Won't even install

[ghsmith]

All of a sudden Fallout3 refuses to even install. The other day I decided to re-install Fallout3 and play it once again. At that time I was using the same Windows XP setup, and hardware setup that I have been using since the day I bought Fallout3. There had been no system changes made of any kind. The game seemed to install perfectly as always, and I set my options to the ones I always use. Anyway, to make a long story short, when I launched the game, it started to load and then crashed to the desktop. I bought the game within days of it's initial release, and am installing off that same original retail disk. I didn't even have a chance to patch the game. So I un-installed it, rebooted, re-installed, and tried patching to the first official patch before trying to run the game. The 1.0.015 patch began to install, but before it finished, it tried to run the game, and everything crashed. As I was planning to upgrade to Windows 7 on the new system I have coming, I decided to wipe everything off the primary hard drive where I was trying to install Fallout, I installed Windows 7, did all the various driver installation (motherboard, video,sound, etc), and then installed Fallout no patches or mods at this pint, just the original version off the retail disk. It installed, but once again, as soon as I tried to run it, it crashed. As I said, this is the original retail box version, not a digital download version, not some questionable downloaded copy. I have never had any problem like this at any other time in the past, and as I said, prior to installing Windows 7 my system was 100% identical to the setup which has always worked without the slightest problem in the past.

[csb]

A few things:

 

Install to a directory other than the default (C:\Program Files\Bethesda...). C:\Games\Fallout3 seems to be a popular choice. :smile:

 

Immediately install the 1.7 patch. If you have an nVidia card, use the latest stable release (the 190+ ones can be problematic for some, go to TweakGuides.com and see the Tweak Guide for Fallout3, it lists the most stable nVidia driver for Fallout3 ... 186.17 or something like that (without looking, my memory might be a bit dyslexic).

 

Then install any DLCs you have. In your DLC load order use FOMM (see below) to move BrokenSteel.esm to after the other DLCs (level 30 cap).

 

Ensure you either update (good luck with that!) to Microsoft's latest Games for Windows Live installation or disable Games for Windows Live (the option I prefer, since I don't use GfWL). It creates tons of problems, especially with the default install location. To help with that, get Timeslip's Fallout Mod Manager. After the install, click the "Install tweaker" button and check the "Use fake xlive dll" option box. While you are in FOMM, click the "Toggle invalidation" button to enable archive invalidation (or go into the Fallout.ini file in your Documents/My Games/Fallout3 directory and set bInvalidateOlderFiles=0 to bInvalidateOlderFiles=1).

 

Note that you must successfully run Fallout3 once to create the Fallout.ini file. So use FOMM or edit the .ini after a first-load of the game.

 

There are other things that can cause an immediate CTD, but this should be a good starting point to stabilize your initial install.

 

Hope this helps.

[ghsmith]

Tried all those very basic, newbie things long before I posted here, and would not have bothered posting if it were something as simple as that. I use Littleboy to disable G4WL and to manage the BSAs. I have the most up to date versions of FOMM, FOSE, FO3edit, etc. Nividia drivers are always updated to the most recent, and this is a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit on a brand-spanking new (literally brand new the day before I posted my original message here) system (MSI NF980 mobo, AMD PhenomII x4 955 CPU, 8Gb Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC1600 memory, and an XFX nVidia GeForce GTX260 896Mb 448-bit card).

 

 

A few things:

 

Install to a directory other than the default (C:\Program Files\Bethesda...). C:\Games\Fallout3 seems to be a popular choice. :smile:

 

Immediately install the 1.7 patch. If you have an nVidia card, use the latest stable release (the 190+ ones can be problematic for some, go to TweakGuides.com and see the Tweak Guide for Fallout3, it lists the most stable nVidia driver for Fallout3 ... 186.17 or something like that (without looking, my memory might be a bit dyslexic).

 

Then install any DLCs you have. In your DLC load order use FOMM (see below) to move BrokenSteel.esm to after the other DLCs (level 30 cap).

 

Ensure you either update (good luck with that!) to Microsoft's latest Games for Windows Live installation or disable Games for Windows Live (the option I prefer, since I don't use GfWL). It creates tons of problems, especially with the default install location. To help with that, get Timeslip's Fallout Mod Manager. After the install, click the "Install tweaker" button and check the "Use fake xlive dll" option box. While you are in FOMM, click the "Toggle invalidation" button to enable archive invalidation (or go into the Fallout.ini file in your Documents/My Games/Fallout3 directory and set bInvalidateOlderFiles=0 to bInvalidateOlderFiles=1).

 

Note that you must successfully run Fallout3 once to create the Fallout.ini file. So use FOMM or edit the .ini after a first-load of the game.

 

There are other things that can cause an immediate CTD, but this should be a good starting point to stabilize your initial install.

 

Hope this helps.

[csb]

I know the latest 191.07 drivers are listed by nVidia as being "certified" ... but often, they aren't. It depends on which nVidia card you have installed. My GTS250 seems to do alright with it, but my old 9000-series card didn't.

 

But that wouldn't be an immediate CTD issue.

 

Check TweakGuides.com's Fallout3 Tweak Guide, look for the multi-core .ini settings. Might as well check that off as a possible cause.

[Branimirzg]

here's link - Ini tweaks

[ghsmith]

Thanks, but I found that guide over a year ago when I first began playing Fallout3. the day after it was released. Since the game never even loads, no ini file gets created, and copying my saved, tweaked ini file into MyGames/Fallout3 does no good, because the game, as I have said, never finishes loading before crashing and consequently it never reads the ini file.

 

here's link - Ini tweaks