Fallout Mods not working or showing up in load order

Fallout 4 is part of the Fallout video game series, a post-apocalyptic role-playing game. Fallout franchise releases mods for the Fallout game. Gamers can load these mods to the game. There are various programs available for users to manage their Fallout mods, including NMM (Nexus Mod Manager) and Vortex Mod Manager. While playing the game, some gamers have experienced an issue with Fallout 4 mods. According to them, some Fallout 4 mods are not functioning properly. If Fallout mods are not working or showing up in load order on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC, this article may help you fix it.

Why are my Fallout 4 mods not working?

There could be many reasons why your Fallout 4 mods are not working. We have listed some of these reasons below:

You have saved all your mods at a location other than the game installation location. In this case, you have to enable the Multi-HD Install mods.
You have configured the .ini file incorrectly.
The Nexus Mod Manager you are using is outdated. Simply update the NMM to fix this issue.
Some of the mods do not have administrative access.

We have outlined some solutions in this article that may help you resolve this issue.

Fallout 4 Mods not working or showing up in load order

If the Fallout mods are not working or showing up in load order on your Windows PC, try the following solutions to get rid of this problem:

Run Nexus Mod Manager as an administrator.
Enable the mods permanently by configuring the .ini file.
Update the Nexus Mod Manager.
Enable Multi-HD Install mods in NMM.
Switch to Vortex Mod Manager or MO2.

Let’s examine these solutions in detail.

1] Run Nexus Mod Manager as an administrator

Some Fallout 4 mods require administrative access. This is one possible reason why Nexus Mod Manager skips certain mods. According to some users, this problem occurs mostly with the .esp file. It is a file that implements changes to the game world, such as adding characters and weapons. To fix this problem, run Fallout 4 as an administrator by right-clicking on its icon. Running the game as an administrator will load all those mods that require admin access.

If this fixes the issue, you can set Fallout 4 to always run as administrator.

2] Enable the Fallout 4 mods permanently by configuring the .ini file

Manually enabling the mods from the library can fix this issue. But according to the users, the mods get disabled automatically when they launch the game the next time. You can enable the Fallout 4 mods permanently by configuring the .ini file. To do so, open the Documents folder and go to “My Games > Fallout4.” There should be a Fallout4Custom.ini file. If this file is not available there, create a new one. To create a new .ini file, open a new blank file in Notepad and save it as Fallout4Custom.ini.

Now, double-click on the Fallout4Custom.ini file to open it. The file will open in your default text editor, which is typically Notepad. After opening the file, please copy the following lines and paste them into it.

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

After pasting the above lines, save that Notepad file and close the Notepad application. Check if the mods are working or not. If the issue still persists, open another file named Fallout4Prefs.ini and edit it. You will find this file in the same folder where the Fallout4Custom.ini file is located. If this file is not there, create a new one by using the Notepad application.

Double-click on the Fallout4Prefs.ini file to open it. Copy the following lines and paste them into it.

[Launcher]:
bEnableFileSelection=1

If the above lines are already written in the Fallout4Prefs.ini file, check whether the value of the bEnableFileSelection text is 1. If not, change its value to 1.

Now, save the file and close the Notepad application.

3] Update the Nexus Mod Manager

If you are using NMM (Nexus Mod Manager), you may be experiencing this issue due to its outdated version. Update the Nexus Mod Manager to the latest version and see if it brings any changes.

4] Enable Multi-HD Install mod in NMM

Nexus Mod Manager allows you to place your mods on a separate drive. For example, if you have installed your game on an SSD but in order to save space, you want to put all your mods on HDD. The NMM allows you to do this. However, if you do this, some of your mods may not function properly. Therefore, ensure that you have installed all your mods on the same drive as the game.

If you have installed all your mods on a drive other than the one on which your game is installed, you must enable the Multi-HD Install mods in NMM. To do this, follow the steps below:

Launch the NMM as an administrator.
Select the checkbox that says Enable Multi-HD Install mode.
Click on the Browse button next to the Virtual Install option.
Select the location where your mods are located.
Click on the Finish button.

Now, check if the issue persists.

5] Switch to Vortex Mod Manager or MO2

If, after updating the Nexus Mod Manager, the Fallout 4 mods are still not working or not appearing in the load order, consider switching to an alternative mod manager. You can use Vortex Mod Manager or Mod Organizer 2 as an alternative to the Nexus Mod Manager.

Hope this helps.

How does Fallout 4 mod load order work?

As the name suggests, the load order operates on a first-come, first-served basis. So, the mods at the top are loaded first in the game, and the mods in the bottom part of the load order are loaded later.