Load game menu is missing the picture and time stamp info

[chambcra]

I've been playing my original install for a couple years with no problems. All my installed mods I've been using for at least several hundred hours with no problems except my current quest mod which is Integration The Stranded Light and I've been playing it for 20-30 hours before this problem popped up.

 

When the game is first started and I go to the Load Game menu the picture and time stamp information are missing. After loading a game and then going ESC -> Load Game the picture and time stamp are back like normal. I've copied my Data folder and my most recent saved game to another computer with Oblivion on it and the problem is not there.

 

What could possibly have gotten corrupted? I suppose a reinstall would fix it but I'm a little nervous about doing that after working on my character for a couple years. Also, I'd like to know what happened just for future reference.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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[Striker879]

How many save files do you currently have in your save folder (all of them perhaps)?

 

I periodically move my older saves to my backup folder (on a completely different hard drive in my case, but as long as it's outside of your saves folder it will be fine). As soon as I notice it taking a bit longer for the menu to open I clear things out to my most recent 25 or so saves. If I think of it beforehand and I'm up to 100 or more saves in the game's save folder I'll be preemptively neat.

[chambcra]

Thanks for the reply. I do almost exactly the same as you. I backup my recent saves daily to a flash drive and periodically clear out the save game folder. I thought maybe one of the saves could be corrupt so I temporarily moved all but the last save outside the save game folder and no go. It's the strangest problem. I would think the exe is reading the information from the save game folder the same as it does after a game has been loaded. One thing I didn't mention is I've recently gone to triple screen which does mess up the picture a bit but it did work for quite a while aside from the picture being a little weird. Another thing that's weird is the missing text that says something about "Do you want to load . . ." The next thing I may try is to copy the exe and dll's from the computer that works. It's 32 bit though and my primary machine is 64 but it's a wild guess anyway. I think it might be running in a 32 bit mode. It's in . . . \program files (x86)\. I think.

[Striker879]

C:\Program Files (x86) isn't a recommended install location if you are using either Vista, Win 7 or Win 8 (it's fine for WinXP). I can't see that being at the root of your issue though as the save game file system is vanilla Oblivion, and UAC should only interfere with things outside of vanilla Oblivion (unless I guess if you were using one of the various save game utilities).

 

I was certain that your problem was that though. I remember seeing exactly what your screens show before I started being "neat". Probably not related, but about the same time I had the same issue as you was also when I first ran into the A-Bomb (stuck animation problem). You make no mention of it but I assume you must be taking care of it somehow ... you are a high hours player like me.

 

I don't have a multiple screens setup myself but I'm pretty sure bben46 (one of the site staff) does use multiple monitors. I see him occasionally comment on here, but not so much as before Skyrim. Might not hurt to shoot him a PM asking if he's had a look at this post.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Striker879

[chambcra]

Okay, thanks. Sorry I'm slow getting back. I've been out of town. So you've seen the same problem but it was too many saved games? That makes it even stranger. I hadn't thought about windows being the culprit. A long time ago I did something so I don't get a prompt when running any exe so maybe I've disabled UAC.

 

I use the animation fixer program. It works better than the other ini fix which is only good for a period of time. I haven't had to use the animation fixer for a long time.

 

It doesn't really have to fixed. I'd like to know what caused it though. If I find out I'll post back.

[Striker879]

If being installed in C:\Program Files (x86) isn't causing you any issues then I wouldn't suggest doing anything about it (just something to keep in the back of your mind when troubleshooting).

 

I use Animation Fixer (OAF) myself (which I assume is the same as what you're using). Because OAF doesn't fix the root cause of the bug (nor does Wrye Bash's solution) the problem with stuck animations will return. I periodically run OAF, sometimes when I see the first signs of the stuck animation (easily spotted on the Legion riders torch flames once you know what to look for) and sometime just because I think of it. If you look in the boxes across the bottom of the OAF dialogue you'll see it reports the current value of the byte that results in stuck animation (for instance I see my current save is now at 48, the point when I usually start to notice the rider's torches showing trailing bits of flame, so I just ran Fix Me again).

