Crashes Before Start Menu

[SpartanSamuel]

I've read through the first ten pages in this category and not found my solution in any of the threads therein. My Fallout 3 installation crashes to the desktop within five seconds, not even making it to the main menu. My setup is as follows:

 

ASRock 870 Extreme3

AMD Athlon II x4 640 3.0GHz

Radeon HD 6950

G.Skill 4 x 4gb

2 x 1 tb hard drives

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64

 

I should have ZERO problems running this game. It was playing fine with FWE, MMM, Project Beauty, and a few others that I was tooling around with until I tried the Large Address Enabler. Ever since then, it's been giving me this s***. I've attempted undoing those changes, but it doesn't seem to care. I've uninstalled and reinstalled several times using Revo Uninstaller (I use it anyways), even trying to place the directory in different locations aside from the default. I know that resintalling the OS is an option, but NOT one I'm willing to consider at all and neither is using another computer. That is not a viable option for me. Here's a list of what I had going on in FO3 before I tried the 3GB Enabler (not in load order):

 

CASM v1-2-3

DarnUI Alpha v92

Dimonized Type 3

Fallout Interoperability Program

FO3Edit v3-0-15

FO3 Wanderer's Edition v6-03a

Fallout Mod Manager v0-13-21

FOSE v1-2b2

Garden of Eden Creation Kit v1-5

HD Audio Overhaul v12p1-2

Mart's Mutant Mod RC61

Minute Minder v2

Project Beauty HD

Taking Out the Trash

Talking UI v9

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch

Weapon Mod Kits v1-1-9

 

As I mentioned, everything was working fine until I tried to install the 3GB enabler. At the same time, I also installed the Fallout Stutter Removal v4-0-7, but I doubt that that is the cause of my issues after I uninstalled and reinstalled so many times. I've also attempted enabling multiple CPU and GPU support via the .ini file to no avail.

[proconsu1]

Uninstalling and reinstalling does not replace the .ini file, since it is kept in the Windows document folder tree. So it is possible that the source of the problem is within that file. Try deleting it from your \\documents\my games\fallout 3\ folder and running the game without it. This should force the game to recreate the .ini file with default settings, so if the problem was in there it should fix it. If it works, then just reset any changes in there that you wanted.

[SpartanSamuel]

Unfortunately, the game now refuses to launch at all. I think we just took a step backwards, friend... I am without an .ini file at all now. It doesn't recreate it. It is the fallout_default configuration file, right?

[proconsu1]

Yes, and this is another symptom. You can do it manually by taking the file Fallout_default.ini in the FO3 installation folder, copying it to the folder where you deleted the real .ini file and then renaming it to FALLOUT.INI just like the old one.

 

Edit: ...which is essentially what the game itself was supposed to have done. Might be a good time to look at the actual load order, too.

Edited March 5, 2011 by proconsu1

[SpartanSamuel]

... The fallout_default.ini that I deleted was in the... installation... folder? I'm confused.

[SpartanSamuel]

I was able to find a replacement .ini even though my installation failed to create it's own replacement. It came from here. The game boots now, thank god! I really appreciate your advice. I'll install the mods a few at a time, hopefully it'll be fine.

 

EDIT: *string of incomprehensible curses* It did it again! I'm spending most of today fixing this *expletive deleted* when I could be playing! God, that large address tweak was the WORST IDEA EVER. CHRIST. I've tried replacing the fallout ini in the installation folder with the one in the documents folder to no avail, and I've tried deleting both and having the game create a new one and then replace the one in the installation folder, and I've also tried the Fallout Installation Cleaner mod. NOTHING WORKS. S---.

 

EDIT EDIT: Going through my mods one by one after I reverted back to a fresh install I had archived, it turns out it's not a mod at all. Enabling the fake xlive.dll and shrink textures option via the Install Tweak tool in FOMM was causing my problems. Weird...

[proconsu1]

... The fallout_default.ini that I deleted was in the... installation... folder? I'm confused.

 

This is backwards. Note the first post I made in this thread - I pointed you toward deleting the .ini file in the documents folder, e.g. \\My Documents\My Games\Fallout 3\ (path may look different depending what version of Windows you run). Then when that failed I said replace it with a copy of the default .ini file from the game's installation folder (\\Fallout 3\ or wherever you find the \data\ folder where your mods go). When you launch the game, it loads the .ini settings from Fallout.ini in the documents folder. If that file is not present it is supposed to make a new one by copying Fallout_default.ini from the installation folder to the documents folder and renaming it back to Fallout.ini. I hope that clears up the confusion there, and sorry if I was unclear the first time.

 

If that fails, the you might want to get and install Process Monitor, or procmon for short. It is a Windows tool that tracks and logs many things about a process as it runs. It is very useful for figuring out loadup failures and CTDs, particularly as it logs which files are being loaded as they are being loaded. So if, on two or three repeated runs, procmon tells you every time that the last file accessed prior to the CTD was buggypieceofcrap.esm (or whatever) then you will know where to look for a fix...and whom you should be cursing.

 

Edit: ninja'ed. But if ya gotta be ninja'ed there's no better way than this. Good on ya! :thumbsup:

Edited March 5, 2011 by proconsu1

[SpartanSamuel]

I'm still going through all of my mods, and it turns out that adding in the manual DarnUI - FWE patch, it does produces my old problem again. Do you know of another solution to show the grenade hotkey on the hud via DarnUI?

[proconsu1]

No, I don't. And I use both DarnUI and FWE, with the 'nade fix, and I have never had a problem. I am beginning to think you are suffering from a serious case of bad installation on your mods. It seems like something you installed overwrote something that one or more other mods depend on, taking them down the toilet with it. I would seriously recommend reinstalling FO3 (again...sorry) and this time use WryeFlash to install your mods, and only install the very well used mods (those with a crapload of endorsements on the Nexus). Then make a bashed patch and see if it's finally Happy Trails time.

 

Edit: and don't forget to double check your install of FOSE is intact, and that you have archive invalidation enabled in FOMM (or are using Archive Invalidation Invalidated, which I don't recommend).

Edited March 6, 2011 by proconsu1

[SpartanSamuel]

I've always invalidated my archive via FOMM, but what do you mean by double checking to make sure my install of FOSE is intact? I know in the readme it just tells me to copy over the .dll and .exe files, but I usually copy over everything anyways. As for your theory, I wouldn't doubt it. With my current setup, it crashes about every half hour to an hour (CASM is a life saver). I have no problem finding load order guides, but is there an install order guide you could recommend? Truth be told, there is a LOT of overwriting going on when I'm setting up shop...