Striker879

The desktop is a lousy place to install the game (I may be wrong but I think it also falls under UAC's clutches). Install the game in C:\Games\Oblivion. Here's a link to Bben46's Oblivion reinstall procedure. If you use the Steam version of the game don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam install location, and don't skip the registry cleaning step ... it's important (especially in your case after your 'install experiment').

There are also some things (load doors in particular) that will have a persistent location in your save file. If you do not make a clean save as WarRatsG suggests they will always appear in their original location, no matter what you do.

Another thing to be aware of is that after you start using Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) you will find two save files for each save, one with the standard .ess file extension and one with the same name and the .obse file extension. They need to be kept together (if you archive to a different folder) or both deleted (if you're not a pack rat like me).

For answers to questions like that you are much further ahead to PM one of the Administrators (they'll know but may never look at a post titled "Why").

You should never make any changes to Oblivion_default.ini ... that's the file the game needs to use if you ever need to rebuild your Oblivion.ini (say in the event of a mod making changes to Oblivion.ini and when you uninstall the mod your game won't run). If you can remember the exact values that were in Oblivion_default.ini before you should put them back to original, otherwise damage done, deal with any repercussions when and if they arise. The screenshots may be in your C:\Games\Oblivion folder but you may not realize if you have 'turn off extensions for known file types' in Windows Explorer. What method are you using when you're looking for them?

Do you have a large number of saves in your saves folder? I occasional move most of my older saves to a backup folder, not located in the Oblivion\Saves folder (in my case on a different drive altogether). I do it whenever the saves menu starts to get a bit slow opening (it has to read all those saves after all).

Look in your Oblivion folder for them ... by default it will be C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion, but considering you're running Vista hopefully you installed somewhere like C:\Games\Oblivion.

I'm by no means a load order expert (more like a load order student) but shouldn't your DLCFrostcrag.esp be above your DLCFrostcrag - Unofficial Patch.esp?

Hmm do you have either DR6 or UVII installed?

All I can offer is the Windows keyboard shortcuts to shut down Windows ... Ctrl + Alt + Del then Alt and then u and finally one more u (brings up Task Manager which may or may not display it's window, and then opens the shutdown menu and selects shutdown). Bben46 may be able to offer more advice around the printer issue (I don't have a printer myself).

You may be getting the 'A-Bomb' ... a common problem in games that have quite a few hours on them. The good news is it's easily fixed, either by using Wrye Bash or Animation Fixer. I use Animation Fixer myself, but the same will apply to any solution, and that is that you will need to run the fix again periodically as you get more hours on a character. I can usually tell by how the Legion horse patrol's torch flames start to get a bit of 'trailing' effect.

If you are interested in seeing how something as simple as adding an NPC to the game can go astray have a look at my post #61 on Emma's Maple Cottage mod comments thread (that post gives you the other relevant posts to read for the whole story). If adding an NPC to the game can give someone like Emma and her team trouble we shouldn't feel 'singled out' if on occasion we have similar problems.

Sure thing. The console command 'coc' teleports your character to the location you specify (but you need to put in a valid console code for that location). When you 'coc center' it teleports you immediately (you don't need to close the console ... it happens as soon as you hit 'Enter') and after a loading screen you'll find yourself on an open plain with some trees way off in the distance. 'Center' is a safe place outside of Cyrodiil that you can use to your advantage when you're trying to get past a script/cell type problem that requires you to be away from the spot while the game does it's normal reset after 72 hours (which is why I like to do 72 hours plus a bit). Now in your particular case it wouldn't have helped because the offending items would still be there. Here's a link to the UESP Wiki page on Console Commands. You'll find 'coc' in the third section (and a link to the page for looking up the location console codes ... from which it seems 'center' is missing).

You mention SexDarkness ... I'm wondering if that mod may be related to your other problem too. Have you seen this thread by NocturneNight (and especially what turned out to be the cause of the problem)? - Edit - On the camera position problem it has probably replaced the default skeleton files. You can fix it by installing Growlf's Universal Skeleton Nif. I suggest the 'Controlable Skeleton' version (unless of course you are using a mod that requires the 'Total Controlable' version, but then be aware of that versions limitations and the work-arounds).

