Someone else with crashing problems

[seanms1991]

I hate dropping an other crash report onto you guys, but this is driving me away from this game and I would really like some help so I can keep playing. I'm played Oblivion for a considerable amount of time, long enough to want to revamp the game. It was originally for a friend and he seemed to like it, then I got on an got addicted to the mods. Luckily I have modding experience from Fallout NV (I know their different games but their tools are close enough to get me a nice foothold).

 

The strange part though is that it doesn't happen at first, play for a few hours and your fine but after a while random crashes happen (and when I say random, I mean walking down a road, fighting an enemy, getting off a horse, picking your nose, ect). It's not session based, if I get back onto the save that crashed (even after computer restart) it takes minutes to crash again. The strangest part is it afflicts saves that have a few hours under their belt, even older saves that hour over 10 hours on them are fine. I've been working on finding a solution for days myself, finally I'm asking for help. Allow me to give you some information:

 

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 with UAC turned off (don't worry about it), an AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition 3.2GHz unlocked and overclocked to a X4 B55 @ 3.5 (don't worry, hours of prime 98 shows stable, and I tried taking off overclock and it didn't help), 3 gigs of DDR2 RAM (wish I had better but it works), and a MSI N430GT-MD1GD3-OC/LP GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB overclocked further (tested stable and problem persists after unoverclocking (in fact, for the longest time I had it setup so that it would go to default settings when I started the game just to be safe because Fallout NV had problems with overclocks).

 

This is my Oblivion load order, I must confess, there are a lot of mods but not as many as many people I've seen who seem to run fine (it's auto sorted with BOSS with Deadly Reflex mods forced to the bottom).

 

 

 

Oblivion.esm

Cobl Main.esm

Mart's Monster Mod.esm

DremoraCompanion.esm

Kvatch Rebuilt.esm

Better Cities Resources.esm

BetterMusicSystem.esm

CM Partners.esm

HorseCombatMaster.esm

Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp

UOP Vampire Aging & Face Fix.esp

Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp

DLCShiveringIsles.esp

Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp

Better Cities .esp

Natural_Weather_HDR_by_Max_Tael_RD.esp

Natural_Habitat_by_Max_Tael.esp

Natural_Water_by_Max_Tael.esp

BetterMusicSystem(SI).esp

DropLitTorchOBSE.esp

Streamline 3.1.esp

DLCHorseArmor.esp

DLCHorseArmor - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCOrrery.esp

DLCOrrery - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCVileLair.esp

DLCVileLair - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCMehrunesRazor.esp

DLCMehrunesRazor - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCSpellTomes.esp

DLCSpellTomes - Unofficial Patch.esp

CapesandCloaks.esp

DLCThievesDen.esp

DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch - SSSB.esp

Cobl Glue.esp

Cobl Si.esp

Cobl Tweaks.esp

Mart's Monster Mod.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Shivering Isles.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Additional Enemy NPC Vars.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Imperial Armor.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Gems & Gem Dust.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Hunting & Crafting.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Looting NPCs & Creatures.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Less Reavers.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Spawn Rates - Reduced Reduced.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Safer Quest Locations.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Dungeons of MMM.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - More Wilderness Life.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - More Passive Wildlife.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Extra Wounding.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Farm Animals.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse WaterLife.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Slof Horses Complete.esp

MMM-Cobl.esp

Kvatch Rebuilt.esp

Scribe Supplies.esp

VaultsofCyrodiilBC.esp

DLCBattlehornCastle.esp

DLCBattlehornCastle - Unofficial Patch.esp

DLCfrostcrag.esp

FrostcragRebornCobl.esp

Knights.esp

Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp

Mart's Monster Mod - Knights.esp

TotF.esp

The Lost Spires.esp

HeartOftheDead.esp

xuldarkforest.esp

xulStendarrValley.esp

xulTheHeath.esp

XulEntiusGorge.esp

xulFallenleafEverglade.esp

xulColovianHighlands_EV.esp

xulChorrolHinterland.esp

xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp

xulBravilBarrowfields.esp

xulLushWoodlands.esp

xulAncientYews.esp

xulAncientRedwoods.esp

xulCloudtopMountains.esp

xulArriusCreek.esp

xulPatch_AY_AC.esp

xulRollingHills_EV.esp

xulPantherRiver.esp

xulRiverEthe.esp

xulBrenaRiverRavine.esp

xulImperialIsle.esp

xulBlackwoodForest.esp

xulCheydinhalFalls.esp

xulAspenWood.esp

xulSkingradOutskirts.esp

xulCliffsOfAnvil.esp

Salmo the Baker, Cobl.esp

Natural_Vegetation_by_Max_Tael.esp

HUD Status Bars.esp

P1DkeyChain.esp

Alternative Start by Robert Evrae.esp

SupremeMagicka.esp

SM_ShiveringIsles.esp

SM_DLCSpellTome.esp

SM_MMM.esp

SM_COBL.esp

SM_EnchantStaff.esp

SM_Scrolls.esp

SM_SigilStone.esp

MidasSpells.esp

CDM - Fisticuffs.esp

SP1stPLegs.esp

CM Partners.esp

CM Partners NPC.esp

CM Partners NPC NE.esp

CM Partners Extra NPCs.esp

DremoraCompanion.esp

Cobl Races.esp

Better Cities Full.esp

Better Imperial City.esp

Cobl Silent Equip Misc.esp

Stuff.esp - Personal plugin, makes very small person touches

MP.esp - Merge Patch

Deadly Reflex 6 - Timed Block with no damage or durability changes.esp

Mounted_Spellcasting_Deadly_Reflex_Compatible.esp

DRSplatter.esp

DeadlyReflex 6 - Combat Moves.esp

 

