BSA loading

[SheosMan117]

I've tried to play Heart of the Dead, oblivion crashes on startup. earlier, I've tried to play the bag of holding, it crashed. without either selected, oblivion works. they both have bsas. I think oblivion isn't loading them. any ideas?

[Hickory]

That is almost certainly a combination of archive invalidation and load order. First of all, install ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated.

Then install BOSS and Wrye Bash.. Don't be put off by Wrye Bash, as it can seem daunting at first. Once you have in installed, create a Bashed Patch AFTER you have run BOSS.

[Sebiale]

Should we always create a Bash Patch, even if we aren't sure whether the mods will conflict?

[Hickory]

If you are running major mods, like overhauls (Frans, OOO, MMM, Better Cities, and even Cobl), race mods and body replacers, or are running lots of mods, a Bashed Patch is a must if you don't want conflicts to occur.

[SheosMan117]

The only mods I have are the unofficial patches, heart of the dead, origin of the mages guild, and bag of holding. and one of my own.

[Smooth613]

Might I suggest something? Since you'll eventually need a mod manager, personally I recommend one regardless even if only having a few mods, simply use the BSA Redirection function of the mod manager. Both OBMM and Wrye Bash have BSA Redirection. There is really no need for Archiveinvalidation Invalidated anymore with BSA Redirection as explained in Archiveinvalidation Destroyed.

 

With OBMM: Go to Utilities > Archive Invalidation > Select BSA Redirection > Update

With Wrye Bash(recommended): Go to Installers Tab > Right click the Package header > Near the bottom make sure there is a check mark beside BSA Redirection, if not select it.

 

Viola! BSA Redirection for all your mods and future mods. With OBMM I think you have to occasionally update your BSA settings, hence the update button mentioned above. I'm not 100% sure though since I use Wrye Bash and BAIN installers instead of OBMM and OMODs. Wrye is just far superior to OBMM in many ways after you figure it out, and it's not hard really. It may seem intimidating to some at first but just follow the documentation and take your time. I highly recommend reading THIS, Wrye Bash information page, when in doubt. I still refer to it on a regular basis to this day.

 

Also as Hickory mentioned use BOSS for help with your Load Order, it's usually right. Later after you grasp the concept of modding and **"The Rule of One" you can alter your Load Order (LO) to your own liking.

 

** The link provided is a great introduction to compatibility and covers a lot of the basics on compatibility and conflicts. Read it over a few times.

 

And finally about your question with a Bashed Patch. No you don't always need one but it's good practice to learn and understand what it does. I can hardly cover everything Wrye Bash (WB) does so use the links I've provided here. But as a general, very general, statement a Bashed Patch will allow you to overcome The Rule of One. It, the patch, brings records forward from early loading mods to allow those records to stay active and not be overridden by a late loading mod that alters the same record. Check this out for a general idea of importing things into a patch. I'm just scratching the surface here, you're gonna have to do some reading to fully understand all this. There is some legwork involved when modding that you, the user, must do or you will have conflicts and begin to hate mods or even Oblivion itself. Then you'll be constantly complaining about the mods and incompatibility when really it's usually just user error.

 

I hope that helps and I really hope you didn't just skim over this reply, if you did don't bother with modding because this is nothing compared to the reading required to have a stable modded Oblivion.

 

Good luck!