How do I know if the mods I have in my games folder is broken without playing the game?

I know that when there is a bigger update, not just a small patch or whatever, I have to delete the old version of mccc off my computer and get the new version, and...I think enable mods again, because I think they are disabled with an update. Then restart the game. The only way I know of to actually know is to open the game, then if your mods show up in the pop-up they're fine, but if they're not listed in the pop-up they're not. You don't actually have to play the game per se. Anyway, I'm sorry if that was zero help - I'm not super experienced with mods. TS4 is the first game I've played on pc, prior to this I was strictly a console player.