Persistent CTD at the exact same spot

[CaptainPatch]

... (orphan script data from the 'sex mod' you uninstalled).

Is "unchecked" effectively the same as "uninstalled"? Because all I did was uncheck those boxes in NMM, taking them out of the load sequence.

 

Created the SKSE.ini file and placed it in the same Skyrim folder where the skse_loader.exe file is. Don't quite understand what it was supposed to do, but I Loaded that last game and still got a CTD 24 seconds later. So, yeah, I guess it would be best to start fresh. It's not like I was a couple hundred hours in like my last playthrough, but this time around I was already up to 12th level (and just then arriving in Whiterun for the first time!).

 

 

Uhm, is there any definitive way to ascertain whether or not a mod mix WILL be doing consistent CTDs down the line? Clues from the Papyrus log perhaps? Because even if I did NOT uncheck any mods, from a fresh start it would be about 20 hours of gameplay before the CTDs started (I'm guessing). And it seems that whatever the mix may be, once the CTDs start in earnest, the garbage has built up to the point where the only option is to start fresh... again. And again. And again. All those 20+ hour false starts could easily translate into more than half a year before I stumble onto a stable mix. That's a pretty steep investment, just to possibly be able to play a game. [it's like gameplay is substituted for with game _testing_.]

Edited June 23, 2013 by CaptainPatch

[ripple]

 

... (orphan script data from the 'sex mod' you uninstalled).

Is "unchecked" effectively the same as "uninstalled"? Because all I did was uncheck those boxes in NMM, taking them out of the load sequence.

 

Created the SKSE.ini file and placed it in the same Skyrim folder where the skse_loader.exe file is.

 

1) Not the Skyrim directory,

Navigate to '..../skyrim/data/SKSE/'

 

 

2) Unchecking the plugin is not the same as uninstalling the mod if it comes with loose files. You'll need to actually uninstall it using the mod manager.

Edited June 23, 2013 by ripple

[CaptainPatch]

Hmm. My Skyrim files all seem to trace a path that goes

C:\Users\(my name)\My Documents\My Games\Skyrim....

...which has Logs, Saves, and SKSE.

 

Logs has Script, which in turn has User folder + Papyrus0-3 files, and User has 4 files, RNPC_MentalModel.0-3.

 

Saves is where the game does, in fact, Save my current gameplay Saves.

 

SKSE has 5 files: SKSE.ini, skse.log, skse.txt, skse_loader.txt, skse_loader.log0, and skse_steam_loader.log

 

Checking my skse.loader shortcut, it traces to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\skse_loader.exe"

 

Along the Steam path to Data, there is no SKSE folder there. (I take it I'm supposed to make a New folder for that?, and then just drop the SKSE.ini file _there_?)

 

Sort of amazing that the game functions at all, considering how mangled the directory paths have become, right?

 

 

I _did_ start a fresh game with AP Skyrim, and the two Followers mods unchecked. Lasted only about ten minutes before the first CTD. Bleah.

[ripple]

If the SKSE sub-directory is not there, go ahead and create one. If after starting a new game you are still getting spammed by the same orphan OnUpdate error, that means the offending mod has not been completely uninstalled. If you have the mod archive still, you can open it up to see what files it contains, and then look for those files in your Skyrim game installation directory and delete them. Otherwise, you'll have to reinstall the game to get rid of those files.

Edited June 23, 2013 by ripple

[CaptainPatch]

Hmm. There is a Skyrim Mods folder, parallel to the Skyrim folder, both which are subfolders of ...steamapps\common\. But the only things in the Skyrim Mods folder are two subfolders, Bash Installers and Bash Mod Data.

 

... Checking the other path... Nope. No other Mods folder to be found. NMM has its own folder, but all it contains is a couple of TraceLogs. (Which it looks like a text listing all of the _games_ that NMM handles.) AHA! The TraceLog told me to look for the list of Skyrim mods at C:\Games\Nexus Mod Manager\Skyrim\Mods. So that makes three different Directory paths just to play one installation of Skyrim.

 

THWI. I'm just going to uninstall EVERYTHING and then try to build ONE clean installation. Then start adding a MUCH smaller batch of hopefully Clean mods. I'll keep TES5Edit, BOSS, NMM, and Wrye Bash. But I think TES5 and Bash need to be placed in a Skyrim folder, so they will most likely be dumped when all the Skyrim stuff gets uninstalled and will need to be reinstalled fresh anyway. Same goes for SKSE and SkyUI I think.

 

Any advice before I start to do anything traumatically self-destructive?

[ripple]

1) Yes, Wrye Bash and TES5Edit will need to be reinstalled once you deleted your Skyrim folder. NMM and BOSS typically do not if you have installed them in separate folders outside your your '....\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\' folder.

 

2) To prepare for 'reinstallation', plan out your steps (type them out if you have to) by listing the installation order of utilities and mods you want to reinstall (generally install utilities first after a fresh 'reinstallation' of the game). Utilities (Wrye Bash, TES5Edit, SKSE) should be installed manually or using their own installation executable and not with a mod manager. SkyUI can be installed as a mod using the NMM. Mods with conflicting loose files should be installed in order of which conflicting files you want to overwrite (base on previous experiences of whether you were asked to 'overwrite' files in NMM when you installed those mods the first time). Also recommend you keep to a small number of 'core mods.' It's easier to add mods than it is to yank them out from your game installation.

 

3) While you are at it, you might as well check to make sure you have the latest updated drivers for your system.

 

4) To revert Skyrim to vanilla installation, follow this guide up until step 15.

