Hopefully this will serve as “the last word” on installing Plug-ins…

(Updated 13 Nov '03)

The information is based on my own personal experience and nothing else, so all the usual disclaimers and caveats apply.

Remember to back up your "Saves" folder.

You'll need to have a decent compression utility first. I use Zip Genius, personally, but many people will suggest Win-ACE, Power Archiver or Win-RAR as well. I don't think it matters as long as you find one you like and learn to use it. Read the Help Files - lots of good stuff in them.

For the remainder of this post, I am going to assume you are using Zip Genius. It's my post, so I can do that. You can download it for free here:

http://www.zipgenius.it/intweb/dl.asp

*** The Easy Install
Double-click the icon for your newly downloaded archive file (your plug-in). Zip Genius will open a window and you will see the file names that make up your plug-in. Look at the farright-hand column, the "Paths" column: do you see where the individual files have paths associated with them, something like "Textures/BG" or something similar? If you do, this is good; it means that Zip Genius will automatically place all the files into their proper locations for you when you extract the plug-in. If you do NOT see data-paths specified under this column, it means you are going to have put forth a little additional effort. We'll get to that a little later.

For now, let's assume that the data-paths have been specified for you. Click on the "Extract Files" button in the left pane, and a new window will open. First, you need to specify where you want your file to be sent when extracted by navigating through the directory tree in the center of the window. You want to navigate to your Morrowind "Data Files" folder (mostlikely located at C:/Program Files/Bethesda/Morrowind/Data Files). This is your target folder for extraction - unless the "Read Me" text for your plug-in states that you need to extract the files to some other location. In that case, navigate to the folder specified in the "Read Me" file. Click on the target folder to select it, the target folder path will show in the little window under the directory tree - but don't hit "Extract All Files" just yet!

Look up at the top of this window and you'll see three "Tabs": "Paths", "Options" and "Existing Files". Click on the "Options" tab. Under this tab, select "Extract All Files AND the "Use Subfolders Information" - this is important – it will ensure that your files go into the proper folders when extracted. Now click on "Extract" at the bottom of the screen; your files will be extracted and your Plug-in is just about ready for use.

To finish the Plug-in installation process, start Morrowind, Select Data Files from the splash-screen and double-click the little box in front of your Plug-in to finish installing it. Start Morrowind and your new Plug-in should load up.

Now... about that annoying little error message that crops up... the one that tells you thatyour new plug-in can not find certain master files that it needs and such... Let's deal with that right now.


*** That Annoying Plug-in "Error Message"
To prevent that error message from occurring, fire up the Construction Set, click on "Open"and select your Plug-in file by checking the box in front of it. Click on "Set as Active File" and open it. This will take a few seconds. Once the files have loaded, click on "Save" and exit the Construction Set. Problem solved.


*** The Worst Case Scenario
Now, if your Plug-in did NOT have the data-paths specified, you are going to have to move them yourself. If your Modder was kind, they specified where all the files in the Plug-in are supposed to be located in the "Read Me" file. You may need to create specific sub-folders as well. If you do, I suggest you create them first, before you do anything else. Use Zip Genius to extract the files, by TYPE, to the folders as specified in the "Read Me" file. To make this easy, we’re going to let Zip Genius sort the files BEFORE extracting them. To do this, click on the “Files” column heading… voila, all your files are now sorted by TYPE, and since all file
types go into the same folders or subfolders, you can click & drag to select all the files of the same type and the extract just those files to their specified folder. Zip Genius will automatically change from “Extract All Files” to “Only Selected Files” when you select specific files as I just described, so you don’t need to do anything special at this point. LetZip Genius do the grunt-work for you!

The "Absolute Worst-Case Scenario" would be that there is no "Read Me" file and you are completely on your own to move the files. Generally speaking, you are going to run into four different file types for Morrowind Plug-ins. The four file types and where they go has been shown below. Once again, extract them by file type to the folders indicated:

*.NIF
These get moved to the "Data Files/Meshes" subfolder.
*.DDS
These get moved to the "Data Files/Textures" subfolder.
*.TGA
These get moved to the "Data Files/Icons" subfolder.
*.ESP
These get moved to your "Data Files" folder.

On a few occasions, I have run into plug-ins that have bit map files included (*.bmp). If the "Read Me" file does not explain what to do with them, move them to your "Textures" folder.

After moving your files, you will need to finish installing the Plug-in by selecting "Data Files" from the Morrowind splash-screen, and double-clicking the little box next to your Plug-in. Start your game and your Plug-in/s should load up.