 

 

Deadly Reflex has a small personal tweak that fixes the Combustive Convulsion spell crash (loaded the ankleplugs.nif file from DR5)

 

Also, I have OBSE (version 20 beta 6, 19 also had the problems so I thought I'd try it) plugins, they are as follows:

 

 

 

Enhanced Music Control - For Better Music

FastExit2 (ironically doesn't work, but I keep it because it at least lets me start the game and exit if I don't load any saves and exit safely so I can save settings)

NifSE (Nif Script Extender) For Deadly Reflex

OBGEv2 (Oblivion Graphics Extender V2) - For Deadly Reflex

Pluggy - For Cobl

MenuQ - Deadly Reflex

Sound Commands - For Better Music

Oblivion Stutter Remover - For performance

Oblivion Crash Prevention System (also, doesn't work but I figured it might be protecting me more then I realize)

 

 

 

I have all my settings maxed but when I get into cities it lags (the reason I have Streamline), other then that it runs perfectly.

 

I've been trying out several things to see what might be causing the problems, I'm hoping you guys can help me in the search. If you need any more information let me know, and don't be scared to get technical if you need to I may be able to figure it out :P. Thank you to all those who help.

[stars2heaven]

I have no idea how I made a double post....I don't remember hitting "save changes" more than once.

[stars2heaven]

This one is actually pretty easy. Random crashes, especially after you begin to mod the game, are to be expected. There really isn't a whole lot you can do about it. You can download some of the mods here that help to prevent such crashes, reduce the number of mods you have, make sure your drivers are up to date, make sure your machine isn't over heating, etc. But that's about it.

 

The times when you know that something is iffy is when you get consistent crashes that you can easily repeat. An example would be my issue with ctds on city doors but not any other doors. Or maybe when you use a particular spell, or something of that nature.

[seanms1991]

Well the funny thing is that they aren't replicatable, even if I do the exact same thing the exact same way it may not crash. I haven't had save or area transition crashes to be honest. Anyways, I'm still playing around with stability and mod count to see what I can find, it's starting to seem like Deadly Reflex (also, I realized I was missing some compatibility patches for Better Cities, but that didn't help the crashes :P). Do you have any advice that might help with problems pertaining to Deadly Reflex 6? I LOVE that mod to be quite honest, if you have any advice that would be great.

[Telyn]

A few possibilities. One is that apparently if you are crashing after playing a long time it is good to get into the habit of saving after a couple hours and returning to the main menu or ideally even quitting the game and restarting it.. Another issue is that Weather-All Natural is considered by many people to be less buggy and it is being actively developed. You might want to consider switching, since it can use the weathers from Natural Weather. http://www.tesnexus....le.php?id=18305

If you do switch, you can keep Natural Habitat. Enhanced Vegetation is the usual substitute for Natural Vegetation. http://www.tesnexus....le.php?id=23783

 

I am concerned that Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System is not working, and it makes me wonder if OBSE is working correctly. You will be able to tell if it is working if when you exit the game the game does not crash but you hear a beep (possibly two beeps). I don't use Fast Exit 2, so I am not sure whether the two are compatible but I think I have seen both in people's mod lists. Is OBGEv2 working? You should be able to tell whether that one is. BTW, some people do experience crashes with OBGE. You may want to consider that while troubleshooting. I wonder if the beta OBSE is causing you problems. Is DropLitTorchOBSE working properly?

 

Can't help you with the overhauls since I don't use any overhauls but textures.

 

What does stuff, esp do? Have you tried without it?

 

No Wrye Bash bashed patch? Some Cobl mods must be bashed in. I don't recognize some of yours, so not sure if that applies.Oh and also, the bakery can cause crashes, as your BOSS page will warn you.

[seanms1991]

I am concerned that Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System is not working, and it makes me wonder if OBSE is working correctly.

 

I know OBSE is working, mostly because functionality such as hot-keys for DR still work and some of my mods freak out with messages if it's not on (I know, I started the game without it just to see)

 

You will be able to tell if it is working if when you exit the game the game does not crash but you hear a beep (possibly two beeps). I don't use Fast Exit 2, so I am not sure whether the two are compatible but I think I have seen both in people's mod lists.

 

I just tried removing FastExit2 to see if it helped, nope. I think the crash on exit is a windows 7 thing, since the game wasn't made for it. Running in XP mode helps, but made a long pause when throwing weapons in DR so I didn't bother, I don't care about the crash on exit much, I know it can point to a greater problem but I don't think it does.

