Replacing Missing Meshes in Oblivion.esm :blink:

[Netjera]

I'm pretty new to modding Oblivion, but not to modding, programming, scripting and/or troubleshooting in general. I've been able to nail down a problem with some missing meshes (yellow blobs showing up in-game). Doing research in TESCS gives me an error, telling me that the meshes can't be loaded, and I'm pretty sure it's at the Oblivion.esm level. It's looking for a directory and meshes that don't exist, and which do not exist in any mods I'm currently running.

 

During my "exploratory" phase, I tried a few mods I didn't like/which didn't work, and removed them. I believe one of those mods replaced some meshes called "blankcanvas01.nif" and "blankcanvas02.nif" and when I removed the mods, the meshes weren't redirected back to the defaults. Is there any way to manually reset them? Or does an error of this type require a reinstall?

 

Thanks in advance (and sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, I just couldn't find it),

 

Netjera

[herosinger]

Considering meshes don't usually use archive invalidation, that's certainly strange. You could try running the archive invalidation tool in OBMM.

[Netjera]

I tried that once I realized I was getting a missing mesh error. Unfortunately, it didn't make any difference. I'm using OBMM, and I've unloaded every mod and run the game without them, and I still get the yellow blobs. I've deactivated and reactivated them one at a time, and I still get the yellow blobs. :wacko:

 

That's when I started trying to learn TESCS. After reading the manual, I tried to load all of my mods into TESCS and sure enough, started getting a missing mesh error. It says, "Model load error:" and gives the path as "architecture/RONIN/rgjcanva2.nif". That directory/file doesn't exist. I've gone through my mods one-at-a-time, just to be sure that OBMM didn't get redirected or install the .nifs to an improper path, but after opening every archive I've got loaded, I've only found two that actually use the meshes at all, and neither of them affect the painting canvases in the game.

 

There are only two things I can conclude 1) There's a conflict where two mods are both trying to affect the canvases. (But if that were the case, then at least one of the mods would have the missing model geometry, and none of them do.) 2) I loaded something that overwrote the canvases on Oblivion.esm, and when I deinstalled it, the values were never reverted.

 

If anyone else has any other suggestions, I'd be thrilled to hear them. Like I said, I *am* new to this. I just try very hard to take care of this stuff on my own, usually (reading manuals, checking forums, reading wikis, doing tutorials, etc). Unfortunately, I seem to only be able to get "so far" and "no further".

 

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate it! :D

[herosinger]

It sounds as if your Oblivion - Meshes.bsa has been corrupted, then. Fixing that will probably require a reinstall.

[Netjera]

Would it be possible to install to a different location, and copy that file over? Save me some steps?

[herosinger]

Sure, if you'd like. That should fix your problem.

[Netjera]

Awesome, thanks! I'll try that, and if it doesn't work, I'll poke my head back in.

 

Thanks again, I really appreciate it. =)

[Netjera]

Okay, I've come across a new, but slightly-related problem. Whenever I try to make another install of Oblivion, it automatically tries to uninstall the old one. It doesn't even give me the option of making another install to a different location. It just asks if I want to uninstall the old version, and then when I say "No", it exits.

 

I even tried installing on another user account (I'm on Vista). First, it told me I couldn't install without administrator privileges. Then, when I gave the new account admin status, it did the same thing - asked if I wanted to uninstall Oblivion and then exited when I said no.

 

Anybody know a workaround for this? I *really* don't want have to uninstall all my mods, then uninstall Oblivion, then REinstall Oblivion, and then reinstall all my mods (and hope that all my saves will still work), when I just need to replace one file, to fix a couple of meshes.

 

Thanks!

[bben46]

Just installing to a different location, or having two copies of oblivion on your computer confuses the game. Its better to just bite the bullet and do a reinstall. Here is my reinstall procedure that will leave you with all of your mods and save games intact. plus give you a clean install and a backup clean install.

 

 

When you uninstall Oblivion it doesn't really uninstall everything. Then when you start adding mods before you have started the game, some things may not get initialized properly. Here is my recommended procedure for uninstalling and reinstalling.

 

I would appreciate any feedback on this as it is something I expect to post often and I hate to give bogus or useless information.

 

Reinstalling Oblivion

 

My instructions assume you are using Windows XP and have installed Oblivion into the default location. If you are using Vista or Linux, the file locations may be different.

 

For a full reinstall, first you should try to preserve your mods and save games. The easiest way is to rename the data folder where your mods are stored C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data to something else such as \olddata. Then rename the folder that has your saved games and Oblivion.ini, C:\documents and settings\your user name\my documents\My Games\oblivion to something like \My games\Old Oblivion - this saves your saved games and the oblivion.ini file.

 

Then, using the original CD, NOT the Launcher on your Hard drive. Select uninstall.

 

After it completes the uninstall, reboot your computer - this is important as it allows Windows to remove some references to the original Oblivion.

 

This would be a good time to do a file clean up and defragment your hard drive.

 

Now, again using the original CD, reinstall Oblivion.

 

Before adding any mods, patches or Shivering Isles, start the game and make a save. This initializes some stuff that needs to be initialized.

 

Now, If you DO NOT use Shivering Isles, patch the game using ONLY the latest Oblivion patch. All of the stuff from the earlier patches is included.

 

Be sure you use the proper language patch. If you use the wrong one it may work, but with a strange mixture of languages. (Germanglish?) Or it may crash.

 

NOTE: there are two English Patches UK & US and they are different. (Some people actually think we speak the same language) Use the one that matches your original disk.

 

If you use Shivering Isles, DO NOT install the Oblivion patch. Install Shivering Isles, then ONLY the latest Shivering Isles patch. All of the updates for Oblivion are included. There is only one Shivering Isles patch for both US & UK English

 

Now, again start the game and make a save. Test to be sure everything is working right (No purple objects or yellow blocks)

 

Before adding any mods, back up both your \data folder and the save game folder. Copy them, don't move or rename them, to a different folder - such as \Bethesda\Clean Oblivion\data and \Bethesda\clean Oblivion\saves.

 

Note, Your Oblivion.ini file is in the same folder, but separate from, the save game folder.

 

Now rename the \data folder to \newdata and the \oldata back to \data. this restores all of your mods. You should now have 2 data folders \data, and \newdata. Then rename the new My Games\Oblivion to something like \New Oblivion. and the \Old oblivion to \oblivion - this restores all of your saved games and your original Oblivion.ini file.

 

If you have the same problem, it is most likely caused by a mod. However, you now have a clean install to fall back on. You can rename the files back to what they were and be back to your clean install without having to reinstall again.

 

Sounds like lots of work, but you will have a clean install and a back up clean install when you are finished.

[Netjera]

Thanks for the information. Since (so far) it's only two meshes that show up a handful of times in-game, I may just wait. I hate the yellow blobs, but don't know if it's worth it for that much work.)

 

Currently, I'm running Vista, and Oblivion is installed to C:\Program Files\Games\Oblivion and the saves/data, etc, are in E:\My Games\Oblivion (I have the E drive (a spare hard drive) set up as the "My Documents" folder, and everything points right there).

 

I *will* be purchasing Shivering Isles, as I just had a birthday pass and received a little $$$. (Yay!) I was going to play Oblivion once without SI installed, and then once with SI installed, and if what you say is true, I'll need to uninstall Oblivion, and then reinstall without the patch, in order to install SI. >.< I think I may just wait until I need to do that uninstall/reinstall, in order to take care of the problem.