oblivion: clean vanilla install freezes when starting new game

[macfoo]

I'm at my wit's end!

 

I had been installing mods following the mythic dawn guide.  Build was stable and beautiful until I did some last minute fiddling with open cities / better cities (messed up terrain around anvil/lighthouse).  Installed and uninstalled both a couple times, tried different versions, etc, and then finally decided it wasnt worth it and stripped it all out and then when I tried to launch was first time game froze when trying to start new game.  Tried a couple more times, troubleshooted what I could, same result.

 

I figured thats what I get for messing with those big unwieldy mods and I screwed my build and fine, back to square one.

 

Uninstalled everything, deleted everyhthing I could think of, followed the uninstall guides, etc, and re-downloaded from Steam.

 

Launched clean vanilla from Steam, and the games froze when I selected to start new game.  %^&%#$^#$

 

Since, I have reinstalled the game several times, followed every uninstall guide I could find, tried completing the operations in different orders, uninstalled all related programs (wrye, etc), ccleaned the crap out of everything, manually scoured every nook and cranny of every folder on every drive, sacrificed the neighbor's ferret to Based God, ran things as an admininstrator, reorganized my desktop, whimpered in the corner, installed Oblivion in and out of program files, and cried many tears.

 

I've searched and searched the old internet machine, and while various iterations of the freezing issue seem rather numerous, none of the fixes work for or apply to me.  Most seemed to fix by deleting mods or using the discs to reinstall (discs? what is this 1997?), but I have scrubbed every trace of every mod related anything, and I can't remember the last time I even saw a game disc.

 

I'm out of ideas.  Anybody?

 

i5 3.2, 8gb, gtx 970, windows 10.

[macfoo]

also, when this happens, task manager shows oblivion (not responding) and hovering around 26-27% cpu usage, every time.

 

also, i do have a mod organizer and loot still installed to handle my skyrim build, which still seems to be working fine, thank god.

 

i am rather green when it comes to heavy modding, working through a couple step builds and such and learning as i go but really please think of me as a total noob.

[SynthetikHD]

I think a mod should probably move this to Mythic Dawn support.

 

sacrificed the neighbor's ferret to Based God

lol.

 

Well alright first when you reinstall the game you should uninstall Oblivion from Steam, then delete the Oblivion folders located in:

• "<Oblivion install>" (aka wherever you installed Oblivion because if you mod the game there will be some files leftover that Steam doesn't delete)
• "<YourUserName>\(My)Documents\My Games\Oblivion
• "<YourUserName>\AppData\Local\Oblivion"

Then you should install Oblivion somewhere that isn't in a Program Files folder.

 

Did you make sure you deleted everything from the folders above when you reinstalled? I'm guessing the problem is that you uninstalled Oblivion from Steam, but didn't delete the Oblivion folder that is leftover even after you uninstall through Steam when you add mods the game.

[GrantSP]

Moved.

[macfoo]

I think a mod should probably move this to Mythic Dawn support.

 

lol.

 

Well alright first when you reinstall the game you should uninstall Oblivion from Steam, then delete the Oblivion folders located in:

• "<Oblivion install>" (aka wherever you installed Oblivion because if you mod the game there will be some files leftover that Steam doesn't delete)
• "<YourUserName>\(My)Documents\My Games\Oblivion
• "<YourUserName>\AppData\Local\Oblivion"

Then you should install Oblivion somewhere that isn't in a Program Files folder.

 

Did you make sure you deleted everything from the folders above when you reinstalled? I'm guessing the problem is that you uninstalled Oblivion from Steam, but didn't delete the Oblivion folder that is leftover even after you uninstall through Steam when you add mods the game.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

Unfortunately, I have tried all of those things, many times.  Also deleted wrye's "oblivion mods" folder and all of wrye bash for that matter.  Have tried installing out of program files and in.  My almost-completed Mythic Dawn build was in a new file on my C drive, out of program files.

 

I am nooby about modding, but I try to do my due dilligence of research and such, so I don't think my problem is something obvious at this point...

[SynthetikHD]

Hmm...maybe try these and try launching it again.

 

Disabling Steam Overlay and Synchronization

If you have installed your copy of Oblivion through Steam, you must disable the Steam Overlay as it does not work with some mods. Disabling Steam Cloud Synchronization is also recommended.

