Consistent crashes on startup & on loading saves

[Mantha065]

Half of the time I launch the game, it immediately freezes at the copyright slide. If the game manages to get to the main menu, one of two things happen: 1. The background image is displayed but the menu isn't, and I have to restart. 2. Everything works and I can proceed to loading a save.

 

If I am able to begin loading a save, one of three things happen: 1. The game completely freezes after about 5-10 seconds. 2. The game loads, but everything other than my HUD is invisible and there's no audio, forcing me to restart. 3. The save loads successfully, and the game allows me to play for about 15 minutes before it randomly crashes again.

 

I've tried reinstalling the game, reinstalling all my mods (which initially worked months ago when I had similar problems, but after taking a break since March the crashes are back), making sure I've got nothing else running, and yet nothing prevents the problems. The crashes are relentless. I've only been able to put 1 hour and 20 minutes into a new game, but I've spent 3 hours playing the game between yesterday and today, trying to coax the game into running properly. I'm losing my mind.

 

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Computer specs:

Processor: Intel i7-8700 @ 3.20 GHz

GPU: GTX 1060 3GB RAM

RAM: 16 GB

Monitor: 1920x1080 @60hz

OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit installed on an SSD

1 TB Hard drive with 60GB of free space

(also I last updated my graphics drivers in January if that helps)

 

Running a Steam copy of New Vegas (with all DLC) with NVSE and FOMM

 

Mods load order:

 

FalloutNV.esm

DeadMoney.esm

HonestHearts.esm

OldWorldBlues.esm

LonesomeRoad.esm

GunRunnersArsenal.esm

ClassicPack.esm

MercenaryPack.esm

TribalPack.esm

CaravanPack.esm

YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm

Interior Lighting Overhaul - Core.esm

NVInteriors_Core.esm

Vurt's WFO.esm

SomeguySeries.esm

FreesideOpen.esm

ELECTRO-CITY - CompletedWorkorders.esm

NVInteriors_ComboEdition.esm

Interior Lighting Overhaul - L38PS.esm

More Traits.esm

Project Nevada - Core.esm

NevadaSkies.esm

FCOMaster.esm

Project Nevada - Equipment.esm

Project Nevada - Rebalance.esp

CFWNV.esm

ELECTRO-CITY - Highways and Byways.esm

VanessaFollowerNV.esm

More Perks.esm

Project Nevada - Cyberware.esp

Project Nevada - Extra Options.esm

MikotoBeauty.esm

YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp

Mission Mojave - Ultimate Edition.esp

NVInteriors Addon.esp

Simply Uncut - New Vegas.esp

Brighter Lucky 38 suite.esp

ILO - Nevada Skies Patch.esp

ILO - PipBoy Light.esp

ILO - YUP Patch.esp

Project Nevada - Rebalance Complete.esp

Project Nevada - All DLC.esp

NVInteriors_Rewritten.esp

IMPACT.esp

dD - Enhanced Blood Main NV.esp

EVE FNV - ALL DLC.esp

IMPACT - AllDLC.esp

FCO - NPC Changes.esp

FreesideOpenPatch.esp

More Perks Update.esp

Unofficial Patch Plus.esp

MMUE-CP-EVE.esp

WeaponModsExpanded.esp

1nivVSLArmors.esp

Russell.esp

simplyuncutdialogtopicmain5dlcCompatibilityPatch.esp

MMUE-CP-Electrocity.esp

Courier Vests.esp

MikeBurnFire Complete.esp

Companion Sandbox Mode3.esp

MMUE-CP-NVInteriors.esp

FCO + YUP.esp

Energy Weapons MERGED.esp

WMX-DLCMerged.esp

Project Nevada - WMX.esp

PowerArmorRevamped.esp

More Traits Update.esp

VincentVincent.esp

HiddenBunker.esp

NCRTrooperOverhaul.esp

SU-NV The March West.esp

CAGE 1.9.3.2.esp

WMX-ArenovalisTextures.esp

WMX-EVE-AllDLCMerged.esp

NevadaSkies - Brighter Nights.esp

The Mod Configuration Menu.esp

PerkEveryLevel.esp

Project Nevada - Better Sprinting.esp

Project Nevada - EVE All DLC.esp

Real Recoil.esp

Project Nevada - Cyberware Additions.esp

Simply Uncut NV - Freeside Open Patch.esp

Weapon Retexture Project.esp

UnlimitedCompanions.esp

UnlimitedCompanions SCRIPT FIX.esp

WMX-POPMerged.esp

Unofficial Patch Plus - Project Nevada Patch.esp

No NPC Compass Ticks.esp

MojaveDelight.esp

JIP Companions Command & Control.esp

JackpotAMR.esp

MMUE-CP-ILO.esp

Unofficial Patch Plus - Addendum.esp

Moddable Unique Weps.esp

Project Nevada - IMPACT.esp

CFW-DLC.esp

Centered 3rd Person Camera - Unraised.esp

Follower Home Marker.esp

FCO - Race Addon.esp

A Better Veronica.esp

Assassins v1 The Organ Harvesters.esp

TripleBarreledShtgn.esp

DIM TYPE3clothesRETAIL.esp

MikotoBeauty.esp

Roberts_NewVegas.esp

Better Burned Man.esp

Interior Lighting Overhaul - Ultimate Edition.esp

ILO - NVInteriors Project.esp

Better Game Performance.esp

Total active plugins: 109

Total plugins: 110

 

 

If there's any additional info I need to provide, let me know.

[dubiousintent]

Thanks for such a complete problem report. It does help get you specific advice quickly. For instance we can rule out your hardware (unless a component is failing but that doesn't appear to be the case).

