Striker879

I would think that those results point to sound related issues not being the problem. Have you tried letting the game rebuild your Oblivion.ini file? If you rename the file Oblivion.ini to Oblivionini.old (it should be located in Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion, at least that's where it is for 32 bit Win XP ... NOT the file Oblivion_default.ini located in your game's Oblivion directory) and then start the game as far as the main menu. Exit the game and it will rebuild Oblivion.ini using the Oblivion_default.ini as a base and re-detect your hardware. The game is old, so most modern hardware isn't detected correctly especially in the video card department, so you may need to change your video settings back to what you prefer afterwards. If rebuilding the ini doesn't help you can delete the rebuilt one and rename your original back to Oblivion.ini. Another thing is to make sure you have antialiasing disabled in the NVIDIA Control Panel while working through this issue, and I'd make sure that HDR and Bloom are disabled in the in-game video menu as well (until you get around this issue ... then you can start turning things back on one or two at a time). I use an older version of the NVIDIA drivers (270.61) but I'm pretty sure your newer ones will allow you to just alter the settings for just Oblivion in the 'Manage 3D Settings' 'Programs' tab.

A couple of things (and you have probably already covered them). With plenty of cooling intake a case can get loaded up with dust (unless your fans are filtered of course ... then the filters need regular cleaning). I use Speedfan for my case fan and CPU fan speed control and MSI Afterburner for GPU fan speed control myself. Each have a temperature chart you can use to monitor peak temperatures during a game test run. Have you tried disabling sound (especially music) in your Oblivion.ini? If your problem is sound based that may help prove or disprove the theory. Here's a link to the appropriate section in Koroush Ghazi's Oblivion Tweak Guide (scroll down to the Audio section in the first link ... the second is for the first page of the guide).

On a couple of previous occasions Realtek onboard sound and sound codecs turned out to be at the root of some crashing issues, but in those cases no graphics glitches like your's were reported. Have you tried updating the Realtek drivers from their website? My laptop (non-gaming) uses Realtek, and I've updated the drivers a few times. Used to be you needed to uninstall the old ones first, but more recent versions don't require that step (if I recall correctly). Here's a link to their download site.

I could be wrong, but I believe the capacitors the calculator is referring to are the motherboard power circuit. And I agree that trying automatic RAM timing settings may turn up a culprit. I use the same CPU in an ASUS motherboard and Corsair RAM. When setting the machine up after the build I went through a lot of RAM timing tweaking to arrive at my current settings (was troubleshooting a random Win XP crash).

I made some basic assumptions regarding your machine's other components and ran it through eXtreme Power Supply Calculator. Using a reasonable Capacitor Aging of 20% your machine (using my assumed specs for things like HHD, Fans etc.) came in with what should be ample headroom. When I bumped the Capacitor Aging up to 50% (the max in the calculator) your machine still showed headroom, but it was getting closer to maxed than I like in my own machines. The fact that your powersupply uses a single 12v rail is good, providing it's not getting close to it's limits. I suggest you try running the calculator and see what you get (without my possibly wrong assumptions regarding your other attached hardware).

Bandits are far more common than creatures yielding a grand soul ... especially to lower level characters.

I'm with you on the Steam issue AnimalRiot. Sad thing is, Steam's dream of 'world domination' seems to be coming to fruition ... pretty hard to find a new release that doesn't require Steam at least for activation. Soon you and I will be able to achieve maximum savings. No money spent on new games, no money spent on new hardware to run those new games, no money spent on operating systems for that new hardware. If there were more than two of us the 'no money spent' aspect may have an impact, but I'm afraid the other camp is too large for us to ever be noticed.

