Save files too large [duplicate]

My save files are way too large!

I have been playing up to lv 15 with ~40 mods and before I knew the word of it my save file went up to ~700Mb in size.

Any way to reduce this? I tried to remove orphaned script instances with a save tool but only 670 out of 72K scripts were removed. Most likely my save file is simply too big.

Is there any way to make it smaller or to prevent the same from happening in the future?

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim

Best Answer

700 Mb sounds like there's an underlying issue causing a lot of bloat. Ensure that all your mods are well tested (read comments on the mod pages on the nexus) and that your load order is correct (LOOT also warns you about known issues with some mods). I tend to agree with user Katana314 that some mod is causing a huge amount of bloat.

One thing you can try as a temporary solution is go to some indoor cell (your house, etc) and wait 10 or 30 ingame days (various things in the game have different respawn timers). This will essentially reset most cells in the game and can reduce your save size.

However, the size you describe is totally out of order, so you should definitely look among your mods for potential trouble makers (posting your load order with a question like this is never a bad thing).

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What do you do when a file is too large to copy?

There is an relatively easy fix for the FAT32 max size problem of a file being too large for the USB drive: you need to change the file system of the removable drive from FAT32 to a more modern system, such as exFAT of NTFS.

How do I fix file too large to copy to external hard drive?

How to fix the problem that a file too large for external hard drive

Method 1. Use a proper external hard drive or USB.

Method 2. Convert the FAT/FAT32 file system to NTFS.

Method 3. Re-connect the external hard drive or USB.

Method 4. Backup a large file into multiple smaller images.

How to fix: Memory stick says \

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