 

Is OBGEv2 working? You should be able to tell whether that one is. BTW, some people do experience crashes with OBGE. You may want to consider that while troubleshooting. I wonder if the beta OBSE is causing you problems. Is DropLitTorchOBSE working properly?

 

Really...I think OBGE is only needed for blood-spatter on screen, so I might try removing that and the blood-spatter part of DR and see if it helps, I know it's on by the way. The torch mod works, but the hot-key thing is adds can remove torches from my inventory without equipping them or dropping them, but I digress.

 

Can't help you with the overhauls since I don't use any overhauls but textures.

 

Oh well, thanks.

 

What does stuff, esp do? Have you tried without it?

 

That shouldn't be a problem, all it does is add some custom weapons (none of which I've been using) and makes the Dramora Race playable, all them self made. Should not be a problem at all.

 

No Wrye Bash bashed patch? Some Cobl mods must be bashed in. I don't recognize some of yours, so not sure if that applies.

 

I avoided those because quite frankly I tried to use WB and the patch didn't turn out well, so I just didn't install those features. Also, i don't know how to use Bash so...I'm not taking the time to learn, it's not necessary (although it is a powerful tool for sure).

[stars2heaven]

Well wrye bash certainly does help with stability, and some mods require it as was pointed out. Now that I have just figured out what was wrong with my crash issue I can offer some advice for you that may help if you try wrye bash again....when rebuilding a patch, unless a mods readme tells you to use one of its import functions or there is a mod with something specific in it that you want that you know is over-ridden by another mod, then don't use them.

 

As for your problems, unless they are extremely frequent...like every few minutes, then it is likely just something you will have to learn to live with. Btw, try removing Streamline after you use it for a while and see how often you crash. I don't use it anymore because my game seems a lot more stable without it. I've heard others around here say the same.

[seanms1991]

It IS every few minutes, if it was every 30 minutes or higher I could deal with this, but it seems like removing OBGEv2 and DRsplater at least solved the crashing on exit issue, I haven't crashed in game yet but haven't had time to test for very long, I think I'll play for a while after I get the chance. If this works, thanks a lot Telyn.

 

Edit

 

I think it may be better, and I don't get the crash on exit anymore, I still crash randomly, but I'm not sure about as often. Any more advice would be appreciated, and the advice given is already helpful, thank you all.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Sean_s

[Telyn]

Yes, many, maybe most, Win7 64 bit users do start getting that crash on exit at some point. This is why I was especially concerned about whether OBSE is working, because all mods that fix that crash require it. I've very glad that you have at least managed to get rid of the crash on exit problem for now. Oblivion should not need to be run in compatability mode. The concerns with Win 7 are the possible need to run as admin, and the UAC, which you have disabled. That said, some people do continue to have problems when the game is installed in one of the Program Files folders. You may want to give some thought to reinstalling the game somewhere like C:\Games\Oblivion. I had managed to wrestle Win 7's paranoia into submission and left my game in the default location for a long time, but when I started trying to make my own mods, I still had problems until I moved it. I was very skeptical that I really need to do that, but...I was wrong. I cannot tell you how much better the game runs now that it is out of there. Windows 7 has too many undocumented and poorly documented workings. It was not designed with games in mind; it was designed for business users and families with kids that like to download "free" things from banner ads. The Microsoft boards are always utterly full of questions and complaints from gamers.

 

If it were me, I'd try the game without Salmo the Baker next. Here is why. Although I have not experienced random crashes. the crashes many people get from it have consistently been described as "random." Random crashes are actually fairly unusual. Generally there is a pattern you can eventually detect.

 

stars2heaven is correct, some people do report that Streamline makes things worse for them, not better. Others swear by it.

 

Your mod list is actually rather short compared to most people's. We should be able to stabilize your game.

[seanms1991]

I guess it can't hurt, just take a lot of time to get Oblivion moved. By the way, I disagree, Windows 7 was made with video games in mind (at least in part, business is still the most important priority for Microsoft), all 3D apps run much better on Windows 7 then XP on the same machine from what I've personally seen (and even bench-marked), although I don't think it was made with games like Oblivion in mind when it's so modded with all it's unpacked files that are being edited all the time (I think Linux is better with that). Sorry, off topic.

 

Anyways, I'll try what you say and report back, except I'm keeping Streamline unless you know a magical way to make Better Cities much less laggy without it (FPS patches help some, not completely). I know I don't need it but the detail helps the world feel new and different. The odd thing is that when it lags it doesn't peak out my graphics card, ram or (I think, hard to measure) my CPU so it might be an engine limitation (if only we could port Oblivion to the Skyrim engine when it gets finished). Thank you for your help.

 

Edit

 

Well, I tried moving Oblivion (I moved it and adjusted the directory in the registry, probably should have reinstalled, will try later), removing Salmo and even Streamline and no avail. I'll leave the first two as they are just in case. I've been scratching my head from the start, but soon I'll have a bald spot. I'm still going to test around, I hope it's not a problem with my system itself.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Sean_s