I just ran BOSS and it's telling me that Update.esm contains dirty edits and needs to be cleaned with TESEdit, I'm not sure what caused this but is it ok to just leave it how it is? I don't have TESEdit, and my internet connection svcks and downloading even a small program is going to take hours.

Those dirty edits may cause problems with some mods, but it's not a critical issue. As for what caused it; Bethesda themselves

TES5Edit is also only 1.5MB so your connection would have to svck pretty bad for that to take hours to download. The benefits of using it would far outweigh any inconvenience associated with downloading it.

yeah, I've already cleaned Dawngaurd and Update. Just thinking about my load order and what mods I might be ditching before I start cleaning. No point in cleaning something when I might be dropping it.

But... with Dawnguard and Update I thought most people load that high? (I do anyway) and so any dirty edit would get overwritten by any following mod that needed the edits THEIR way? Not that the Unofficial patches are dirty (I am fairly sure they are not) but that is why they load high as well right? So that other mods can overwrite any edits that are needed THEIR way?

edit: on the other hand I never have any major issues with CTD or broken quests such so maybe I am just lucky with my load.

Ah, ah, ah -- Bethesda's plugins are notorious for dirty edits to vanilla content for one thing (doesn't matter if a later mod edits it, it's still a dirty change if no later mod is loaded), and deleted refs being edited is a sure-fire way to cause CTDs, especially navmeshes, and Hearthfire and Dawnguard have deleted navmeshes in spades.

I've had a remarkably more stable game experience since cleaning Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Update. 172 mods and counting, too! The majority of the mods have required little to no cleaning, wish we could say the same for the official product.

oh... wow deleted navmeshes... how am I running it then with out any CTD type problems?

Edit: oh, and anyone know if I have a hidden cell but make no navmeshes that is ok? I only use the cell to store markers and dead bodies and I have up till now had no experience with navmeshes for Skyrim as I have been only working on Combat game mechanics so far.

So long as no other mod tries to edit those NavMeshes you will be fine. But the instant one gets in, the game will crash instantly when that NavMesh tries to load in.

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't realize it was so small. Still took me 5 minutes to download lol

Quick question, if I'm going to clean Update.esm, is anything considered an implicit dependency or do I just check Update.esm box by itself?

http://www.creationkit.com/TES5Edit_Cleaning_Guide_-_TES5Edit

You only need tick the plugin your cleaning. Edit will auto bring up all masters to that file.

Man oh man Mastashake, great minds think alike! I was just about to do a thread on this very subject! I've got three mods showing they're dirty, including the aforementioned Update. The others are http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/20618 & http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22870/. Thing is, it says TES5Edit is only supposed to be used by authors, which turned me off using it; that and the instructions look like technobabble. Anyone able to give a step by step guide to installing and using it would be most appreciated.

Thanks bud, just a little confused by the program, it also says I should load it into the CK? Do I leave the CK open with the Update.esm loaded as an active file while cleaning it or something?

Dirty edits (ITMs) are not the cause of the instability. Those just create potential conflicts and also make the engine process extra junk it shouldn't have to. It's the deleted records that cause trouble. Deleted navmeshes being the worst offenders because the CK makes it so darn easy for that to happen even when you're trying to be careful about it.

I would need a refresher course on how to clean a mod. Haven't fooled with it since Fallout 3. Are there any good guides for TES5edit yet?