times since then.

[DoubleYou]

I think we might now know the problem. According to https://skse.silverlock.org/

Note: Avast's update on October 23, 2013 is now misdetecting skse_loader and any files containing skse_loader as a virus. We have submitted a false positive report to Avast, but since this is up to them to fix, we don't know how quickly it will be resolved. You may also submit a false positive report at https://www.avast.com/contact-form.php if you like.

You say the last creation time was on Oct 23, and Avast decided to start calling SKSE a virus on Oct 23. You might want to make sure SKSE is still installed, as Avast might have removed it, or even be periodically removing it, causing this exact issue.

[wolverine2710]

I have to admit I don't see a pattern in the behavior you mentioned. Username/password is stored in the file modorganizer.ini and when that one is removed (and consequently recreated by MO when it starts and thinks its the first it gets started) you must set them again in MO's setting.

Though I did uncheck the 'installation' tab from the package list on the left and that seems to have reset too.

Not sure what you mean with this. What do you mean with reset? If you mean the 'installation date' tab/column in the left pane that information is stored in the meta.ini for each mod and is not part of the modorganizer.ini file iirc. (Not behind MO/Skyrim PC so can't check).

The last create time was '‎23 ‎October ‎2013, ‏‎01:07:38' which would have been about the time this problem first occurred, though it has definitely happened a few times since then.

If you mean that after that time you lost the mentioned [CustomExecutables] information again and MO shows you the 'start tutorial' question it looks to me that the modorganizer.ini file did NOT get removed but for some reason got mangled. Also strange it seems to happen only for FONV. Hopefully Tannin can help your further (and/or next MO versions creates some kind of .ini.backup files to investigate this further).

 

My best adive is to create backups of the MO related files on a daily bases. I will update the wiki this afternoon with the relevant info.

 

Perhaps other users have some idea but atm I'm a bit baffled about it all.

[Sean3h]

I think we might now know the problem. According to https://skse.silverlock.org/

Note: Avast's update on October 23, 2013 is now misdetecting skse_loader and any files containing skse_loader as a virus. We have submitted a false positive report to Avast, but since this is up to them to fix, we don't know how quickly it will be resolved. You may also submit a false positive report at https://www.avast.com/contact-form.php if you like.

You say the last creation time was on Oct 23, and Avast decided to start calling SKSE a virus on Oct 23. You might want to make sure SKSE is still installed, as Avast might have removed it, or even be periodically removing it, causing this exact issue.

That sounds promising, though I don't know if that problems extends to NVSE. It hasn't been removed at any point, though I will set up the entire NV directory as an exclusion from Avast.

Not sure what you mean with this. What do you mean with reset? If you mean the 'installation date' tab/column in the left pane that information is stored in the meta.ini for each mod and is not part of the modorganizer.ini file iirc. (Not behind MO/Skyrim PC so can't check).

The last create time was '‎23 ‎October ‎2013, â€â€Ž01:07:38' which would have been about the time this problem first occurred, though it has definitely happened a few times since then.

If you mean that after that time you lost the mentioned [CustomExecutables] information again and MO shows you the 'start tutorial' question it looks to me that the modorganizer.ini file did NOT get removed but for some reason got mangled. Also strange it seems to happen only for FONV. Hopefully Tannin can help your further (and/or next MO versions creates some kind of .ini.backup files to investigate this further).

 

My best adive is to create backups of the MO related files on a daily bases. I will update the wiki this afternoon with the relevant info.

 

Perhaps other users have some idea but atm I'm a bit baffled about it all.

When you right click on the installation pane on the left you can uncheck the box to stop it from appearing. That's what I meant. The date itself doesn't change. As I said that box gets re-checked whenever this problem occurs; but it is the only thing other than the custom added executables that gets reset within the program.

 

Either way, now that I know what file is getting messed up I'll just back it up and restore whenever the problem occurs in the future. That's a minor price to pay for the benefits MO brings over the other NV modding tools. I'll try and keep a closer eye on the problem and see if I can reproduce it. Thank you all for the help.

[wolverine2710]

Please don't forget to update the ticket in the issue tracker. Tannin made the following comment there. Can you please help him as he suggests there.

 

The Mod Organizer.ini must get corrupted or deleted. It's hard to tell what's causing it. I can't rule out an error in MO but it could just as well be an outside influence (i.e. a ******** virus scanner getting an exclusive lock on the file).

 

Please help me isolate the problem: create a batch file in the mod organizer directory (i.e. "MO.bat") with this contents:

 

set t=%time:~0,8%

set t=%t::=-%

copy ModOrganizer.ini ModOrganizer.%DATE%_%t%.ini

ModOrganizer.exe

 

Now always start MO using that bat file. This will make a backup of your ini file every time you start mod organizer. When the bug happens again, please send me the 2 newest backups (they have the time in their name). You should also be able to restore your settings using those backups. Of course you can delete older backups.