*** Yellow Geometric Shapes
If, during game play, you get an error that Morrowind can not find a specific file that it needs, and that it is going to use the default error-marker.nif instead, write down the exact wording of the error message. Morrowind is kind enough to tell you in this error message exactly what file it is looking for that cannot be found, and more importantly WHERE it is looking for it. Most likely what you have is missing *.nif file. To remedy this error, try re-extracting the files from the original archive file, or unzip the archived file into a temporary folder, search for the specific file that you need, and move it manually. The error message will tell you where the file goes.


*** Some Additional Cool Stuff That Comes With Zip Genius
While it’s certainly not necessary to look at, you have a lot of nice options that come with ZG. Click on the “Tools” menu at the top of the ZG window (or use your F12 key) and then click on “Advanced Settings” down at the bottom. I suggest selecting both the “Enable Zip Auto‘Check Integrity’” button as well as the “Try to repair archive automatically if damaged” buttons. This tells ZG to check your plug-in files integrity and repair them if it’s able - a nice little feature. You can also select or de-select what columns you want to see when opening an archive file by clicking on the “Columns” tab. I keep things down to the absolute minimum, using only the “File” and “Paths” columns, but that’s up to you.

How about some new colors (skins!) for Zip Genius? If you downloaded the full version, you get several to choose from. Check them out by going back to your “Options” menu under the “Tools” menu. Then click on “Layout”. Have a ball. Some other nice options you can look are located here as well.

Contact: Baphomet_93@cox.net

Game on!

Thank you for posting this....that should answer just about every plugin installation question.

Pinning this - would add signposts and flashing lights too if the option existed :lol:

what about .rar files, i got the insciption 2.0 and bank mods and i don't know how to work them????

I don't mean to be curt, but did you even bother to read the initial post??

"You’ll need to have a decent compression utility first. I use Zip Genius, personally, but many people will suggest Win Ace or Win RAR as well. I don’t think it matters as long as you find one you like and learn to use it. Read the Help Files - lots of good stuff in them."

http://www.zipgenius.it/intweb/dl.asp

thanks

I use Win Zip. All the files I've downloaded so far is "ziped".

So far I have about 100 different plugins installed and running with few problems. I found the best way to install them correctly is to extract them to a temp file, then manually insert them into the appropriate folders within the data files. My game loads and runs MUCH faster. Back about 60 plugins ago I just followed the instructions in the readme files. The problem was that I was getting huge tree branches in my data file. Even if I pointed to the right directory, it might create new branches. This is all well and good except it slows things way down. In some cases it makes plugins not work.

If you use lots of plugins it's brutally simple once you get a few done that way. A bit tedious, but worth the effort. Then what you can do is zip up the entire data file and save it somewhere. If your hard drive crashes at least you unload one zip file instead of 50.

If I understand you correctly, what you are doing is un-zipping the archived plug-in file into a temporary folder and then moving the files into the their proper locations, manually. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I'm unclear on exactly what it accomplishes(?).

The individual files for any particular plug-in need to be where they need to be; and whether they are moved to those locations manually or extracted there by the archive program the end result, to me anyway, appears to be the same.

Further, since most modders specify the proper data-paths for the files in their particular plug-in, it seems to me that the possibility of getting files in the wrong location would be much less when allowing the archive utility to handle that.

These are just my opinion's of course, and if you have a system that works for you and you like it, by all means stick with it.

Your idea of compressing the "Data Files" folder is good one. I like that idea very much.

...But you'd also be compressing the original art file archives, uncompressed art files, and ESMs... Just get all the archived plugins you have together and compress them into a single BH... Why BH? Well, it's obscured, and, therefore, cool.

actually, with me, files often dont extract properly when done by the program. i always do them manually just to be sure i dont end up messing the plugin

That's a problem I've not encountered.

Sometimes the ACTUAL data paths specified in the plug-in and the location the "Read Me" file TELLS me to extract them are different, but you have to blame the modder for that.

The most common example of this would be when the "Read Me" directs me to extract the files to the Morrowind\Data Files folder, but when I look at the data path specified in the plug-in, it will show, for examle, "Data Files\Meshes\..."; so extracting them as the "Read Me" specifies, would create a Data Files sub-folder (MW\Data Files\Data Files), and screw-up your install.

With Zip Genius this is easy to both identify and correct. One of the many reasons I both use and recommend it.

Come on Switch... come into the Light that IS... Zip Genius.

