Striker879

Welcome to the problems when using the showracemenu command. If you click the "Done" button you will trigger the bug. Here's what the UESP Wiki has to say about how to avoid the bug:

For load order you can't use the vanilla game Data Files list ... it's just an alphabetical list. The most reliable way is using Wrye Bash (it will even give you the hexadecimal load order number for your mods). Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) will also give you the load order, but the hex number it gives you only reflects those mods you've activated using OBMM. To get the hex number you need to hover your cursor over the mod (shows in the tool tip pop up). OBMM does show all of you mods in their load order though, so you can count down from the top and use the hex converter I linked. Master files aren't shown though and count in the load order so you have to do some detective work. You can actually thank DrakeTheDragon for that gem of wisdom though ... everything I know comes from someone else. Good that you're able to mod now!

What version number is your game (should be 1.2.0416) and what version of the CS (should be 1.2.0404). If you are using the latest version of the CS but your game isn't version 1.2.0416 then your mod will silently fail to show in the game. It's the baseID of the item you need, found in the collapsed column in the Object window just to the right of the Editor ID column (says Form ID at the top). The first two digits will not be right in your game though (when editing in the CS Oblivion.esm is 00 and your mod is 01 unless you had more than one master). You need to see where your mod is in the load order and get the hexadecimal number of it's load order (count down in decimal and then use this Binary/Decimal/Hexadecimal Converter to get the hex equivalent ... example the 26th mod will be hex 1A, so your sword would be 1a000ce6).

First you need to be certain that nothing from your previous installs is still present and causing problems. You may have already seen the Oblivion reinstall procedure. Use it to make sure your uninstall doesn't leave any traces (the registry cleaning step) and you get the game re-installed in the correct location (and as you're using the Steam version of the game make sure you don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam install location ... C:\Games is the recommended location). Do all the troubleshooting without any mods, including the unofficial patches ... just the base game. I think you are correct to suspect the codec/sound issues as the root problem. Once you have the game re-installed open Oblivion.ini (found in Users\[username]\Documents\My Games\Oblivion ... NOT Oblivion_default.ini found in the game's Oblivion folder). Search for the following entries bDSoundHWAcceleration=1, bMusicEnabled=1 and bSoundEnabled=1 and change all three to =0 (=zero). If the game runs fine with those setting turn them back on (change to =1) one at a time. I'd leave bDSoundHWAcceleration to last, but if it's the cause then you could try with it enabled and turn off the other two. It will take some experimenting.

I believe there are more than one instance of certain sections of the tutorial dungeon (for example there are sections you can't access during the tutorial that are open when you come back through the other way during a Dark Brotherhood quest). Are you certain the tutorial dungeon cell you are using in the CS is one that you will have access to during the tutorial? The other thing I have noticed about the meshes used for dungeons is that things will sometimes sink into and through the surface (staves are really bad for sinking through). Try putting your sword in a chest and see if that helps.

You do realize that this is the Oblivion forum not Skyrim, right? If you were reporting that problem with Oblivion I would suggest renaming your Oblivion.ini and letting the game rebuild a new one, but this is Oblivion and I have no Skyrim experience at all.

By vanilla game with no mods installed I meant no mods at all in the game's Data folder. The reason is that even if a mod isn't ticked as active the game still reads everything in it's Data folder when it starts. Sure it won't load an unactivated mod into memory but all the meshes and textures that may have been included with that inactive mod do get loaded. Troubleshooting is starting from a known position and figuring a way out. If the vanilla game runs then go through the tutorial dungeon. At the last part (where you can first see the sewer exit off in the distance) make a save. This save will be from just before you get the character finalization menus and will come in handy if you ever want to create a new character and don't want to redo the tutorial. Then after you have gone through character finalization exit the sewer. Make another save in a new save slot (overwriting saves is never a good idea). This save will be the one you use to test mods, but before you add any mods you need to be certain the game will run smoothly. Once you exit the sewer the game engine starts taxing your machine far more than it did in the tutorial. All the trees and grass and distant scenery will show whether you need to adjust any of your graphics settings. Next go to the Imperial City Market District during daylight hours when it's busy. All the NPCs and their AI packages will tax your CPU and show up any problems there. Now you can exit the game (no need to save) and start adding mods. Start with mods that are relatively simple to install, preferably ones that have good clear mod install instructions in the mod description and/or readme. Get into the habit of reading through at least part of the mod comments looking for the type of problems that other users have reported. Eventually you'll understand more and will get a good feeling of whether a mod author has created a quality product and understands himself how it works. Until you are a grizzled old experienced modder stick with adding a single mod at a time and test thoroughly in between. For the first bunch you'll probably use that outside the sewer exit "mod testing" save, but you will eventually want to venture far and wide and start completing quests. There's no reason to always go back to that mod testing save every time to test a mod. You can add a mod and continue from where you left off. If you run into a mod that is giving you problems you can try loading the mod testing save but chances are it will still give you grief (the longer your mod list gets the more likely you will run into a mod conflict, and even that first save will be affected by your current load list). I use a utility called Multiple Oblivion Manager (MOM) to manage multiple characters as well as some testing profiles. If you installed MOM before adding any mods (first thing after you exit the sewer and make that outside the sewer save) then down the road if you run into a problem getting a mod to run you can switch profiles to that clean load order save profile outside the sewers and test the troublesome mod on your clean install. You can have as many profiles as you have hard drive space for and switching between them is dead simple.