• Open Steam, right click Oblivion in your Library → Properties → General → Disable "Steam Overlay while in-game".
• While still in Steam, right click Oblivion in your Library → Properties → Updates → Uncheck "Enable Steam Cloud Synchronization for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion"

Oblivion Launcher Options

After Oblivion is done downloading, click [PLAY] in your Steam library. This will bring up the launcher for Oblivion.

• If a dialogue box pops up, select [OK] then click [Options] and change the settings as follows:

• Video Quality Presets: Set to Ultra High.
• Mode: It is recommended to keep at Fullscreen.
• VSync: Keep this checked because screen tearing is very noticeable in Oblivion.
• Screen Effects: Keep set to HDR - this is required for TES4LodGen used later in this guide. Note that anti-aliasing must remain at none for HDR to be enabled.
• Screen Resolution: Select your screen resolution.

Click [OK] when you are sure your settings match those above.

 

 

Does it only crash when you start a new game or immediately when the game starts?

Edited August 26, 2015 by SynthetikHD

[macfoo]

tried all of that already, thanks =D

 

i can start it, and play around with all the options on the launcher.  i can launch it, and it will play through the opening sequence and get to the main menu.  on the main menu, i can also fiddle with the options just fine.  i click on new game, and then the little dialogue to confirm start new game y/n pops up just fine, and when i click on yes, everything more or less instantly freezes, music stops, and cursor freezes on the screen right where i click yes.  i have to ctrl alt del to shut it down.  i tried downloading a couple vanilla saves off the nexus, but the same freeze happens when i try to load or continue from one of those saves.

 

i have also tried removing the ini to generate a new one, and i have gone over the ini that the game is generating and don't see anything amiss there either.

[SynthetikHD]

Very weird, hishutup usually gets on at this time so maybe he can help.

 

Try the Verify Cache option for Oblivion on Steam.

If that doesn't work, maybe the intro movie is corrupted and that's why it crashes when starting a new game, try deleting rest of the line after the = sign in this line in Oblivion.ini:

 

[General]
SOblivionIntro=

Edited August 26, 2015 by SynthetikHD

[macfoo]

i have verified the cache on my last two install attempts.  no dice.

 

it gets past the intro movies.  but that at least is something I have not yet tried.  testing...  no dice.  i never thought i would miss the intro movies, but i am going to re-enable them again on my hopelessly broken oblivion game, because they give me hope, and because maybe that's all i will ever get to see ever again of my beloved oblivion... a bethesda sticker and a daedric sign and the opening theme... =(

[GrantSP]

The only thing that persists after a re-install that might interfere with your game are the INIs in your 'My Games' folder.

Completely remove the game, if you are desperate, and ensure there are no INIs left behind. Re-installing it and running the default game launcher will generate new ones and these will give you back a clean vanilla game. 

[hishutup]

hmm, freezing, interesting...

I think this is one of those, "restart your pc to fix the issue" scenarios. Win 10 loves to auto updates which tends to partially cripple the OS until it is restarted.

 

If that doesnt work run the DXSETUP.exe which is located in Oblivion\directx\

[macfoo]

-deleted the ini's many times, every time, tried backing them up and moving out of ob folder to have game generate new ones, personally scoured the new inis line by line and see nothing out of place.

 

-i have restarted many times, doesnt seem to help.

 

-dxsetup is a new idea.  will try and report back.

[macfoo]

no dice =(

[SynthetikHD]

You said you tried a disc install and Steam install? Which one are you using now?

[hishutup]

You could try reinstalling graphics drivers. 

 

I'll keep thinking on this.

[macfoo]

i really do appreciate all the effort.

 

--synthetic: no, i have never possessed a disc for the game.  i just read that suggestion on older forums as i fished around for a solution.

 

--hishutup: do you mean like go to nvidia and redownload the drivers for my graphics card?

 

are you starting to see why I am at my wits end?  like, the problem doesn't even make sense.  somewhere along the line, i must have toggled or tripped something somewhere, and it's probably some stupid little thing, but i can't for the life of me... i see so many posts on so many forums similar to mine, but none of their solutions apply or have worked for me.

 

if it helps, the problem started when I was very near the end of the mythic dawn install (and it was looking so beautiful and was running so smooth and i was getting so pumped up for this playthrough!), when I was messing with the open / better cities stuff that the freeze first occured.  and the problem has not changed since, after MANY reinstalls/uninstalls.  same problem.  so something I did THEN I think has to be the culprit.

 

on a positive note, in my quest to straighten this ought, my C drive is looking very clean and organized and I've removed maybe 200g of clutter and refuse =)