Did you make any changes, either with Oblivion mods or things like drivers etc. between when it worked and when it didn't? I'm going to assume you've already confirmed that the in-game sound menu is as it should be (i.e. you don't have sliders at the bottom etc.). You could try letting Oblivion re-detect your hardware. Rename your Oblivion.ini file to Oblivionini.old (Oblivion.ini is found in Users\[username]\Documents\My Games\Oblivion for Win 7 and Vista or Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion for Win XP NOT the file Oblivion_default.ini found in your game's install directory). Start the game as far as the menu and then exit to the desktop. You may need to reset some of your video settings afterwards as the game has trouble recognizing modern hardware that wasn't even dreamed of back when the game was developed.

First, I firmly believe 'to each his own' ... after all, as bleeargh implies in the OP, if we all waited we'd be waiting forever. I belong to 'the few' who benefits from the efforts of 'the many'. I was aware of Oblivion right from it's first release. In it's day it was one of 'the' benchmarks for hardware review, able to cripple the sturdiest of machines. I waited until a few years ago to get it, in part because as it slipped off the hardware reviewers radar screen it slipped off mine too. I've had sufficient hardware for years after it's release, but other shiny baubles pushed it aside in my limited attention span. Like bleeargh, I wait for hardware upgrades,and I wait for software to run on my latest 'new' machine. Being two or three steps back from that bleeding edge is OK, and has benefits that far outweigh any downsides for me. There's money saved (anyone remember when DVD burners for your computer were $1000), and frustration avoided, if you do a little research while you're waiting. My first play through of a mostly vanilla Oblivion ran into the usual quest snags. Because I was 'behind the curve' resources like the UESP Wiki had more answers than I had questions. The guys who lined up on release day didn't have that luxury.

Bows and staffs are prone to that problem (as well as daedric weapons while you're in towers, but there they make an escape down the ramps).

And right back at you ti1706. Not everyone is considerate enough to report back their solution, and links. Now we're both a bit smarter.

I imagine you've seen these Construction Set Wiki articles: Forcing Idle Animations Idle Animations

You could also try asking in the Mod Detectives thread ... that's their specialty.

First, I do not have a mod uploaded here or any other site. I have created mods that currently only exist on my machine, and have edited other peoples work (which also only resides only on my machine). In my opinion, my mods are trivial affairs, not worthy of upload. That said, I also read an awful lot of mod comment threads here. The negative half of my personality wonders that any modder would leave their mods available for upload. How the whining masses and their constant clamor for "Can't you make this in my own personal preference for bust size/colour/location ... whatever" or "I downloaded your mod and it don't work" doesn't turn you off and make you fold up your tent and close your door simply amazes me. So many times I've seen modders who took the time to document their mod installation, gave pictures of their mod's location, fully described how to start playing their mod, included thorough steps for troubleshooting common issues with their mod and yet they are still besieged by by questions or comments covered by their mod description and/or readme. How they don't just say RTFM is beyond me, and I both applaud and envy their fortitude. Are there mods that are on the opposite side of the coin ... without a doubt. My negative side's prejudices save me from downloading most of those 'other side' mods (illiterate or non-existent mod descriptions or anything with 'Ultimate', 'Awesome' or 'Improved' in the title raises flags for me ... sorry Nephenee, and just so you know, your reputation with me gave your mods a 'bye' on the title issue). The positive side of my personality gives me balance and is fed by trying to share some of the load. That endeavor leads me to some of the most unexpected gems, hidden behind poorly chosen names, given little or no description or install instructions and having almost no recognition. As always, the only person standing in my way is me, and the only way to get around me is with the help of others. So I agree with David, and Drake, and Nephenee, and lonewolf, and JD and ponyboy. Consider this little gem I ran across yesterday ... "but sometimes Oblivion needs to crash" ... an absolutely delicious concept. With this frame of reference David and Drake are excused, for from within the glass it's hard to tell half full from half empty. We on the outside can give you a better idea ... from where I'm viewing it looks like it has just the right amount to quench your thirst. Also consider this. If all mods where 'A listers' some very fine mods in this world would be near the bottom of the list. Frame of reference is everything.

