onioning

Just an update, 'cause I know y'all are on the edge of your chairs wondering how I'm doing, I found a serious flaw in my windows install that has now (hopefully) been fixed. Seems not unlikely that this was the real source of at least some of my crashes. I'll find out soon...

Indeed. Third pack is the culprit. I'm trying to re-download it. I'd rather not DL the other two, and from what I just read on the internets, if I just delete the file, it will automatically be re-downloaded when I start the game. That hasn't been show to be true yet, but I'm gonna go ahead and give it some time. Maybe i just had a corrupted file. *Fingers crossed*

Well, shoot. Installed the 64 bit version. Tried the HD packs. Immediate crash. Removed the HD packs. Old save, occasional crashes. New save, still occasional crashes. Very small sample size though. One crash in about an hour.

To be clear, as I understand it, I have the 64 bit version on this machine, but it is running the 32 bit version. Perhaps I should go back and swap over?

I'm running the 32 bit version. Chose that automatically when I installed. My understanding is that I should be running the 32 bit version, since I only have 8 GB of RAM. I may be misinformed. I have 1024 MB of dedicated VRAM.

8 Gs installed. Strongly considering adding another 8 Gs, mostly 'cause it's easily done. I let myself be talked out of 16 Gs when I put this computer together (which is only about a month ago). Now I kinda regret it. I also regret not spending more on the graphics card, but it's much easier and justifiable to add the memory than to replace a graphics card I just bought... I do have the 64 bit version of Windows 7 on this machine (Windows Ultimate), but as I understand things, I'm not using it because of the 8 Gs of RAM available. If memory serves me, VRAM is virtual RAM, or a portion of the hard drive set aside for RAM. Not sure how to check that... Also not sure how having the SS drives affects that, though I do have a conventional HD as well. Made the changes suggested above. Been "testing" (i.e., joining the Thieve's Guild...) for only about 20 minutes. I did have one crash. Reloaded and continued on my way. Edit: I'll also note that these are proper crashes. The game stops running immediately and entirely. That's as opposed to the stuck screen I was getting before that required Task Manager to end.

Dropped a few services that I hadn't already. Went through the list on that guide and there were some I had running as automatic. That was about it.

Dude. That's not the way the thanks be flowin' here. I'm the one being helped. And some big success. I can get any save running by excluding the HR packs. I still get the "some items are no longer available" with my more advanced saves, but I think that's a remnant of playing around too much with mods w/out doing so under the safety of a reserved save. In other words, I think I installed then uninstalled significantly before all this started. The game seems to run fine, I just get that warning before I start my later saved games. This makes me wonder though. Going back to what I originally did to get the game running, w/ the config change, as I understand it, that was an attempt to fix a memory allocation error. And it worked. It ran pretty well w/ those HR texture packs. So is there a safer/better way to get those results? I mean, I'm happy to be able to play again, but those HR packs were pretty nice... Edit: I'm still getting occasional crashes. So far I just load it up again and am able to continue. Been two crashes in a little over an hour.

BOSS log. Checked it against the data files reported by the launcher, and the order matches up. And the SKSE log, just after I tried to load and it crashed.

Drifting off topic a bit, but just 'cause my searching has failed me again, is it safe to use the Revo Uninstaller w/ a SSD?

Going through these suggestions now. Some (like cleaning up the startup programs and services) I've already done. Just mentioning it in case it becomes relevant.

Ok. Undid the system change I made from the linked page. Reverted to the base skyrim.ini. Set BOSS, NMM, SKSE, Steam, and Skyrim (TESV) to administrator access. Loaded via SKSE, tried "coc riverwood," started to load, and crashed. Edit: And same results if I start from TESV.exe. Same results if I load a game. Also, is it sufficient to set the properties of a shortcut to "administrator," or do I need to find the actual file? I have the shortcut to SKSE set to have administrator access, but I don't seem to have that option when I go to the actual .exe file in my Skyrim folder.

So, first off, I do seem to have solved my constant crash problem. From http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/4192/? I did just the "bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072 bit. I tried doing his skyrim.ini changes as well, but something went wrong when I tried to run BOSS, and it would no longer find my Skyrim install, but that was fixed by re-installing SKSE (again). At that point it was late and I went to bed. I do fear that though I've fixed the immediate problem that perhaps in all my tinkering I've done more harm than good. That said, I also have fresh installs of bloody everything, several times over even... So the game is now running so much worse than it was a few days ago. In fairness, I've added mods, and tweaked settings, and I may be running too much towards the "pretty" end. I also only played for twenty minutes or so after I got it working again. Really did seem noticeably choppier, and load screens sometimes hang up just a bit before they start. So, in the interest of always being thrilled to accept relevant and meaningful free advice... BOSS log: http://imgur.com/NQpo9lt BOSS rules manager http://imgur.com/kvxYxJh I'm using the Nexus Mod Manager, BOSS, and SKSE. I do have other mods downloaded that are not installed. In particular, there's a water mod that is not represented in the links above, as I'm always suspicious of water mods (NWN and nVidia weren't pals), so it was one of the early ones I dropped. There are, of course, others I'd like to add as well...

Wow. I read through so very many threads. I tried several different recommendations that were supposed to "fix" this "problem." Doh.

So, the internet's pestered with folks who have problems with Steam failing to fix flawed files. The "1 file failed to validate" error is everywhere (seemingly with other games as well as Skyrim). A few are solved, mostly by re-installing Steam, Skyrim, or both, but many are not. Lots of old posts, and that freaks me out, so now I'm here rather than continuing to stab in the dark what might be wrong. I'd been playing a bit over a week, slowly adding mods, and everything was working fine. I had it up to "High" graphics, and I had no hiccups. Heck, even my load screens aren't long enough to read the tips. Then it crashed (coming from Breezehome into Whiterun). From then on, when I start the game, and hit continue, or loaded the previous save, it got hung up as the "confirm" screen began to fade. What I did not do at this time, which was foolish, is load older saves, but I'll get back to that. What I did do: First I uninstalled the newest mods (I had recently added four or so). Then I uninstalled all the mods. Then I started from the actual .exe, not the shortcut. Updated graphics driver, tried several different ones Tried to validate the game files from within Steam. Gave me the message that it failed to validate the one file, and that it would be re-downloaded but nothing ever happens. Re-install Skyrim. Try the 'validate files' thing again. Same results. Re-install Skyrim Re-install Steam, and Skyrim again. At which point, when testing, it occurs to me to try an older save. So I do, and voila! It works! Until I go outside, and then crash. Every time. Which leaves me here. I don't know what else try. Potentially relevant system specs: Windows 7 32 bit nVidia GeForce 9800 GT Intel i5 3570