 

5) Install utilities

 

6) Install mods using a mod manager. You can stick with NMM or try the Mod Organizer (a much better and different method of handling mod installation for Skyrim that does not overwrite conflicting files, but has quite a steep learning curve).

 

7) Edit Skyrim.ini to enable papyrus logging.

 

8 ) Launch game and test to see you can get through the tutorial without CTDs.

 

9) Exit game, defrag your harddrive (to improve performance).

 

10) Check your papyrus log to make sure there are no more orphan OnUpdate Events. If everything is good, edit the ini again to disable papyrus logging (it should generally not be enabled unless you are bug tracking or testing things).

Edited June 23, 2013 by ripple

[Nidhoeggr]

Hi there!

 

Just read you are doing a full reinstall of Skyrim and thought i recommend the use of the pretty handy tool Mod Organizer.

 

I use it for 4-5 weeks now and it made troubleshooting for me much easier since you can see which mod files are overwritten by what mod etc.

 

Essentially it keeps your installed mods seperate from your skyrim folder and redirects everything (who cares how it works, it does at least for me :biggrin: ). So you can easily uninstall a mod and all files with one click and be sure that no leftover scriptfiles are inside your skyrim-data folder. That way you can keep your skyrimfolder clean.

 

Only downside i found is that it can't track the version of a mod quite as good as NMM. Which is the only reason why i do have NMM still installed.

 

Of course it's not quite as easy to handle like NMM, so here is a video tutorial.

Feel free to ask, if anything is unclear about how to use it.

 

Edit: ah crap, Ripple was faster :biggrin:

 

better you follow the guide then my instructions ;D

 

 

If you haven't already uninstalled your Skyrim, to save a little time, go in your Skyrim-data folder and delete everything except the following files:

(If you haven't got any of the DLC's or HighRes-Packs you can ignore those ^^)

1. HighResTexturePack01.bsa
2. HighResTexturePack02.bsa
3. HighResTexturePack03.bsa
4. Skyrim - Meshes.bsa
5. Skyrim - Voices.bsa
6. Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa
7. Skyrim - Textures.bsa
8. Dawnguard.bsa
9. Dawnguard.esm
10. Skyrim - Sounds.bsa
11. Skyrim.esm
12. Skyrim - Misc.bsa
13. HearthFires.bsa
14. HearthFires.esm
15. Skyrim - Animations.bsa
16. Skyrim - Interface.bsa
17. Skyrim - Shaders.bsa
18. Update.bsa
19. Update.esm

After that go in the root Skyrim folder and delete everything except the Data-folder.

Once that is done open up your Steam: Right click Skyrim -> Properties -> Local Files -> Verify integrity of Cache. It will scan your Skyrim folder and afterwards download everything that is missing. Since you've kept the large archives you save about 5-8GB.

 

Once it's finished you can start installing your mods and other tools.

 

 

 

Nidhoeggr.

 

PS.: Apologies, if anything of this is common knowledge to you, just read the last post ^^

Edited June 23, 2013 by Nidhoeggr

[ripple]

Mo is definitely a better mod manager. I used it for quite a well but had to switch back to NMM for reasons not related to MO. But...well, don't take this the wrong way Patch, but it's probably going to take you quite a while to wrap your head around it, like setting utilities to run as executables in MO (which seems to boggle even some experienced mod users). NMM has come a long way (from when I first tried it, before getting frustrated and moving to MO), and is a solid mod manager. Because of the different 'method' by which MO handles mod installations (first by not installing them into the game data folder but in their individual, separate folders, then reassembling them into a 'virtual data folder' when you run MO and launch the game), it's not easy to 'switch' mod installations between NMM and MO. So I recommend you first decide which one you want to go with, and stick with it.

Edited June 23, 2013 by ripple

[CaptainPatch]

Thanks for the quick response. Heck, thanks for _everything_. Considering just how much I've been burdening you with Initiate (if that) questions, I'm thinking your Karma account must be through the roof. :biggrin:

 

So, don't flush NMM and BOSS.

Delete EVERYTHING else. 1) Should I use the Control Panel's Add/Delete software utility, or some other method?

Search & Destroy all of those other Skyrim Directory paths. Leave no survivors!

One thing I am sure of is that both my motherboard (MSI) and NVidia drivers are the latest-and-greatest for this moment. 2) Any others I should be worried about? (Sound card is internal to motherboard.)

Reinstall Skyrim. That MUST be via Steam. (Which I hope won't foul up by saying I'm not authorized to do because according to its records, I've already have my ONE copy.)

Install utilities. That would be TES5Edit and Wrye Bash and SkyUI. 3) Any others that I should be installing?

As enticing as Mod Organizer sounds, that "steep learning curve" suggests I should stick to NMM.

Edit the Skyrim.ini to allow for Papyrus logging and the... CIR? (Instruction on page one of this thread.)

4) What constitutes the "tutorial" for Skyrim. Is the through the end of Unbound in the vanilla Skyrim?

5) Defrag _after_? That takes a couple hours right there. (1 Tb HDD.)

6) I can look at the Papyrus log, but I doubt I'll be able to understand what I'm looking at or what it is _exactly_ that I should be looking for. (Hint, hint.)

 

 

BIG FAVOR REQUEST: Uhm, if I give you the the l_o_n_g list of mods I would like to have, prioritized by what I most want, versus those that are merely "Nice to have", could you order that list for the sequence they should be installed, plus indicating breakpoints where I should stop installing and start testing? I figure that it would probably be better to ask for such advice _before_ I start creating messes again.

[CaptainPatch]

Quick relevant question addenda: After reinstalling TES V, + Dawnguard + Hearthfires + Dragonborn DLCs, and then adding the utilities, should I _immediately do the TES5Edit Cleaning?