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Choose the server you want to join, then use Verify / Repair. When offered, start with Prepare server files; this begins setup. Setup lists every blocker and the mods that need attention. Use Review conflicts with the launcher for extra conflicting files, or follow the three Vortex steps for missing and outdated mods. Open collection in browser opens the selected collection page. Automated conflict repair asks for your consent and retains numbered backups; Restore disabled files can put them back when the original paths are free. After any Vortex deployment, close Vortex and select Recheck setup. Required missing or incorrect mods still need the matching collection installed and deployed. If the launcher cannot find a custom Skyrim installation after updating, choose its folder once. New manual selections are saved for later restarts. Export setup report includes the measured checks and repair outcomes for support.

Steam updated the game past 1.6.1170, the version Nineholds runs. Open Set up / Fix installation and choose Restore Skyrim. The guide opens Steam's console, gives you three download commands to paste one at a time, watches the downloads, checks the files against the known 1.6.1170 versions and, when you agree, swaps them in. It keeps your current files as backups, and Undo the restore puts them back. Nineholds never downloads or supplies game files; Steam downloads them for your own copy. Afterwards set Steam's update option for Skyrim Special Edition to Only update this game when I launch it, and do not run Verify integrity, which updates the game again. The guide's files are the English edition; for another language, ask support first.

Skyrim's script extender and Skyrim Platform need the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 x64 runtime. Use the launcher's Get the runtime from Microsoft button, run the file Microsoft provides, then select Recheck setup.

Skyrim is usually inside a folder Windows protects, such as Program Files, and the launcher runs without administrator rights. In Steam, open Settings, then Storage, add a library folder elsewhere (for example on another drive), then use Skyrim Special Edition's Properties, Installed Files, Move install folder. Choose the moved folder in the launcher once; it remembers it. If you use Vortex, point it at the new folder and Deploy again.

Confirm the Steam game executable is 1.6.1170. In the selected Nineholds collection, use Skyrim Platform AE 2.9.0, the archive for the 1.6.x runtime. The SE archive with the same version number targets 1.5.97. Deploy the profile again, then recheck.

Make sure Vortex finished installing the collection for your selected server. Production uses revision 14. For Development, follow its setup guide for the current collection. Complete any collection choices, press Deploy, and let the launcher name the file it still cannot find.

Follow the launcher’s named conflict. If Vortex owns the file, disable that mod in the Nineholds profile and Deploy. If it is a loose file the launcher can move safely, use Repair. The migration guide explains why changing profiles alone may not clear it.

Windows error 4551 is “An Application Control policy has blocked this file.” Skyrim Platform ships a few unsigned DLLs, and Windows Smart App Control refuses unsigned code it has no reputation for before the game or the launcher can run it. Open Windows Security, then App & browser control, then Smart App Control settings, and choose Off. ⚠ Windows does not let you turn it back on without resetting the PC, so decide that for yourself; on a work or school computer an administrator may control it. Then press Play again. The launcher’s Diagnostics report says whether Smart App Control is enforcing on your computer.

A few Cathedral Landscapes textures exist in two installer choices that differ only by letter case, and Vortex may deploy either one. The launcher accepts either of the two known-good versions. If it still names a texture, Deploy the Nineholds profile again, close Vortex, and recheck. If it persists, send the named file and the Diagnostics report to support.

Activate the Nineholds Vortex profile, Deploy, and recheck in the launcher. Other profile changes can alter the active Plugins.txt. A mismatch can point game references at the wrong records, so the launcher stops before joining.

The selected server needs to approve the same Discord account you signed in with. Production and Development keep separate whitelists. Check the server selected above Play, then ask the team to approve your account for that server.

Keep the launcher open, watch its progress message, and open Diagnostics for the report. Do not use the game’s server browser as a workaround. Send the exact stage and refusal to support.

No. You need your own Steam copy of Skyrim Special Edition at executable version 1.6.1170. “AE” in the Skyrim Platform archive name identifies the compatible 1.6.x build.

Quit Nineholds fully, including from the system tray, then download the current signed installer from the launcher page and run it in the same installation folder. Your Skyrim mods and saves are not changed by that launcher repair.

Finish its deployment and keep the Nineholds profile active. The launcher installs its own files beside Vortex’s work; it does not replace Vortex’s collection files. If a conflict repeats, send the named file and Diagnostics report to support.