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Installing the game

This section tells you how to properly install the game, and avoid issues caused by previous mod setups.

Need help?

If you run into any issues at any point in the guide, feel free to ask for help on our Discord Server in the #support-and-bugs-frost channel.

Enabling File Extensions

Before we start, it is important to enable file extensions in Windows.

By default, File Explorer will not show file extensions (such as .exe, .dll, or .esp). These extensions are very important when going through the guide, so it is highly recommended to enable visible file extensions:

  1. Open File Explorer
  2. Select the View tab at the top
  3. Enable File name extensions in the Show section

File Extensions Image

Making a Clean Install of Fallout 4

This section explains how to make a Clean Install of Fallout 4 to ensure its properly installed and no left-over files from previous mods are present.

Choosing a Location

A clean installation is not only required to get rid of any potential leftover mod files, but also to make sure the game is installed in a safe location. Here is what you need to know when choosing where to install your game:

  • Avoid any default Windows folders: This includes but is not limited to C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files x86, your Desktop and your Documents folders. This is because users lack write access to Program Files, while Desktop and Documents are often managed by OneDrive. This can cause many issues with the game and any modding tools.

    An example of a safe location is C:\Games

  • Install on an SSD if possible: Having the game on an SSD will drastically improve loading times and decrease stuttering.

Uninstalling the game

If you never installed the game before, go directly to the Installing the game part.

If you already uninstalled the game, make sure to follow step 4, 5 and 6 to ensure there are no leftovers.

  1. Open Steam and go to your Library
  2. Find Fallout 4 in the list
  3. Right-click on it and select Manage -> Uninstall
  4. Navigate to Steam\steamapps\common\ and, if present, delete the Fallout 4 folder
  5. Navigate to Documents\My Games and delete the Fallout4 folder
  6. Navigate to AppData\Local and delete the Fallout4 folder
  1. Open GOG Galaxy
  2. Select Fallout 4 in the Installed list, click on the Customization button (the one next to "Play")
  3. Select Manage Installation -> Uninstall.
  4. Navigate to Fallout 4 folder that previously contained the game, if present, and delete it
  5. Navigate to Documents\My Games and delete the Fallout4 folder
  6. Navigate to AppData\Local and delete the Fallout4 folder

Installing the game

Set the game's language to English during or after installing it. Non-English versions can cause issues with certain mods, and all mods featured here are in English.

It is strongly recommended installing the games outside any default Windows folders (such as Program Files (x86)), as the strict Windows file protections of these folders can break certain mods/tools.

Making a new Steam library

  1. Completely exit out of Steam using Task Manager or System Tray.
  2. Download the steam_library_setup_tool-3.2.exe file from here.
  3. Once downloaded, run the file and add a new entry by clicking Add Row.
  4. Type the chosen path under Path, e.g. C:\Games\Steam
  5. Click Accept then Yes if prompted to create a new folder.
  6. The tool will ask to exit, select OK.

Steam Library Tool Setup

Installing the game in Steam

  1. Open Steam and go to your Library
  2. Find Fallout 4 in the list and select Install
  3. Under Install to:, select the library folder created with the tool, which is the second C:\ entry if you are installing on the main drive. If you already had another steam library (for example on an external drive), you can chose that one instead.
  4. Select Next then wait for the install to finish

If you still do not see your new library, restart your PC.

Disabling Automatic Steam Updates

This will prevent Steam from automatically installing Fallout 4 updates, which will break modding support considerably until they gain wide modding support (and the guide's).

  1. In your Steam Library, right-click on Fallout 4, and click on Properties
  2. Click on the drop-down at the top of the right pane underneath Automatic Updates
  3. Set it to Wait until I launcht the game.

Since MO2 bypasses Steam's "play" button, Fallout 4 will never automatically update because you will launch the game through MO2.

Installing the game in GOG

  1. Select Fallout 4 in your GOG Library
  2. Click the Install button
  3. Select a save installation folder at Install to
  4. Select English as the language
  5. Click Install

No other steps are required for installing the game.

Key Terminology

Now that the game is installed, there are two folders from it that will be referred to in the guide often:

  • Root folder (where the game is installed):

    • Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4

  • Data folder (where all of the game's assets are located):

    • Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data

Generating Fresh .INI Files

  1. Run Fallout4Launcher.exe from the game's Root folder
  2. Click OK to both pop-ups that say Detecting Video Hardware
    • If there aren't any pop-ups, navigate to Documents\My Games\Fallout4 and delete all the files ending in .INI then retry
  3. Click OK then Exit

Downgrading the game

We need to revert the game code to version 1.10.163 for wider modding support.

Installation Instructions

  1. Download Main Files - Simple Fallout 4 Downgrader - for v1.10.984 0.3 using the manual download button
  2. From the downloaded archive, extract everything to the game's Root folder
  3. Double-click the fo4downgrader.exe to launch it
  4. Wait for the Patching successful message in the console window that just opened
  5. Close the console

The GOG version of Fallout 4 is already downgraded, you don't need to do anything.

Removing Creation Content (CC)

Description

  • This step removes CC content that has not been patched for FROST and will cause issues
  • These CC files have been added by the Next-Gen update, and while they work on the downgraded version of Fallout 4, they are not yet patched for FROST and should be removed

Uninstallation instructions

  • Open the Data folder (Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data) in the Windows Explorer
  • Delete the following files from it:
    • ccBGSFO4044-HellfirePowerArmor.esl
    • ccBGSFO4115-X02.esl
    • ccBGSFO4116-HeavyFlamer.esl
    • ccBGSFO4110-WS_Enclave.esl
    • ccBGSFO4096-AS_Enclave.esl
    • ccFSVFO4007-Halloween.esl
    • ccBGSFO4046-TesCan.esl
    • ccSBJFO4003-Grenade.esl
    • ccOTMFO4001-Remnants.esl

GOG users can skip this step.

Note: You can now move on to the next section.