 

Something you may already know ... you need to rename the OBSE co-saves to match the OAF fixed save name. I like to keep the original co-save as well so I rename a copy of the co-save. My latest save is named CustomClass2258.ess and the co-save is CustomClass2258.obse so I've renamed a copy of CustomClass2258.obse to OAF_CustomClass2258.obse so that it matches the OAF fixed file OAF_CustomClass2258.ess (sounds more complicated than it is).

[chambcra]

Hello Striker, are you still out there?

 

Yes, I use OAF. I used OBSE for a brief while just to get the FastExit function but I wasn't crazy about doubling the number of save files. Using the task manager to shutdown isn't that bad. Funny how like you say it isn't a permanent fix and I've used it 2 or 3 times but I haven't had to use it now for a really long time.

 

I'm wondering what you can tell me about C:\Program Files (x86) not being a recommended install location?

 

I've copied everything I can think of from the win7 comp. to the XP comp. (entire data and saves folders, ini file) and the XP comp. still works. I've copied the exe and dll's from the XP comp. to the Win7 comp. and no help. I didn't think it would. The only thing I can find in the registry is the saves folder path. The only thing I can think of left is windows which I can see how it might deny access to the time stamp info but that doesn't explain why the words "Are you sure you really want to load this game?" are missing. I've tried running in xp compatibility mode.

 

One thing I've noticed is the xp comp. never fails to shutdown.

 

I'm not quite ready to reinstall yet but it might come to that especially if something else goes awry. At last check I was at save game number 3058.

 

So, to make sure, if I save and copy over a new install, the entire data folder, the entire save game folder, and the ini, and check all the files in the launcher, will I be right back where I left off with no problems? I know it seems like it since my test computer is working okay but it hasn't been really tested very much.

 

Thanks for your input.

[Striker879]

The issues with having the game installed in C:\Program Files (x86) are the things that UAC does behind your back ... relocating files but still showing them as though they were in their original folder, silently blocking changes, things like that. They're meant for protecting your machine from malware etc. but can effectively muck things up for the game as well. There seems to be mixed responses from different users on how much UAC interferes (some people say they aren't bothered by it at all for instance). The problem UAC presents troubleshooters is trying to figure our what may be UAC caused problems and what are not UAC related. The simple solution is install the game (and Steam if you use the Steam version of the game) in C:\Games ... no UAC interference, so any problems that present themselves are mod and/or install related.

 

I'm not one for reinventing the wheel so I'll point you to two wiki articles that bben46 posted ... Oblivion reinstall procedure and Revert to vanilla data. The re-install procedure probably will have more relevance but use the revert to vanilla to make sure you've a good idea of what is included in a "base" game install vs what you have after adding mods.

 

You will want to follow the part near the beginning (just after the heading Uninstall) where bben46 outlines backing up your Data folder for use after uninstalling. In your case you won't be uninstalling, but the same will apply to moving your XP install's Data folder to the new install. Also make sure you keep a copy of your old XP install's Oblivion.ini (found in Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion) which you can use to reapply any ini tweaks you want to preserve. Don't try to use the old ini on the new install ... start the new install and allow Oblivion to create a new Oblivion.ini tailored for the new machine and then use the old ini as a guide for editing the new Oblivion.ini.

 

You should be able to install the game to C:\Games on the new machine and then use the linked procedures to transfer your Data folder and saves from the XP machine.

[chambcra]

Okay Striker. Thanks a lot. I think I was guessing a few years back that C:\Program Files (x86) is where Win7 (32 bit) liked to install 16 bit programs.

 

Actually I will be uninstalling and reinstalling on the same Win7 (32 bit) machine. The XP machine is just my test computer for this problem. Sorry, for the confusion but that shouldn't make any difference for what you're telling. When I reinstall I'll put it in C:\Games.

 

Thanks for your help.

[chambcra]

I finally found out it is the triple screen resolution that causes this. I don't normally do a load at startup and just do a continue so it was a long time between adding the triple screens and detecting the problem and I didn't put the two together. Sometimes procrastination pays off. Glad I didn't do a re-install. There is nothing wrong.