GOTY Oblivion On Vista

[PShepa]

I thought there was a lot of talk about vista problems, but I've only found very little. I've tried to get Oblivion to work on my laptop with Vista, but not getting anywhere. Using the regular startup icon, the first screen where you choose your mods you want doesn't come up. The game goes directly to the flash screen, which does have sound, but when I get to the rotating map screen, no music. The game stops functioning when I choose NEW. Put on OBSE and basically got the same results.

 

I loaded the game into a /game directory outside of the program files. My laptop is a Dell XPS M1530 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. I've got 4 gb of ram with a 320gb harddrive. My video card is a 256mb NVIDIA GeForce 8600m GT. My sound is a Expresscard Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio for laptop.

 

Can anyone give me a clue what to do or where to go (NOT THERE) to hopefully solve my problem. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[dezdimona]

Vista Problems

 

You MUST be signed on as an Administrator to do any of this.

 

If you have downloaded and installed a mod, and the mod is appearing in your Data Files List, but not in your game And you are running Vista, you have run into a security feature of Vista called User Account Control. Or more simply, UAC.

 

Quoted from the Oblivion Mods FAQ WIKI

 

Alternate Install Directory

If you install your Elder Scrolls game into any directory OTHER than the default, none of these problems occur. Thus, you can bypass the Vista security issues by installing the game onto another hard drive or into a new directory that is not located within the "Program Files" root directory (such as "C:\Games").

 

Run as Admin

Another way to fix it is to right-click the ".exe" file and click properties, then check "Run as administrator". Then click OK. Do this for both the "oblivion.exe" and TESConstructionSet.exe", and any programs you are using that copies files to protected directories (such as WinRAR, 7z, or WinZip).

 

Disable UAC

Windows Vista users who are fairly confident in the security of their computers might also consider disabling UAC altogether. This will allow all programs writing privileges to the Program Files directory. Although this obviously creates a state of decreased security for your PC, it is a very helpful one-size-fits-all solution to a number of compatibility issues with the Vista OS.

 

Look here for instructions on how to turn UAC off. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...-windows-vista/

 

Of these, solution #1 is STRONGLY PREFERRED. Solutions 2 and 3 (running as admin and disabling UAC) remove important safety features of the OS. In contrast, installing Oblivion elsewhere resolves the problems with Oblivion without reducing your overall security.

Wiki entry on installing Oblivion in Vista: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Windows_Vista

 

Note that unless you opt to reinstall the game in a different location (option 1) when you start trying to make your own mods using the construction set, you will run into these problems again.

[Birrii]

Aww, I had the same problem, but it suddenly started working :o

I have seriously what my magic hands did :/

I didn't install it in a very special way, just ignorantly and without any particular attention. Later on, I had problems with opening the start menu, BUT I could play the exe.

[PShepa]

Vista Problems

 

You MUST be signed on as an Administrator to do any of this.

 

If you have downloaded and installed a mod, and the mod is appearing in your Data Files List, but not in your game And you are running Vista, you have run into a security feature of Vista called User Account Control. Or more simply, UAC.

 

Quoted from the Oblivion Mods FAQ WIKI

 

Alternate Install Directory

If you install your Elder Scrolls game into any directory OTHER than the default, none of these problems occur. Thus, you can bypass the Vista security issues by installing the game onto another hard drive or into a new directory that is not located within the "Program Files" root directory (such as "C:\Games").

 

Run as Admin

Another way to fix it is to right-click the ".exe" file and click properties, then check "Run as administrator". Then click OK. Do this for both the "oblivion.exe" and TESConstructionSet.exe", and any programs you are using that copies files to protected directories (such as WinRAR, 7z, or WinZip).

 

Disable UAC

Windows Vista users who are fairly confident in the security of their computers might also consider disabling UAC altogether. This will allow all programs writing privileges to the Program Files directory. Although this obviously creates a state of decreased security for your PC, it is a very helpful one-size-fits-all solution to a number of compatibility issues with the Vista OS.

 

Look here for instructions on how to turn UAC off. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...-windows-vista/

 

Of these, solution #1 is STRONGLY PREFERRED. Solutions 2 and 3 (running as admin and disabling UAC) remove important safety features of the OS. In contrast, installing Oblivion elsewhere resolves the problems with Oblivion without reducing your overall security.

Wiki entry on installing Oblivion in Vista: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Windows_Vista

 

Note that unless you opt to reinstall the game in a different location (option 1) when you start trying to make your own mods using the construction set, you will run into these problems again.

 

 

I found these instructions and did install to another directory other than the default namely c:/games/oblivion and I am still having the same problems. thanks for the support though. Maybe someone else may have alternative solution that might work for me.

[Sharkull]

I'm running Oblivion on a Vista Laptop, so it is possible (Default install path, and it was working before I disabled UAC).

 

Are you sure that you're starting the OblivionLauncher, and not Oblivion.exe?

[dezdimona]

if you use OBSE,you"must" launch your game using OBSE,or it will crash!create a desktop icon and launch from there,if using OBMM "do not" use it ti launch your game.

[greenworms]

Interesting. I had UAC issue at first when setting up my laptop the way I want, however, I am using the x64 edition, so, the default folder, fortunately is C:\Program Files (x86)\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion and there is also the C:\Program Files default folder for some 32 bit apps, yet the GOTY installtion knew to put in the (x86) path as well as most installs. Taken ownership of everything under the account your logged into (assuming your using an administrator account, which you should be for oblivion), could help. An alternate installation path perhaps as well. If you have an external drive, if it is fast enough, could be used for oblivion. I have done that before and can help keep your internal drive from being chewed up by game play. fire wire would be perfect(fastest), but usb drives work too. example:

 

J:\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion

[PShepa]

I'm running Oblivion on a Vista Laptop, so it is possible (Default install path, and it was working before I disabled UAC).

 

Are you sure that you're starting the OblivionLauncher, and not Oblivion.exe?

 

Yeh, I was using Oblivion.exe. OblivionLauncher does get me started correctly. I loaded OBMM, but checked no mods, until I get vanilla working. I still get the other problems though. Anybody else have any ideas why my music doesn't play on the map screen and why the game stops when I select NEW game? Thanks for your replies.

[Soulreaver965]

Ok! Since we're on this topic, might as well throw in a little question of my own, having trouble getting to the whole "Saved games" data location, I type in the address in the document bar, y'know, c:/documents and settings/ yaddayadda, But it tells me I have no access to it, Running on a Vista Laptop, kinda a problem if I can't get to where the saved games are and want to download an old save I have laying around, any help?

[bben46]

@Soulreaver965 the location is slightly different in Vista, the path you list is from XP. In vista, try: C:\users\your user name\my documents\my games\Oblivion\saves