Crashes south, east, and southeast of Whiterun

[A_Dim_Mismatch]

In the vicinity spanning just west of Pelagia Farm, northeast to Battle-Born Farm and southeast to the pathway to Whiterun just beyond the crossing north of Riverwood, I've been experiencing pretty frequent crashes. No ini tweaks, bugfixes, etc. (even a clean Skyrim installation) that I've yet implemented appear to address this problem. Oddly, the crashes don't appear to occur anywhere else in-game. Resource-heavy interiors and exteriors elsewhere in the game have been stable outside of the usual FPS drops.

 

Using information from the Crash Fixes forums on the Nexus, I put together a dump file which pointed to an ID of 0x000aef0c. Looking up the aef0c ID in TES5Edit gives me a tree from Skyrim.esm. I'm not sure how this could be the cause of the crash. I can include the contents of the dump file for more information, if needed. This particular error is one that I have seen other people report, but no research on the matter points to anything in particular being the cause, or anything being a solution.

 

 

Below is my load order, per LOOT:

 

 

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  0  0 Skyrim.esm

  1  1 Update.esm

  2  2 Dawnguard.esm

  3  3 HearthFires.esm

  4  4 Dragonborn.esm

  5  5 Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch.esp

  6  6 ClimatesOfTamriel.esm

  7  7 moonpath.esm

  8  8 ApachiiHair.esm

  9  9 ApachiiHairFemales.esm

 10  a ApachiiHairMales.esm

 11  b ETaC - RESOURCES.esm

 12  c HighResTexturePack01.esp

 13  d HighResTexturePack02.esp

 14  e HighResTexturePack03.esp

 15  f Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp

 16 10 Cutting Room Floor.esp

 17 11 SkyUI.esp

 18 12 When Vampires Attack.esp

 19 13 FNIS.esp

 20 14 RaceMenu.esp

 21 15 RaceMenuPlugin.esp

 22 16 dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Medium.esp

 23 17 XPMSE.esp

 24 18 MainMenu.esp

 25 19 ClimatesOfTamriel-Dawnguard-Patch.esp

 26 1a ClimatesOfTamriel-Dragonborn-Patch.esp

 27 1b EnhancedLightsandFX.esp

 28 1c ELFX - Exteriors.esp

 29 1d TreaclemanMoonpathPatch.esp

 30 1e CoT-WeatherPatch.esp

 31 1f CoT-WeatherPatch_DB.esp

 32 20 CoT-WeatherPatch_NL2.esp

 33 21 CoT-WeatherPatch_Snow-40.esp

 34 22 TrueStorms.esp

 35 23 TrueStorms-ClimatesOfTamriel.esp

 36 24 Skyrim Particle Patch for ENB - Flame Atronach Fix.esp

 37 25 Prometheus_No_snow_Under_the_roof.esp

 38 26 Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remade.esp

 39 27 SkyFalls + SkyMills + DG + DB.esp

 40 28 SkyFalls Dragonborn Small waterfalls.esp

 41 29 RealisticWaterTwo.esp

 42 2a ELFXEnhancer.esp

 43 2b ETaC - Falkreath.esp

 44 2c ETaC - Dawnstar.esp

 45 2d Immersive Orc Strongholds.esp

 46 2e ETaC - Morthal.esp

 47 2f ETaC - Rorikstead.esp

 48 30 ETaC - Dragon Bridge.esp

 49 31 RealisticNeedsandDiseases.esp

 50 32 FNISspells.esp

 51 33 ETaC - Kynesgrove.esp

 52 34 SFO - Expanded Diversity.esp

 53 35 ETaC - Ivarstead.esp

 54 36 ETaC - Winterhold.esp

 55 37 ETaC - Darkwater Crossing.esp

 56 38 ETaC - Karthwasten.esp

 57 39 Immersive Stonehills.esp

 58 3a ETaC - Falkreath ELFX Patch.esp

 59 3b RealisticWaterTwo - Legendary.esp

 60 3c Immersive Shors Stone.esp

 61 3d Run For Your Lives.esp

 62 3e SMIM-Merged-All.esp

 63 3f UFO - Ultimate Follower Overhaul.esp

 64 40 moonpath_questdata.esp

 65 41 ELFX - Moonpath.esp

 66 42 Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp

 67 43 ETaC - Stonehills CRF Patch.esp

 68 44 ETaC - Dawnstar NoSnow Patch.esp

 69 45 ETaC - Morthal ELFX Patch.esp

