NifSkope Multiple Instances Issue
So, last month I finally upgraded my PC to Windows 8.1. I’d been using it a lot at work and figured i should do so on my home PC’s as well.
One of the biggest problems I faced during this time was using NifSkope. It just would NOT open multiple instances of the program, no matter what I tried. The only way I had found was by pressing Ctrl+N from within the program and navigating to the directory where the nif was located. This seriously fucked up my workflow, though. After a few weeks, I got sick of it! So this past weekend I reinstalled Win 8.1. I was so ready to condemn the OS to hell, (8.1 also does not like SweetFX, so you can imagine how happy i was about that >__>;;) but after the setup, and reinstalling NifSkope, I found that I can once again open up multiple instances of the program by double clicking on the nif files, just as i had back in 7. Ok, so what happened? Maybe a corrupt setting in the initial OS install? Wasn’t sure. So I decided to keep reinstalling more of my programs. After a few programs, I tried again and now it didn’t work anymore. I can open only one file by double clicking on the nif file i wanted but couldn’t open another one to open another instance. WTF IS EVEN HAPPENING???? I uninstalled the programs I had just installed, one-by-one and each time, tried to open the nifs.
Then I found my problem. Firewall. specifically: COMODO FIREWALL. “Ok this should be easy!” I thought. Just add some exceptions to the firewall and put it in the Safe Files list or something and I’m good! Right? Nope. Nothing worked. I installed the firewall, it doesn’t work, I uninstall it, it works. WTFFFFFFFUUUUUU???
So I did a little research into how NifSkope actually works and how it handles its files and processes. I’ll save you the technical crap, but bottom line is that THIS FUCKING SETTING:
Screws it all up! The program (and many others) NEEDS Loopback Traffic to function across multiple instances. So if you have Comodo Firewall and have this issue with NifSkope, go to Comodo’s Advanced Settings and uncheck Filter Loopback Traffic. I tried it out with a friend of mine that was having the same issue for a long time now and it worked for him too. Hopefully this will help others as well.