What were the mods that you decided to add to your working game? That will be the shortest list of culprits. When installing mods it's always recommended to install one at a time (unless you require more than one mod due to mod dependencies, then install the group of related mods). Do a thorough test in the game (the IC Market District is a good choice) and look for problems. If you install one mod and the game stops working it's a trivial matter to troubleshoot.

Try deleting or renaming the file Oblivion.ini that will be found in Users\[username]\Documents\My Games\Oblivion NOT the file Oblivion_default.ini that will be found in your game install's Oblivion folder. Renaming it to Oblivionini.old would do the trick. Then start the game as far as the menu and then exit. The game will re-identify your hardware and create a new Oblivion.ini (using the Oblivion_default.ini as a base). It's an old game an hasn't had any official patches in years. It has trouble recognizing modern hardware. I think your trouble may be from having a high resolution screen (1600 x 900) paired with the Intel HD graphic (on the motherboard using shared memory with the CPU). If the renaming the ini trick gets you back to where the game works again only change one setting at a time when trying to get it to where you want and play a bit before trying the next tweak. It's also a good idea to wait until you've finished the tutorial dungeon and exited the sewers to start graphics tweaking (the game isn't truly taxed until you get out in the world). Make a save just before you exit and are offered the final chance to change your race, birthsign etc. (when you can see the sewer exit in the distance). That way you won't have to redo the sewer if you decide your original choices weren't the best (or next time you create a new character). Another thing to check is whether or not you have antialiasing (AA) enabled in your graphics control panel. If it has an option to set up profiles for different games then turn off AA for Oblivion (and if no profiles are possible turn it off globally while you troubleshoot). Here's a link to Koroush Ghazi's Oblivion Tweak Guide. It will help you decide which tweaks are the most important.

Now there's a concept I've not considered myself, but I whole-heartedly agree with.

No that wasn't my intent. When you said that disabling DRSplatter.esp fixed things I just wondered whether or not you had also disabled Oblivion Graphics Extender Support.esp. I belong to the 'if it's fixed then stop trying to fix it' camp. I would go ahead and delete DRSplatter.esp though (or move outside of your Oblivion\Data folder at least).

There's no need to 'close' posts here ... they just fade down the list naturally. Just for my information, did you also disable the Oblivion Graphics Extender Support.esp?

I would give that a try, and if that doesn't work try unchecking the Oblivion Graphics Extender Support.esp as well (unless you know for certain that it is required for another mod).

If I recall correctly, where I saw mention of that problem was on TES Alliance. It's a free sign-up and from my experience a friendly bunch. Perhaps someone there may have some input.

I recalled reading in the Deadly Reflex thread that DRSplatter.esp is buggy and shouldn't be used (confirmed in the DR thread ... see posts #7871, #7893 & 7894 and #7900) and I believe that your Oblivion Graphics Extender Support.esp is only there for the DRSplatter (but I could be mistaken there). I see a bashed patch but your load order leads me to ask whether or not you use BOSS to sort your load order?

Whether or not you have the Shivering Isles expansion will depend on where you got your game. If it's a disk version of the game it may or may not include SI (my old original version of the game that came packaged with Bioshock didn't for example, but the Game of the Year version I bought later did include SI). These days the disk versions of the game are pretty hard to find, so most new players are using one of the various download versions. I'm not sure what variations are available there (i.e. whether all versions available on-line include SI). One sure fire way to tell whether you have SI installed is to check your characters in-game quest journal. If you see a quest with the text "I have heard a rumor that a strange doorway has appeared on a small island in the Niben Bay. I should investigate." (if you've started the game and exited the sewer but haven't yet found the 'strange door') or "I've found a strange door in Niben Bay." (if you have started the game, exited the sewers and found the 'strange door' ... in which case you would have been certain you have SI installed of course).

First here's a link to How to post a load order for Oblivion. You're using Wrye Bash so it will be simple. Second, I don't see Shivering Isles listed in your mod list. If you don't have SI installed the Unofficial Shivering Isles patch will give you a missing master type crash.

I wish I could award two points for that innovative thank you.