Game no longer starts up - diagnostic info provided

[Michlo]

I'd been running Oblivion without issues (with the 1.2 patch as well as the unofficial patch plus the latest OBSE). Then I quit the game while I was running Slof's Animations for the first time, while the animations were running - I did not save the game though, and the quit and exit proceeded normally. But now the game simply stops loading within a fraction of a second of the game load bar appearing. The following actions made no difference:

 

- turning off ALL mods with OBMM (Those I was using at the time in their load order:

*no more annoying messages

*roberts body replacer v4

*neck seam concealer

*carry all you want

*a simple ring

*magicka regen

*slof's sexy anims)

 

- turning off the unofficial oblivion patch

- using a different oblivion.exe file (the no-dvd version)

- manually deleting Slof's animations files from the install (nothing to restore as they overwrote nothing)

- deleting the savefile game that was loaded right before the use of the animations.

 

Can anyone make any suggestions - I would really like to avoid a complete reinstall. Thanks in advance!

 

 

Devon

 

I would be surprised if Slof's mod was causing this, particularly after your very good trouble-shooting steps. Has anything else changed on your system? Is your virus / spyware protection up to date and fine? You have tried rebooting I assume?

 

Turning off your mods won't always resolve issues if files were overwritten of course (unless you use OMOD versions) but you seem to know that already since you noted Slof's did not overwrite.

 

All I can offer apart from that drivel, is that if you DO have to reinstall, make sure you also get rid of your current .ini file and when everything is installed make a copy of your clean data folder (before mods) so that you won't have to again.

 

Good luck.

[nosisab]

Maybe something got messed with your Oblivion.ini. (that one in the C:\<y Documents\...\Oblivion)

 

try copying the Oblivion_defaults.ini from your install directory to the above and rename it to Oblivion.ini after moving the original one somewhere else. Hope this helps.

 

Edit: Sorry, Michlo already suggested it, I saw just now.

[Michlo]

Maybe something got messed with your Oblivion.ini. (that one in the C:\<y Documents\...\Oblivion)

 

try copying the Oblivion_defaults.ini from your install directory to the above and rename it to Oblivion.ini after moving the original one somewhere else. Hope this helps.

 

Edit: Sorry, Michlo already suggested it, I saw just now.

 

Actually, no I didn't so that was good advice. :) I advised making a copy of it should a reinstall be necessary but trying the ini file first might avoid that.

 

Cheers.

[DevonK]

Thanks Michlo and nosisab for the suggestions - I had actually tried reusing a saved init file I had backed up prior to installing any mods, I just forgot to add that to the original list of things that didn't work. Tried using the init_default, no go. Rather than wasting any more time with this I will reinstall. I will keep my old saves, init, and faces in the hopes I can reuse them in the new install. BTW I used the BSA uncorrupter in OBMM, it found no problem. I hope there is info somewhere on Bethesda's site for doing a full uninstall as most game uninstaller are not very good....

 

 

Devon

[bben46]

Here is my recommended reinstall procedure.

 

 

When you uninstall Oblivion it doesn't really uninstall everything.

 

It does not remove your mods, save games or Oblivion.ini. It also does not remove helper programs such as OBSE, OBMM, Wrye Bash, The construction set or any other programs you have installed in the \Oblivion folder or the save game folder. I recommend that you go ahead and delete them, then re download and install the latest version of them again later. After you have verified that the game works.

 

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.

 

Uninstalling 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, however, the procedure will be thae same.

 

For a full reinstall, first you can try to preserve your mods and save games. I recomend that you save them in a new folder with a new name. Create the new folder in C:\Program files\Bethesda Softewrks. Name it Old Files. So it will be C:\Program Files\Bethesda softworks\Old files.

 

Then copy the data folder where your mods are to the new folder - do not erase them, copy them. And in the new folder, rename the \data folder to \olddata. Then copy and 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 the time to erase all of the helper programs you have in the \Oblivion folder. Such as OBMM, OBSE and some others. The simplest way is to erase the folder completely. The new install will re create the folder for you along with a fresh oblivion.ini and when you start the game and make a save, a new save folder and new \data folder.

 

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

 

If you are worried about the registry entries that were left behind. There are several good programs for removing left behind entries. The one I use is ccleaner. Be sure to reboot before using it, and again after. It is available here: http://majorgeeks.com/download4191.html

 

 

Now to Reinstall.

 

Again using the original CD, install Oblivion.

 

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

 

If you are using the Game of the Year version of Oblivion you should not need any patches, skip the patching part.

 

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, Install it now. 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 that this is a different folder than the one used for your old data and saves.

 

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

 

Now, if you want to try to run with your old mods, first rename the original folders. 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 in your \oblivion folder

 

To restore your original saves and ini file, 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.

 

DO NOT erase the files you renamed. These are your backup files in case the original mods do not work or give you the same problem.

 

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.

 

Post your comments here: http://s1.zetaboards.com/TheStormRavenLibrary/forum/236320/

[gamemaster79]

There is a topic that I started a while back (it's pinned at the top of the technical support page) that has a link to a Bethesda forum reply that tells you exactly how to completely uninstall Oblivion from your computer (including reminding you to back up mods/files that you want to keep). Although bben46's reply is probably equal to my topic (I haven't read his whole post), you might want to check out the link that I posted because it's very streamlined (as long as your comfortable with tinkering a bit), and it's worked every time that I've used it.

 

Gamemaster

[bben46]

There is a topic that I started a while back (it's pinned at the top of the technical support page) that has a link to a Bethesda forum reply that tells you exactly how to completely uninstall Oblivion from your computer (including reminding you to back up mods/files that you want to keep). Although bben46's reply is probably equal to my topic (I haven't read his whole post), you might want to check out the link that I posted because it's very streamlined (as long as your comfortable with tinkering a bit), and it's worked every time that I've used it.

 

Gamemaster

 

 

Thank you for the feedback, I really do appreciate any that I get on this.

 

My uninstall/reinstall is actually partly based on this, plus my own experiences and feedback from several people who have used it. I have tried to make it less technical with a little more detail and a more step by step approach for those who are not as computer savvy as many of us who write these help files.

 

Either one will work, but, I definitely do not recommend doing anything to the registry unless you know exactly what you are doing. By using a registry cleaner - such as CCleaner you get rid of the entries safely. I have added several steps, such as starting the game and making a save to initialize the new .ini file before installing any patches or mods. And rebooting the computer, defragging before reinstalling and a few other things that a less computer savvy user might not know to do.

 

If you see anything wrong in my procedure please let me know. And if you have any suggestions on how to make it better or clearer also let me know.

 

I did not post it on these forums because I believe that 2 such tutorials would confuse people who search for them.

 

My version is not a finished product and will probably never be as I am constantly tweaking it based on new information. I welcome any criticism or suggestions of my help files.

 

Edit: We are getting off topic here. If you want to continue in public, please start a new topic. Thanks