 70 46 ETaC - Morthal NoSnow Patch.esp

 71 47 ETaC - Dragon Bridge South.esp

 72 48 ETaC - Dawnstar ELFX Patch.esp

 73 49 ETaC - Dragon Bridge ELFX Patch.esp

 74 4a ETaC - Winterhold NoSnow Patch.esp

 75 4b ETaC - Rorikstead ELFX Patch.esp

 76 4c ETaC - Stonehills NoSnow Patch.esp

 77 4d ETaC - Ivarstead ELFX Patch.esp

 78 4e ETaC - Winterhold ELFX Patch.esp

 79 4f ETaC - Shors Stone ELFX Patch.esp

 80 50 ETaC - Stonehills ELFX Patch.esp

 81 51 ETaC - Karthwasten ELFX Patch.esp

 82 52 ETaC - Kynesgrove ELFX Patch.esp

 83 53 ETaC - Darkwater Crossing ELFX Patch.esp

 84 54 Apocalypse - The Spell Package.esp

 85 55 Improved Dragon Shouts - Dawnguard.esp

 86 56 Improved Dragon Shouts.esp

 87 57 Improved Dragon Shouts - Dragonborn.esp

 88 58 Convenient Horses.esp

 89 59 360WalkandRunPlus-RunBackwardSpeedAdjust.esp

 90 5a VioLens.esp

 91 5b KS Hairdo's.esp

 92 5c LovelyHairstylesCE.esp

 93 5d Beards.esp

 94 5e aMidianborn_Skyforge_Weapons.esp

 95 5f RND_ETaC-Patch.esp

 96 60 RND_CRF-Patch.esp

 97 61 dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp

 98 62 dD-Dragonborn-Dawnguard-EBT Patch.esp

 99 63 dD-Reduced Wound Size.esp

100 64 UFO - Dragonborn AddOn.esp

101 65 SFO - Dragonborn.esp

102 66 Skyrim Flora Overhaul.esp

103 67 Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp

104 68 ETaC - Rorikstead AS-LAL Patch.esp

 

 

 

Below are Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini, respectively:

 

 

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[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=0
SInvalidationFile=ArchiveInvalidation.txt
sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa
sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa
 
[Audio]
fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0
fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0
fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0
fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0
 
[Camera]
fMouseWheelZoomSpeed=0.80
 
[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=2
f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=1
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=2.5
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
 
[Controls]
fMouseHeadingSensitivityMax=0.0800
fMouseHeadingXScale=0.0200
fMouseHeadingYScale=0.8500
 
[Display]
iPresentinterval=1
bAllowScreenshot=1
fLightLODMaxStartFade=3900
fLightLODRange=3600
fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0
fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0
fSunShadowUpdateTime=1
fSunUpdateThreshold=0.5
 
[General]
sLanguage=ENGLISH
uExterior Cell Buffer=36
uGridsToLoad=5
 
[GeneralWarnings]
SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.
 
[Grass]
bAllowCreateGrass=1
bAllowLoadGrass=0
fGrassFadeRange=6000
iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7
iMinGrassSize=40
 
[LOD]
fDistanceMultiplier=1.00
 
[Papyrus]
bEnableLogging=0
bEnableTrace=0
bLoadDebugInformation=0
fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0
 
[Water]
bReflectLODLand=1
bReflectLODObjects=1
bReflectLODTrees=1
bReflectSky=1

[AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal0=0.8000
fVal1=1.0000
fVal2=0.5500
fVal3=1.0000
fVal4=1.0000
fVal5=1.0000
fVal6=1.0000
fVal7=1.0000
uID0=1007612
uID1=554685
uID2=466532
uID3=94881
uID4=688070838
uID5=688072216
uID6=688070834
uID7=688070837
 
[Clouds]
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000
 
[Controls]
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bGamePadRumble=1
bInvertYValues=0
bUseKinect=0
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0300
 
