Another CTD help request =/

[isra]

Ok, Oblivion used to run almost flawlessly for me. However after I reinstalled windows (Vista Ultimate 32-Bit) I started getting CTDs every five to ten minutes with no error code, but a simple "Oblivion has stopped working" message.

 

So since Oblivion + Shivering Isles was one of the first things I installed, I thought I may as well reinstall windows again. Unfortunately this didn't fix the problem.

Other things I have tried are:

 

Deleting the .ini and letting settings default

Running Oblivion in Administrator mode

Running Oblivion in XPSP2 compatibility mode

Using Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System

Playing with no mods

Playing with only the Unofficial Oblivion/Shivering Isles Patches

Any combination of the above

 

System specs:

AMD Phenom 9950

Asus M37A9-T Deluxe

Corsair 2x2GB 1066MHz RAM

HIS Radeon HD4870

 

All patches and drivers are up to date.

The one thing I have changed that comes to mind is that in order to reinstall windows, I had to buy a new DVDRW Drive as my last one's laser had died. This new Drive uses some kind of SecuROM firmware (I'm a bit unsure about the details of this, it's on the box somewhere) which my last one didn't have (I don't use virtual drive tools like Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120%).

Another thing is I use Process Explorer rather than Task Manager. After Oblivion crashes there are too many 'handles' and Process Explorer won't start due to "Insufficient Resources to get handle information".

Would that indicate a leak of some sort?

 

Anyway, I know you've probably all dealt with a million of these threads before but I've searched and come up empty (though admittedly I am terrible at searching as the fiancee tells me constantly). I really appreciate any help and of course your patience.

[bben46]

The first place to look is at your system. Is the power supply up to the demand that Oblivion puts on it? A weak PS will cause many strange problems. And the majority of systems made by the big companies have marginal Power Supplies to begin with. Adding a new video card can easily stretch the power requirements beyond what they are capable of.

 

Next, do you have enough RAM? 1G is barely enough, 2 is much better. My winxp 32 bit system showed a significant improvement when I went to 3G ram.

 

Is it overheating? computers are dustbunny farms. They trap more dust than anything else you have. Check fans, air channels and both air in and air out holes. and be sure to clean out the power supply. Be sure to unplug and not just turn off the computer to do any cleaning.

 

Check your virtual memory. Basic rule of thumb is it should be 1.5 times your ram. As you have reinstalled Windows, I wouldn't expect your HD to be very fragmented, but defrag anyway.

 

Go through the tuning recommended here http://www.tweakguides.com/ Start with the system tweaks, then do the tweaks for your video card, and the Oblivion tweaks last.

 

Then, what else is running in the background? Any program that likes to check the internet periodically can cause crashes. Such as IM, Skype, Vonage, Any program that calls home for any reason such as MS Genuine (dis) advantage. Or anything that checks for updates- some do it if you are not connected and keep trying every so often until they get through.

 

MS indexing service will start unexpectedly and grab some CPU time, anti virus or anti spyware progs like to run in the background and check every disk read or write. And of course, any virus, spyware or rootkit likes do a lot of disk access to find whatever you have on the computer, then call out to send your personal data to some scum who is getting rich selling you to other scum. Or in the case of zombies, selling time on your computer to some spammer. Hopefully your firewall blocks outgoing garbage and not just incoming junk like the MS firewall does.

[Maigrets]

Oblivion doesn't have any Securom or Starforce or any other intrusive protection systems. All it has is a simple DVD check as outlined on this page:

 

http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_4.html

 

You can rule that out even though your DVDRW Drive has the firmware.

 

You might want to check audio and video codecs on your system. If you have any Codec packs installed it may be a good idea to remove them. This one is very safe though and is recommended. It even searches for rogue or damaged codecs when it installs and will ask to remove them.

 

K-Lite Codec Pack

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm

 

Also, Nero codecs have been known to cause problems within the game. To delete the unnecesary codecs, and keep your burning software, delete the following folder: C:/Program Files/Common Files/Ahead/DSFilter

 

I had this with my new DVDRW drive. It came with Nero 7 Suite and INCD (packet writing software) which is a disaster to have on your computer, and I couldn't play Oblivion or Fallout 3 with it installed. Both games constantly locked up with INCD running as a background app. It's part of the Nero Suite and can't be uninstalled separately.

So I reverted to the old Nero 6 I bought years ago and it works fine.

 

You could also try a Clean Boot Procedure that shuts off all background apps while playing. How to do it at this page. Microsoft - Help and Support.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796/

 

Just a few more suggestions... :biggrin:

[isra]

First let me say you're both fantastic! Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

A few things I can rule out as the culprit:

 

Lack of RAM since I have 4GB

Nero Software since I haven't installed it yet

Dust buildup - my case has dust filters

Overheating - all temps are nominal

Power Supply - got a 750w Corsair PSU

 

I think my hardware checks out as I don't have any major problems with Fallout 3 unless I start using really heavy duty mods.

 

I'm gonna give the codec pack a shot to see if I have any corrupted codecs, though I don't recall installing any yet (I can't even play AVI files, haha)

One thing that looks really promising is the clean boot procedure - I found some filters and a service relating to Ulead DVD software (which I never installed - baffled :S), as well as a service which would frequently access the internet. Going to test if this helped right now.

 

Thanks again for the very helpful and speedy replies :)

 

<<EDIT>> Follow up:

I've tried the above suggestions and also the tweak guides, but no luck so far. I've started to notice a pattern with the crashes though. They occur most often (though not strictly) after I kill an enemy and it starts to ragdoll. Any thoughts?

[Maigrets]

Aha! The of process of elimination theory...

 

You don't actually have to install a codec pack for stray ones to appear on your system. They can end up there by viewing video files on the net and by unscrupulous Browser Hijackers. Speaking from experience...

 

Viewing vids on the Net is generally safe though as long as it's not a dodgy site then you're asking for trouble.

If a site asks you to install a codec before watching a video, I would say no, but it's up to you. At least those let you know they are going to do it.

 

The K-Lite Codec pack has every known popular codec to play most types of video files, and it shouldn't be necessary to install more from web sites.

 

Ulead Software is a DVD player or part of it is. It installs codecs for playing video on your computer in DVD, AVI and most other formats.

I had it bundled with my previous DVDRW drive. It wouldn't install properly and left files I couldn't easily delete because of the bad install. But it never interfered with Oblivion as far as I know. K-Lite did remove part of it so maybe that's why.

 

I have seen questions related to the ragdoll crash. At the moment I can't remember what conclusion they came to. I'll check it out and edit this post if I find it again. It was on the Official forums.

 

 

EDIT: I did find a couple of posts about the very issue you have with enemies. The replies were that it's most likely to do with codecs. So, if you get rid of the Ulead DVD one and find out what is trying to access the internet it may be your solution.

 

Another thing I've seen advised from time to time is to make sure the Oblivion audio files are associated with Windows Media Player.

 

I use iTunes and Oblivion has no problem with it though.