No clue on the topic title change. If you can load in an interior you could try the coc center trick. Load your interior save and open the console using the tilde (~) key. Type "coc center" (without the quote marks) and hit Enter. You'll be transported to an open plain with some trees in the distance. Using the wait menu (default is the t key) wait 72 hours and a bit more for good measure (three times 24 hours and a bit). Open the console again and "coc weye", which will transport you to inside the fisherman's shack at Weye.

Can you start a new game without crashing?

If you are not using Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) then all you need is the saves (files with .ess extension). If you do use OBSE then you will also need the OBSE co-save (same base name only with the .obse file extension). Bear in mind that you will need to get your re-installed game's load order back in sync with the mods that were used with the saves. Some missing mods will be OK (e.g. armor or clothing mods, though if your character had them in inventory or equipped it may cause problems), but there are plenty of mods that will crash your save if they are missing.

Are you also copying the two files to your Oblivion\Data\Textures\Effects folder (both smaa_searchtex.dds and smaa_areatex.dds)?

Only advice I can give you is create mods for yourself, and if you think they're worthy when done release them here. If you get enjoyment out of your mod then whether or not anyone else does is irrelevant ... you've satisfied your most important critic.

You may want to pop this request down in Mod Requests. I like the idea but couldn't script my way out of a wet paper bag.

I had a situation just last night that I needed to use the coc trick to get around. All my recent saves seemed to CTD, with the older ones taking a bit longer to crash than the most recent. Loaded up my newest save and coc'ed away. Shortly after I coc'ed back to Weye I found out what the culprit was ... my Imperial Dragon armor was ready (new guy finally got around to saving the world). Good thing Bethesda gave us a "safe room".

I once had trouble entering a cave with Vilja in tow (but I needed to enter that cave to complete the Wolfgang quest if I remember correctly). Even when I left Vilja behind at a nearby Inn I'd crash. Finally got through it by using the "coc center wait 72 hours" trick. If you want to give that a try take all your companions to an interior cell and tell them to wait. I left that cell first, but can't say if that's needed, and then opened the console using the tilde (~) key. At the console prompt type "coc center" without the quote marks and then hit Enter. You'll be transported to and open plain with some trees in the distance. Using the game wait menu (default t key) wait three full 24 hour days and then a bit more for good measure. Open the console again and "coc weye" (or another location if you know the correct location code ... UESP Wiki is handy for that). Then see if you can complete the quest.

What happens if you put the ViljaOCO.esp after the Oblivion_Character_Overhaul.esp?

The reason I asked about the exact install location is that often I've seen people move the install location to a subfolder of the Users folder ... still UAC protected. The recommended folder for Steam and then the game is C:\Games.

You can't just copy and paste the game folders and expect it to run. Yes you can backup your Data folder and either use that backup as a guide and re-install your mods or if there aren't too many conflicting mods in your backup Data folder you may be able to replace your fresh install's Data folder with your backup. For the game to run it needs registry entries that the game creates when you install it using setup.exe from the disk (autorun starts setup.exe). That's also the reason you need to uninstall the game correctly before you try to re-install (all of the steps in bben46's guide are required).

Sorry, missed that part. Have you had any luck getting an answer from Steam? Also what is the exact path to your Steam install (just thinking perhaps you've installed in a folder outside of Program Files but not outside of UACs protected domain)?

On my old guy's character I couldn't do the Hermaeus Mora quest because I'd killed the survivors of Bleaker's Way (even though I'd waited until after Mephala's quest was completed). In that case it wouldn't even allow me to start the Hermaeus Mora quest. Haven't really done much other than Azura's quest on my new guy.

Can't think of anything else then. Maybe some sort of conflict, but I don't recall ever reading about anything even remotely similar.

The other advice I can give is that Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) isn't the most reliable tool for installing Oblivion mods. It will work OK for most simple to install mods providing they are packaged in "standard" file and folder format, but most older mods that have different options to choose from will seldom work correctly (the mod description will usually recommend Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) or manual install on older mods). Guess you could say, rule #3 is read the mod install instructions and if you are determined to try NMM be prepared for some failures (unless those instructions say "Using NMM install this mod ...").

Rule #1 is always get the vanilla game to run. Go through the tutorial dungeon and make a save just before exiting the sewers, prior to the character finalization menu (when you see the sewer exit in the distance). That save will be used in the future if you want to start a new character but don't want to redo the tutorial. Exit the tutorial sewer and make another save (never overwriting any previous saves ... not a good habit). That save will be your mod testing save. Next go to the Imperial City Market District during the day time and check how the game runs. This will be your baseline for the game's performance on your hardware. Then start adding mods one at a time and use the outside the sewers save to test each one. When you add a mod that causes problems it will be child's play to figure out where to start troubleshooting. When you add 20 or 30 mods all at once you'll eventually break the game, and good luck figuring out where to start to get it unbroken. Rule #2 is never install the game in the default location C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) if you are using Vista, Win 7 or Win 8. You'll spend more time trying to figure out if you installed something wrong or if it's UAC interfering than you will playing the game once you start adding mods. Sounds to me like you're already started on a pretty messy install situation. If you're looking to get a proper fresh start you can use Bben46's Oblivion reinstall procedure to get things straightened out. Don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam install location if you use the Steam version of the game, and don't skip the registry cleaning step ... especially in your situation it's important.

The other thing to try is reverse the order of the switches (so instead of "...\Oblivion\obse_loader.exe" -editor -oldinject try "...\Oblivion\obse_loader.exe" -oldinject -editor). I'm getting the impression from various posts on here that the new version of OBSE isn't playing 100% nice with any of the Steam versions of the game (pure Steam or the Anthology version).

Did the vanilla game with absolutely no mods or plugins run?