No, Switch! Don't listen to him! Use PowerArchiver!

i found the zip genius interface confusing, i couldnt even work out which button was extract, or how the extract feature worked (i dont remember exactly why i didnt like it). and the file paths can be exactly right (just textures folder, etc, and no data files folder) and it STILL doesnt extract properly. and yet when i do it manually, it works. (it even didnt extract the ESP file once! :blink:)

Personally I found the GUI for Zip Genius rather intuitive... The extract button you were looking for is the one labeled "Extract" for instance. Or you could choose to "Extract Files" from the left side-panel.

Ah well, I guess that's why there are so many flavors of ice cream out there, so everyone can find just what they're looking for.

vive la difference!

Ah, PowerArchiver, that rare breed of compression program that can handle just about any type of compressed file you care to throw at it!

I know how to install mods its just that sometimes when i install it i know for a fact that i am installing it right but when i go to the place where you select the mods that you want to use the mod i just installed is not there and if i install it again its still the same. Can some one plz tell me how to correct this !? :o

Look at the directory structure. If the ESP(s) are in the root of the archive, you can just extract it to Data Files and you'll, more often than not, be set. If there's a "Data Files" directory at the root of the archive, extract it into your Morrowind directory. If there's a "Games," "Bethesda Softworks," "Program Files," &c. (Or would that be "or cetera?") directory in the archive root and nothing else, take a second to applaud the plugin's author for his intuitive design and obvious expertise with archiving programs in general and extract it to a seperate folder. Go through the many directories in that folder until you reach the directory with the ESP in it. Put the entre directory to clipboard and move it to your Data Files directory.

That is precisely why I do it manually. At one point I had something like 6 data files/data files branches, all for seperate mods. I had a warnings file that was too big for either notepad or wordpad. Yikes. Luckily, fixing the mess wasn't as hard as I thought.

Question though, is power achiever just an unzip utility or wil it compress stuff as well? I've never heard of it.

PowerArchiver will open, create, encrypt, extract, add, delete, view, checkout, test, show properties etc for pretty much any type of compressed file. It will also remember passwords for encrypted files! Oh, and the toolbar is skinnable!

More info available here:

PowerArchiver Home Page

Call me old fashioned, but why isn't anyone using winzip?

WinZip is for people who use Windows 95 because it's "quaint."

Because WinZip can't handle .ACE, .RAR and a few other compressed file types. Quite a few mod makers are compressing their mods using .RAR or .ACE these days so obviuosly we need a file compression utility that will handle them. Personally I think PowerArchiver is one of the best (but it's not freeware!).

I agree with you... I used Power Archiver for a long time and it is an awesome utility. I plug Zip Genius here religiously because it's free for downloading, but if I was actually going to shell out dinero for an archive utility, PA would be my first choice.

Well, you've converted me to ZipGenius, and I find it easy to use, and very useful indeed.

Yeah, ZipGenius is probably the best freeware archiving utility currently available, but, if you want/can spend some cash then you won't go far wrong with PowerArchiver.

Ok let me explain some things about the different archive formats.
zip - old outdated, no recovery records, no signature, often gets corrupted, provides the lowest quality compression compaired to other formats.
rar - provides decent compression, recovery records, signature, archive lock, best sfx installer features.
ace - provides best compression, recovery records, signature, decent sfx installer features.

Wow I didn't realize that soo many people had a problem with installing plugins... oh hold on a second I did. Thats why I created a project to resolve these fustrating problems, of course there were other reasons I created the project.

Here is a link to the projects thread. Click Here to Goto thread

Ok, I apologize if this is Necromancy, but I am currently trying to install a couple of plugins (the hadhafang quest and smokeable pipes) and I cannot get them to show up on my Data File screen. I used Winzip (I know, I know) to extract the files and now I am sort of lost as to what I need to do next.

The explanation at the begining of this thread was a little confusing since I do not have ZipGenius nor do I have the time to DL it. Some help would be appreciated greatly (as this is my first time using plugins on MW).

Thanks greatly,
A.

Search your Morrowind Data Files directory for a folder that doesn't quite belong there... Anything besides BookArt, Fonts, Icons, Meshes, Music, Sound, Splash, Textures, and Video directories should be suspect.

If you find a directory that shouldn't be there, go inside... If there's a trail of subdirectories leading at last to a Data Files folder, move the Data Files directory to your Morrowind root directory and don't hesitate to find whoever archived the plugins and slap the asanine idiot over the head with a fifty pound UNIX manual.

Use Windows Explorer and move the folder or folders to where they need to be. You should be able to simply "click and drag" the folders from one location to the other.