[Decals]
uMaxDecals=1000
 
[Display]
bDeferredShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
bFull Screen=1
bFXAAEnabled=0
bMainZPrepass=0
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bShadowsOnGrass=1
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fGamma=1.2400
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fLightLODStartFade=400.0000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
iMaxAnisotropy=1
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMultiSample=0
iScreenShotIndex=2
iShadowFilter=3
iShadowMapResolution=4096
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iShadowMode=3
iSize H=1080
iSize W=1920
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
iWaterMultiSamples=0
sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970"
 
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=2
 
[General]
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
 
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=1
bAllowCreateGrass=1
bAllowLoadGrass=0
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=6000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
fGrassStartFadeDistance=3600.0002
 
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
 
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=0
bGeneralSubtitles=0
bShowCompass=1
fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000
 
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
bShowAllResolutions=1
uLastAspectRatio=3
 
[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000
 
[MAIN]
bCrosshairEnabled=1
bGamepadEnable=1
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnRest=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
 
[Particles]
iMaxDesired=750
 
[SaveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000
 
[TerrainManager]
bShowLODInEditor=0
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000
 
[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20
 
[Water]
bUseWaterDepth=1
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
iWaterReflectHeight=512
iWaterReflectWidth=512

 

 

 

Below is some Skyrim Performance Monitor information:

 

 

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Please let me know if there's any other useful information I can provide. This has been going on for over a month now, and the crash is frequent enough that, in spite of my game otherwise being almost perfectly stable and crash-free, the game is practically unplayable since I don't use fast travel and the area around Whiterun is my single most frequent destination on the map. As mentioned earlier, I have yet to see any particular cause/solution to this crash, and if this information (and subsequent information) can be of use in helping others resolve the issue, all the better.

Edited April 16, 2017 by A_Dim_Mismatch

[TechAngel85]

  On 4/29/2017 at 4:36 AM, A_Dim_Mismatch said:

What about if I created an esp that loaded after the esm but removed the tree from the worldspace? If I load the game with such an esp active, the game couldn't make a crash refer to a nonexistent world object, could it?

It's worth a try just to see if Crash Fixes still complains.

[A_Dim_Mismatch]

  On 4/29/2017 at 1:05 PM, TechAngel85 said:

It's worth a try just to see if Crash Fixes still complains.

It does; removing it from the game world doesn't solve the crash, though deleting the object from the CK doesn't remove the reference. Its ID still exists with the [D] next to it so it isn't technically gone.

 

I really do think this is a memory problem. It looks like the game only crashes during exterior cell transitions around Whiterun. On my last game installation where this problem occurred, I occasionally saw bizarre glitches like banners not moving in the breeze (like the one on Whitewatch Tower or the ones on the rock piles on the Throat of the World) and fire from braziers turning into huge, flat, rhomboid shapes. One time when I loaded the game around a cell transition between Whiterun and Riverwood, all NPCs were in the t-pose.

[A_Dim_Mismatch]

Time for another update! I've put dozens and dozens of hours into testing this. I still can't isolate a culprit:

 

Additional observations about the crash:

 

-It doesn't appear to be INI-related. Doesn't matter if I use Bethini, a vanilla ini, an ENB-generated ini or anything in-between. The crash still happens with the same frequency in the same places.

 

-It doesn't matter if the player character is on a horse or not. My prior suspicion was that it was related to riding on horseback but the crash can be repeated even without a mount.

 

-It doesn't look like a single culprit is responsible. This is the crux of my crash woes. I can't exactly determine what is breaking the game because even when I individually isolate plugins, the crash still happens. I even put together two "Dueling profiles" which only shared the following things active in the left pane (while making sure no files were missing their masters), but both profiles experienced the same crashes in the same places:

• All DLCs
• USLEEP
• High-Res Patch
• Crash Fixes
• Bug Fixes
• Alternate Start

-It might not be memory-related at all. It frequently happens when I'm around 60 fps and pushing the graphics to their limit (Moving so fast grass can't render quickly enough to keep up) doesn't seem to have any effect on the frequency of the crash.

 

-Moving between exterior cell transitions in the Whiterun-Riverwood vicinity still appears to be the problem. I've never gotten the crash while standing still.

 

  On 4/29/2017 at 1:05 PM, TechAngel85 said:

It's worth a try just to see if Crash Fixes still complains.

 

I have been able to get a slightly different Crash Fixes log before, but the transcribed dump file didn't turn up anything in xEdit.

Edited May 2, 2017 by A_Dim_Mismatch