New Vegas crashing when loading a save or starting a new game

[Surtensoita]

I'm having a problem with my New Vegas game on Steam. I bought it the other day and it was all working fine, I even got to install a bunch of mods which I had tried before on another copy of the game and got them working, except for Fallout Character Overhaul which I forgot that 3.01 was a patch installed on top of 3.0, making the character meshes disappear. I finally got it to work, until suddenly it started crashing when loading a save or when starting a new game, even when no mods are installed, and regardless of whether I launch NVSE or not. It starts loading until suddenly it freezes and gives a "FalloutNV stopped working" message.

I also tried verifying file integrity on Steam and launching the game with just the base .esm installed but neither worked.

I don't know what to do and at this point I'm not even sure it's got something to do with mods, but just in case, I will say that I am using NMM to manage them.

 

Thanks in advance.

[dubiousintent]

Without the information requested in the wiki "How to ask for help" article we can only guess. Don't forget to identify things that do not appear in the "load order", such as NVSE and it's related plugins, texture replacements (specifically their larger image sizes: 1024x1024, etc.), and "post-processors" like ENB or SweetFX. I know you said the problem happens even with no mods installed, but unless you uninstalled FNV and wiped it's folders before re-installing, there is usually something people overlook (like NVSE). "Verifying local files" is just a CRC check.

 

All of the following may not apply to your specific situation, but are worth repeating anyway.

* Be aware that one error may mask a number of other errors, which will not appear until those masking them have been resolved. Building a stable game consists of resolving each problem individually until none remain, and then realizing that every change you make thereafter (including updates to mods already installed) run the risk of introducing new problems. Be prepared to revert to a previous save if you do so.

* Did you install Steam to it's default location? If so, please see the wiki "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article for why the original default Steam behavior of installing games to the "C:\Program Files" folder tree was bad (they learned better, and don't do that any more); and why "disabling UAC and running as Administrator" is NOT sufficient, with instructions how to move it. This is the single most important thing you can do to fix and protect yourself against problems in the future. As much of a PITA as that is, it's never going to be any easier than now. Please see the 'Restoring to "Vanilla"' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article as well.

* Are you running Win10? Did you get the "Fall Creator's Update" of 2017 (FCU aka "RedStone 3")? Do you have "New Vegas Stutter Remover" (NVSR) installed? If all three are "true", then please see the 'Issue: Recent (post-Win10 FCU) CTDs after 10-20 minutes of play' (and other "heap size") entries in the 'Solutions to Performance problems' section in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide.

These "Creator's Updates" are Microsoft's replacement to the old "new release" and "service pack" improvement and bug-fix mechanism. They are scheduled to occur every six months, so they will be in the "Spring" and "Fall" of each year.

The FCU 2017 update was released in mid-November 2017, so a "brand new" system probably did not come with it installed. However, the default configuration is usually to have OS updates automatically installed. (Those usually start being distributed on the second Tuesday of each month, but may take a week or more to get to everyone.) See the MS "Get the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update" article for how to check your version release and manually pull down the update if necessary. It is important to keep your OS always "up to date" to prevent malware infections.

* If you are suddenly having a "slowdown" or lag; or a lack of sound; or problems getting NVSE to load, or really anything new unexpectedly, please see the 'Issue: NVSE - fails to load after update KB4058043 to Win10 FCU (v1709)' entry in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide. This may be due to a Windows Update for the "Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities".

* Are you using the 4GB Patcher? If not, please see the 'Maximizing use of memory' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article.

* If you are using the full 4GB of memory, most likely your CTD problem (now or in the future) is the default "heap size" is too small. It's so common you might as well deal with it now. Please see the 'Solutions to "Crash To Desktop" (CTD) problems' section in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide.

* Move any "inactive" plugins out of the game "Data" folder. They count against the "plugin cap" because they get loaded by the game engine if found, and can cause "Missing Master" problems. Please see the wiki "Missing Masters" article if you get that error message.

* Don't install every optional file for a mod. Read the install instructions carefully. Optional files need to be selected on a "case by case" basis. For example: with any mod you usually only need one ESP (and possibly one ESM) "base" file depending upon whether you have all the DLCs active or not. Only if you don't have them all active do you need to install any specific DLC versions if there is an "Ultimate Edition/All/Merged DLC" version.

* "Compatibility patches" to make one mod work with another need to be placed after (as in "physically lower, higher numbered") in the "load order" than all of the plugins they are designed to make compatible. ESMs should always be placed at the top (lowest numbered) positions in the "load order", followed by the related ESPs though they can be separated from their ESMs by other plugins. "LOOT" does a good job of determining those basic orders. Getting the "load order" incorrect will cause "Missing Master" errors as well.

FYI: The "pre-order packs" (Caravan, Classic, Mercenary, and Tribal; available now in the "Courier's Stash" addon), are not considered "DLCs" by most mods and "compatibility patches". So their absence should not deter you from using "All DLC Merged" plugins. When in doubt, follow the process in the wiki "Missing Masters" article to confirm they are not "master files" for that plugin.

* Don't install compatibility patches for mods you do not have installed/active (e.g. get rid of any "TTW" patches if you aren't running TTW).

* Do not use an "Auto-purge" mod for game play. (That was old advice from before we knew better.) They are designed for debugging by mod creator's only, according to the author of the JIP extensions to NVSE. See the 'Issue: CTD without warning, "Out of Memory error", or stops responding after the Main Menu', "Cause-2", "Solution-3" entry in the wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide for the game settings that do the same job.

* Please see the paragraph about "auto-saves" under the 'Essentials for Getting Started' section of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article. If you have been using the built-in "auto-save" feature and you get the endless "roulette wheel" when loading a save game, then your current save game file is corrupted and you will have to either go back to a save before the corruption occurred (hard to tell) or start over.

* If you have more than one mod that makes any change to the same record or set of records in the vanilla game, then you really need to use a "Merge Patch File" with that collection of mods. Please see the 'Third Rule: The Rule of One' and 'Merge Patch File' sections of the wiki "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article.

-Dubious-

[Surtensoita]

Thank you so much for the help, I already knew most of it, if not everything, and I don't think it's any of that. I'll try reinstalling when I have a little more time and see if it's any help, but thanks a lot. If none of that helps, I'll put all my info according to the article wiki you linked (I hadn't seen if before and I'm sorry for it)

Sorry to bother.

[GuyJolly05]

Hey, I know I'm six years late to the club, but I also noticed that when this problem happens, it won't show your global achievements. I haven't found a fix yet, so maybe someone has?