 

Hangs before the main menu are different from those after you load a "save". Please see either the 'Solutions to Starting the game problems' or the 'Solutions to "Crash To Desktop" (CTD) problems' sections in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide. In particular, 'Issue: Vanilla game Hangs on startup'; specifically "Cause-1" regarding DirectX9 drivers.

 

All of the following may not apply to your specific situation, but are worth repeating anyway from the 'Common Game Problems' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article. There is more, so I urge you to review it.

* Be aware that one error may mask a number of other errors, which will not appear until those masking them have been resolved. Building a stable game consists of resolving each problem individually until none remain, and then realizing that every change you make thereafter (including updates to mods already installed) run the risk of introducing new problems. Be prepared to revert to a previous save if you do so.

* Did you install Steam to it's default location? If so, please see the wiki "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article for why the original default Steam behavior of installing games to the "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files(x86)" folder tree was bad (they learned better, and don't do that any more but didn't change it for older games); and why "disabling UAC and running as Administrator" is NOT sufficient, with instructions how to move it. This is the single most important thing you can do to fix and protect yourself against problems in the future. As much of a PITA as that is, it's never going to be any easier than now. System updates often cause issues with games installed to these folder trees. With the game moved out of the default location you will not need to be running it as an "Administrator Account", which is safer. Please see the 'Restoring to "Vanilla"' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article as well.

* Do you have "New Vegas Stutter Remover" (NVSR) installed? If so, please see the 'Issue: CTD after 10-20 minutes of play (post-Win10 2017 FCU)' and 'Issue: CTD without warning, "Out of Memory error", or stops responding after the Main Menu' entries in the 'Solutions to "Crash To Desktop" (CTD) problems' section in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide.

:* As an alternative to NVSR, if you are running Win7 or Win10, try using the "New Vegas Tick Fix (NVTF)" mod instead. However, until NVTF includes the option, you may want to continue to use NVSR for the "iThreadsFixedToCPUs" setting.

* Related to the NVSR problem, for problems AFTER a save game is loaded see also 'Issue: Incomplete save game load' in the "Troubleshooting" guide.

* "Compatibility patches" to make one mod work with another need to be placed after (as in "physically lower, higher numbered") in the "load order" than ALL of the plugins they are designed to make compatible. (This also applies to "fix" files.) ESMs should always be placed at the top (lowest numbered) positions in the "load order", followed by the related ESPs though they can be separated from their ESMs by other plugins. LOOT does a good job of determining those basic orders. Getting the "load order" incorrect will cause "Missing Masters" errors as well. You can make minor adjustments to the order and tell LOOT how to remember them. It's in the on-line documentation under "Metadata".

FYI: The "pre-order packs" (aka "POPs": Caravan, Classic, Mercenary, and Tribal; available now in the "Courier's Stash" addon), are not considered "true DLC expansions" by most mods and are treated as "compatibility patches" because they just add certain unique items. So their absence should not deter you from using "All DLC Merged" plugins. Where they are included, they should come after "GunrunnersArsenal.ESM" which is a true DLC expansion. When in doubt, follow the process in the wiki "Missing Masters" article to confirm they are not "master files" for that plugin.

Generally we load "ALL DLC" patches before individual ones. The "rule of thumb" is "broader scope first, targeted changes after".

* Please see the paragraph about "auto-saves" under the 'Essentials for Getting Started' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article. If you have been using the built-in "auto-save" feature and you get the endless "roulette wheel" when loading a save game, then your current save game file is corrupted and you will have to either go back to a save before the corruption occurred (hard to tell) or start over.

* If you have more than one mod that makes any change to the same record or set of records in the vanilla game, then you really need to use a "Merge Patch File" with that collection of mods. Please see the 'Third Rule: The Rule of One' and 'Merge Patch File' sections of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article. When in doubt, create a "Merge Patch" file for your overall "load order" anyway.

I recommend anyone read the entire "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article to understand the differences between this game and others you may have experience with; especially if this is your first attempt to play a modded FNV or it's been more than a year since you last did so. It is designed for someone who has never played a modded PC game before, so it tries to avoid making any assumptions, is kept "up-to-date", and covers years of "lessons learned". It is NOT a list of various mods to install that happen to work on the author's machine. It addresses fundamentals underlying how to get the basic game and mods to work together.

-Dubious-

[Mantha065]

You're welcome, this certainly isn't my first rodeo with troubleshooting janky games and I know how much providing details makes your job easier lol.

I figured the menu hangs and save hangs had some kind of difference. I'll read those sections, thanks.

Regarding DirectX9- Just yesterday I found that section of the guide. I manually installed DirectX9, unpacked the files to a desktop folder, ran the setup exe (as administrator) and then deleted the desktop folder like the guide says. That solution so far seems to have done nothing at all, unfortunately.

Steam is not installed in the default location, it's installed directly to the D drive (D:\Steam).

I have New Vegas Stutter Remover installed. I'll read those sections as well.

I am not receiving any "missing masters" errors, and to the best of my knowledge, I've made sure all compatibility patches are loaded after their target plugins.

I read the Merge Patch File of the article, but I'm afraid I understood none of it. I'm familiar with The Rule of One and I take measures to appease that rule when configuring my load order. The merge patch stuff is, quite honestly, too much to process and take in.

In the meantime, while I'm reading up on those sections of the guides you linked, is there anything I need to do to the game, or my load order, or anything?

[dubiousintent]

Ask me again after you've read those sections and tried their suggestions. It's a process of getting everything lined up in order. Better than 95% of problems are covered in those wiki articles.

 

-Dubious-