Skyrim VR Space Saver

A simple batch file that made the same files in the Skyrim VR Data folder become symlinks to their SE counterparts, saving about 3.5GB of disk space!

If you're like me and like to have separate setups for your Panyr and VR versions of Skyrim on the same drive, but have limited disk space, this is the mod for you!

I had an idea when I saw that some of the files in the VR version of the game were the same size as those in the Pancake version. After checking that the files were indeed identical using the binary comparison tool WinMerge, I created a batch file that removed the large file from the VR data folder and instead pointed it to the same file in the pancake data folder! Includes all identical files and excludes files if they are completely different.

Only available on NTFS formatted drives (probably C:\) since symbolic links are a feature of the NTFS format.

This script will not work on FAT formatted drives.

If you try to use it on a FAT drive, it will just delete your files, requiring you to run the script again in "delete" mode to recover your files.

------------------------------------------ FOR SYMLINK VERSION ----- --------------------------------------

Symlinks, or symlinks, change the file from two copies of the data on the drive (each game pointing to its own copy) to the VR version of the file pointing to the same file in the pancake version, because they are identical.

This actually just creates a pointer to the same file in the pancake folder in the form of a .symlink file, which the game treats as a normal file. The benefit of Symlinks over hard links is that Windows reads your file structure correctly because it saves the space this mod is designed to save!

illustrate:

• Place the batch wherever you like, VR Data folder is recommended
• Run the batch file by right-clicking and selecting RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR, otherwise it will not run.

3A. When asked, copy the path to the Data folder in your pancake version (enclosed in quotes) into the window and hit Enter.

3B. Copy the VR version's Data folder path (also enclosed in quotes) into the window and press Enter.

--------------------For the hard link version--------------------------------

For those who don't know, a hard link changes the file from two copies of the data on the drive (each game pointing to its own copy) to two games pointing to the same data on the drive because they are identical.

Because this actually just creates pointers to the same data as the pancake version of the file, the VR folder will show the file to be the same size as the pancake file, taking up the same amount of space. This is due to the way Windows Explorer reads the file structure. Rest assured, whether Windows says so or not, this space is indeed saved.

illustrate:

• Place the batch file in the VR data folder
• Double-click to run the batch file. Don't run as administrator, it won't work if you do.
• When asked, drag and drop the data folder from your pancake version into the window and press Enter.
• Follow the prompts and make your selections when asked.

5.?????

• Profit!

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This only took me a few minutes to set up (copied from the same mod I had for FO4VR), but if you really like what I did, please don't forget to like it!

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If you're like me and like to have separate setups for your Pancake and VR versions of Skyrim on the same drive, but are limited on disk space, this is the mod for you!

When I saw that some of the files for the VR version of the game were the same size as the files in the Pancake version, I had an idea. After checking using the binary comparison tool WinMerge to see that the files are indeed identical down to the bit, I created a batch file that removes the bulky files from the VR data folder and instead points it to the same file in the pancake data folder! All of t …