Of course you'll download Zip Genius and end your self-imposed suffering as soon as possible, right?

Cool, I DL ZipGenius. It works fine, yet I can only run one plug-in (the LOTR weapons plugin). When I go to extract the others, nothing happens and on the 'Data File' section of the MW startup there is only Morrowind.esm and LOTR WEapons (plugin). How would I get the other plugins to run?

I'm getting frustrated. I downloaded a mod to get new faces in Morrowind, but they don't work. I've dragged every file to the appropriate folder and it doesn't work. When I'm playing Morrowind a window will pop up saying I'm missing a file. I check to see if I missed the file, but it is in the correct file. Am I missing something really obvious. Somebody please help me.

Im going on a whim here and thinking youve installed Rhedds head pack correct?
They dont replace the heads in game. They just add new ones for you to choose from

But that shouldn't give a missing files error. Can you continue and ignore the error? It might be something small you won't notice ingame anyway. An old reference left in the plugin or something.

If I try to ignore the error Morrowind shuts down on me. And yes it is Rhedd's faces I'm trying to use. I've noticed this happens for all mods I've downloaded.

It happens while loading the .esm and .esps correct?
Something along the lines of this

"Somefiles could not find the correct version of the parent/master file"

If so, just hit yes and it should work

Hi,
I know this is an old thread, but Zip Genius has moved. Here is the new homepage URL (not the download one, but there is a tab to download the most current version on this page)

Zip Genius Homepage

Thanks for the great help!!

Goldenrose

Well I've given up on using Rhedd's Heads and moved on. Now I have a new problem. I downloaded armor and when I equip the armor to my character she dissapears. For example, if I equip a helm to her, her head dissapears. No there is no invisibility enchantment. What's going on here?

how come i put the nif files in the meshes etc and it never works

I have a question. I have registered, and I want to download a plugin from this site. But there is a problem: when the system asks to login, I write my Username and a password, but the system says that there is invalid login! I tried to do it again, but there is still a problem! Please help!

hi all,
Ethereal Nature here.

im trying to download mod's for morrowind (no expansions) and every time i just get a white page with gibberish on it after i click on download what do i do to get the mods.

and where can i get a cape i SOOOO want one for my thief

Plz Reply Soon.

Bye from

Ethereal Nature

(P.S. how do i get a signiture?)

thats probably a broken link. try right-clicking on the download link, then click "save as" and put it where ever you like.

Take a good look at the URL. If it's ended with .zip, .rar or whatever, the browser's probably trying to open it as a web page. (I've had this happen with WMV files sometimes.)
You should be able to save it (that's Files -> Save As...) and it should work fine.

Hie thee unto PlanetElderScrolls and search their mod database for "cape". Seek and ye shall (hopefully) find.

See the link up top called "My Controls"? In there. Under "Personal Profile".

Hmm.. interesting.

Just a quick thing:

How do i install face meshes or whatever?

Can someone explain in laymens terms please? Because i did extract the files to the Data Files section, however the faces are the same..

For example, i downloaded a module that would create 16m and 12f faces for the Nord race. However, upon installation, i still see the same shrivled features of the Nords that i had prior to the installation.

As it says in the very first post in this thread, you may sometimes need to manually extract files by clicking and dragging from the zip file into the appropriate folders in Data Files. There are a bunch of tips in this thread. Please make sure you've read everything properly before posting a question. Thanks. ^^

I am sorry, but that's incorrect, because i have Winzip, and have not had any problems with extracting .rar-type files. You need to activate that specific type when you set up the programme.

To the mod - Thanks for your reply, but i meant in simpler terms, i have a high IQ, and am pretty intelligent however, with computers, i'm retarded haha.

Thanks.

This is really bothering me, I’ve placed the meshes into the mesh folder and the textures into their folder from the “emma’s wood elf heads” file I downloaded and placed the plug-in data file in the data files area. Yes, I’ve activated it in the construction set and saved it yet the damned thing still won’t work... Any suggestions?

Some of emma's mods have got little quirks on playing. I had one where I had to manually change the ini file to get it to work. She is usually pretty quick at replying to queries raised with her through her site and I suggest you try that. One thing, several of these mods only work when you start a new game and do not change your existing games. That could also be a reason.

This could also apply to you Dullahan.

Hmm.. interesting..

Thanks! Whenever i install a bunch of plug-ins, i always start a new game :-)

Many thanks to you on my part as well, I'll look into her site when I find it. *Bowness*