Flachdachs

I mean, the mods and versions always go to the main directory, and I have to hope that they don't interfere with each other. Maybe this is ensured due to how versions are stored. So installing into main directory and selecting a version in the Launcher options should be enough separation. My confusion was based on how I started to use separate game directories. I copied the content of .minecraft to the new directories, and in this case I could install mods into the new directories. But the launcher couldn't find the installations. For me the topic is done. Thanks for increasing my knowledge.

So, it is impossible to have a plain installation or (installations w/o Forge) and other installations with Forge?

Error message: This directory is missing launcher profile. Please run the Minecraft launcher first. To reproduce: start Laucher 2.0.806 "Add new" in "Launcher options" change "Game directory" to somewhere else than the default %appdata%/.minecraft start the game once to populate the new directory try to install forge-1.11.2-13.20.0.2228-installer.jar (or -win.exe) into the new directory. get the error message shown above. Additional info: Installing into %appdata%/.minecraft works w/o error. Game was installed before launcher 2.0 came out. Didn't try a fresh installation. Also didn't try to change Game directory in the old launcher. When copying all contents of this default folder to a directory somewhere else and changing the "Game Directory" in the launcher to this directory the Forge install will run. But Forge is not listed in the Version dropdown. Restarting the launcher doesn't help. Maybe I missunderstand the role of the "Game directory".