Just started and already stuck

[Hatari Calls]

Alright this is probably some of the worst noob questions ever but...

 

1. How do i unpack a 7z file (Ancient Tower Mod for a specification)

 

2. Can i use OBMM effectively enough to function with Vista? If not how can i fix without obliterating Vista?

 

Thanks for any help in advance. Appreciate it.

[bben46]

We were all noobs once. No exceptions. In some ways we still are.

 

First, Vista users may have to disable a security function known as UAC. If you have downloaded and installed, and the mod is appearing in your Data Files List, but not in your game check to see if UAC is turned on. If so. Look here for instructions on how to turn it off. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...-windows-vista/

 

 

If that does not answer your question, try this. It is a section from a series of help files I have been working omn. They were on a site, but due to problems with the site owner, I have removed them. I will be posting them on a new site I am working with within the next week.

 

They are not there yet. The site is here. http://s1.zetaboards.com/Saint_Productions/index/

 

 

File Compression Basics

 

Now that you have your mod downloaded to your computer (See Downloading Basics)

 

What is a 7z? .RAR? Zip? And how do I make them work in Oblivion?

 

When you download a file from the Internet (Any file, not just Oblivion game Mods)it will usually be in a compressed format to save space and allow it to download faster. 7Z, RAR and zip are only three of the more popular file compression programs. Oblivion cannot use the file in its zipped (compressed) state. To get the file in a usable condition, it must be unzipped and installed.

 

For this I will use 7-Zip as my example file unzipper as that is the one I use. It is free and will unzip all of the other formats as well (Rar, zip and many others)

 

7-zip is available on Tesnexus here: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15579

 

If you followed the instructions in Downloading basics, you have 7-zip as a zip file in the folder you set up. If not, either download 7-zip or whichever other unzip program you prefer.

 

The 7-zip is compressed in a self installing zip file and to install it you only need to click on it and follow the directions to install it.

 

To unzip a mod, first you must download it and put it into a folder where you can find it. I use a folder called Oblivion Downloads on my desktop where it can be easily located. These instructions should work for any zipped file it could be mod1.zip or mod1.Rar and the procedure is the same.

 

Download the mod file you want to install. I recommend a simple weapon mod such as Bben_Test_Dagger for your first mod. It only has 3 files, a .esp file, a readme file and a picture showing where it can be found in the game. It will be easy to install. If you don't like it you can easily remove it as the .esp is the only thing that it adds.

 

Open the folder where you have the downloaded file. You should now have one file in your download folder, Bben_Test_Dagger.7z. As we anticipate many mods in the future, lets make a plan to deal with them now to keep them organized. Each mod will get it's own sub folder. Create a subfolder and name it Bben_Test_Dagger. (no need for the 7z) move the downloaded Bben_Test_Dagger.7z into this folder. Now the Oblivion Downloads will only have the Bben_Test_Dagger sub folder in it.

 

 

Open the Bben_Test_Dagger sub folder and double click on the Bben_Test_Dagger.7z file. It should open a window showing you what files are in the zip file. There should be 3 files showing, Bben_Test_Dagger.esp, Readme.txt. And bben_test_dagger.bmp. There may be as few as one and as many as over a hundred files in a zip. That's why I recommend a simple file first.

 

First, double click on the readme.txt. If there are any special installation instructions or anything you need to know about the mod it should be listed here. The readme is not needed by Oblivion. It is for you.

 

Now double click on the Bben_Test_Dagger.bmp file, a picture should open showing you where to look for the dagger.

 

Highlight all 3 files.

click on Extract – in 7-Zip it will be a blue minus sign on the top.

 

A pop up should appear with Copy to: and a path to where it thinks you want to copy the extracted (unzipped) files. It will usually be the same folder that the zipped file is in. If it is not, change it to that folder. This is a good place to put it. This serves three purposes, to keep the Bben_Test_Dagger separated from the many Mods you will probably eventually have and as a back up for if you ever need to reinstall it. And as a source where you can look to find what was installed by this mod if you ever want to remove it entirely.

 

After 7z is finished it will close the pop up. You will have to close 7-Zip yourself. Now your bben_test_dagger sub folder should have 3 files. The original bben_test_dagger.7z, the readme.txt and the bben_test_dagger.esp

 

Many times the readme will say to unzip the file directly into your oblivion\data folder, I don't recommend that as it will put the readme and any other unneeded files there also. After about 30 mods it gets messy in the data folder and some of the readmes will be gone and other files may be overwritten or in the wrong place.

 

After you get more familiar with the procedure you may do it this way by only selecting the files you want to go into the data folder when you unzip directly into it.

 

If you make it a habit to always unzip each mod into its own sub folder they will stay organized and parts of one will not overwrite parts of another if they have the same name. When you have several mods that each have dozens of files that is easy to do.

 

 

 

re: obmm - I have not seen any particular problems with using OBMM with Vista. What have you been running into? You might try looking on the official forum thread here: http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=748668

[Hatari Calls]

Thanks a lot. I figured it out thanks to you. OBMM is also running fine now. I'll be sure to come back here with any other problems i may have.

[Triforce1]

Bow down to the Mighty bben46! ;D

 

7zip is a gift from the compression gods! Downloads will never be the same [speed] !