I can help with that: How to post a load order for Oblivion.

Well Nocturne I'm in that 'already gave' stage in the kudos department myself. If NocturneNight has helped you solve your own version of this problem don't be shy ... click that little plus sign.

Don't be sorry ... rejoice!! You've added to the pool of knowledge, good find.

Not suggesting in way that I'm typical, but I found the mage apprentices weren't any better than CM Partners as far as fighting companions (i.e. either let them do all the fighting and just try to keep them healed up or retreat to a safe distance as soon as you spotted a bad guy, tell them to wait and go and deal with the enemy). If you gave them ranged weapons they turned you into a pincushion (or toasted marshmallow if they had any spells) if you let them fight. When up close and personal fighting they invariable get in the way if you dare unsheathe your sword. The CM Partners can be used as a pack horse, but Emma's Packdonkeys are far and away better at that (they know when to get out of the way). The mage apprentices add a little flavour to the Arcane University campus and CM Partners are efficient at trashing anywhere you leave them stashed (and they were stashed a long time before I started using Companion Vilja, who is my sole companion these days). Might be I'm not alone.

And I'm the complete opposite. My OblivionDownloads folder is choked with mods I've downloaded and never got around to installing as well as all those I do use. For a while I was doing pretty good at moving any mod I'd installed to another folder, but I got lazy and now that's a mess (plus I have two characters with different mod lists ... life will sometimes get more complicated for a guy like me). Using Multiple Oblivion Manager - MOM makes handling the two characters a breeze (all the way to two separate ini files if you wanted), but it doesn't help with 'compulsive download disorder'. At least if I ever do a complete re-install I'll have the downloads ... just a matter of trying to figure out which ones I actually used.

Hmm ... when the only difference is one of the 'big ones' it isn't a simple disable to test. I have seen something similar to what you're describing with the stuttering on occasion since I started using NPCs Yield. You don't use that mod as well do you?

Unless you are running one of the 64 bit versions of Windows you won't see any benefit from more RAM. Actually your older CPU is an advantage with Oblivion as it loves CPU speed over multiple cores (you have 4, but the game won't hold that against you with that kind of speed). You may even find that your 4870 isn't too bad (1 GB video RAM helps there) but it may not stand up well to improved graphics plus antialiasing. It's all about trying one thing and testing to see how the game feels vs how it looks. Everything about computers and gaming is a balancing act (well unless you're a recent lottery winner). Just remember it's not a first person shooter so you don't need high frame rates all the time. Most of the battles with multiple enemies happens in dungeons (which are less taxing for your system). If you get into some of the overhauls they can add larger outdoor battles that will drag down your frame rate. That's why subjective assessment is so important over reliance on a frames per second reading. I'm no creator of knowledge. If I have a strength it's in collating information from different sources and reaching conclusions that aren't necessarily obvious. Don't think any of that has applied here though ... you're headed down a pretty common path. All you need is a suggestion every now and then, and when you get to one of those forks in the path a question or two to help you find the right one.

I kinda' thought maybe I was way off in left field there Drake. I'm not much use on the custom race/beautiful people tack, as I'm well off the wind and on my own in enjoying all those vanilla things. I have seen this no nipple texture thing reported before. If I ever see a solution reported I'm going to start a 'NoNipples.txt' file (you know where that comes from).

It is a team effort, and I'm but a cog in that wheel. Any chance of comparing the mod lists from the two characters ... perhaps the culprit will jump out, or at least a smaller list to troubleshoot should be the outcome. I use Multiple Oblivion Manager - MOM, at first just to keep my two character's save games separate but now to manage two separate mod lists for them as well. Pretty easy to install and very slick to use.

Could it be an archive invalidation issue?

I have done a lot of my 'mix and match' on the BBB Designer Body Spell (when I find a body it doesn't include I substitute body meshes in a folder I don't use). If I was at my home machine instead of this laptop I'd do a lot better job of living up to one of my nicknames (Sir Links-a-Lot).