SKSE .ini Settings Not Working

[Lagosaurus]

The issue turned out to be improper text file encoding (using a more sofisticated text editor allows viewing/saving various encoding formats). proper format is either ASCII or UTF-8.

This has been frustrating me to no end. My SKSE.ini settings are not working, resulting in an ILS any time I try to enter an exterior cell.

 

• SKSE is properly installed.
• The SKSE.ini file is in the proper location in MO.
• The SKSE.ini file is formatted properly.
• The -forcesteamloader argument is already set.

 

Despite that, the memory patch settings in the .ini file refuse to take effect. I've tried everything that I can think of outside of using SSME to no avail, MemoryBlocksLog returns 256/256 every time.

 

Current SKSE.ini file:

[General]
ClearInvalidRegistrations=1


[Memory]
DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256


[Display]
iTintTextureResolution=2048

Edited October 2, 2015 by z929669

[Lagosaurus]

 

According to the original post, the skse.ini settings are 768/256 so the first line in Memory Blocks Log should be 512/256 but is 256/256 instead. This seems to indicate either skse_loader.exe isn't running, it isn't finding the skse.ini file, or there's a typo somewhere in the skse.ini that is causing it not to read the entries correctly. I ruled out skse_loader.exe not running because he added the -forcesteamloader argument and (correct me I'm mistaken) Memory Blocks Log doesn't work with skse_loader running.

 

You know, thinking about this in more depth, is it possible that skse.ini is stored in Unicode format? Seems I ran into an issue a while back with an ini file not being read and I finally figured out the bloody thing was in Unicode instead of ANSI/ASCII.

[General]
ClearInvalidRegistrations=1

[Memory]
DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

[Display]
iTintTextureResolution=2048

I was debugging some old code for a colleague that just so happened to be in UCS-2LE and ended up encoding my SKSE.ini file in it. I converted it over to UTF-8 and the ini settings were properly registered. As far as ANSI/ASCII/Unicode goes, SKSE doesn't really care what you throw at it as long as you don't use some archaic encoding method like I did. Thanks for the help.

[Neovalen]

Glad that was figured out, it was a real head scratcher. :)

[z929669]

Placing this into the support forums so that it can be found more easily ... updating OP

[Edahi]

Hello, I would like to rekindle this topic since even when I followed to the letter the guide, I am still getting the 256/256 instead of the 768/256.

 

I am clueless of what is happening and I can't narrow down the problem in my case... I checked the skse.log file and the config path is listed correctly:

D:\Users\Edahi\Documents\My Games\Skyrim\SKSE\skse.log

generated and modified when I started and was playing the game. The content is as follows, of particular interest the "config path" line, 4th:

SKSE runtime: initialize (version = 1.7.3 09200000 01D580D52E672970, os = 6.2 (9200))
imagebase = 00400000
runtime root = D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\
config path = D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\skse.ini
plugin directory = D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\Plugins\
checking plugin D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\Plugins\\MemoryBlocksLog.dll
plugin D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\Plugins\\MemoryBlocksLog.dll (00000001 MemoryBlocksLog plugin 00000001) loaded correctly
dispatch message (0) to plugin listeners
no listeners registered
dispatch message (1) to plugin listeners
no listeners registered
init complete
hooked dinput
....

And the content and path of the skse.ini:

D:\Users\Edahi\Games\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\skse.ini

[General]
ClearInvalidRegistrations=1


[Memory]
DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256


[Display]
iTintTextureResolution=2048

While being careful to encode in ANSI. And yet the memory still does not change. Do you guys have any clue of why,even when in theory is loading the correct config file it is not applying the expected changes?

 

Thank you very much!

[Greg]

The usual culprits are covered in this thread and the most common one is naming the file skse.ini.txt instead of skse.ini. This one is really easy to do if you have file extensions hidden. You might also check D:\Users\Edahi\Documents\My Games\Skyrim\SKSE\skse_steam_loader.log since this one has some information on the heap settings read from the ini at the bottom of the log:
 

dll = C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\skse_1_9_32.dll
old winmain = 0069D1D0
runtime root = C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\
config path = C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\Data\SKSE\skse.ini
overriding memory pool sizes
default heap = 768MB (effective 512MB if not preloading animations)
scrap heap = 256MB
OnHook: thread = 21112
calling winmain

What you've posted here seems to indicate skse.ini is in the correct folder and the contents of the file look correct to me as well.

[Cbode1]

Alrighty...so I appear to be experiencing roughly the same issue as described above. I'm experiencing CTDs when trying to load an exterior cell. I'm running Skyrim LE, attempting to follow STEP 2.10.0 as closely as I am able given the guide is outdated and some referenced mods are no longer available. Given that I'm also using non-STEP mods on top of the incomplete STEP 2.10.0 build, I was expecting some issues, but I'm not sure if this problem is directly related to the mish-mashed build I have or something else. I did some testing with Memory Blocks Log, and when loading the exterior cell, the heap memory spikes to 255 before records stop, and I found that like the OP, Skyrim only recognizes 256mb of memory assigned to the Default Heap, despite having DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768 set in my SKSE.ini, so it seems pretty evident that that's what's causing the crashing. Also, while I'm not all that familliar with encoding, it doesn't appear that my SKSE.ini is encoded in a way that would cause the .ini to not be readable. I also added the -forcesteamloader argument to my MO SKSE executable, but that didn't appear to change anything.

 

On top of that, I found a whole new layer of confusion when I checked my \Documents\My Games\Skyrim\SKSE\skse_steam_loader.log, and found that the config path line was pointing to an SKSE.ini in my \Skyrim\Data\ folder...an SKSE.ini that doesn't exist. When I edited the line to point to the correct path and ran Skyrim, I still CTD, and the config path line in skse_steam_loader.log reverts to its earlier incorrect setting despite me having saved my changes earlier. (Although I realize know that .log files probably aren't for storing configuration settings) I feel like this is related, but I don't really know enough about SKSE to tell. Is this a simple fix in some other config file I'm missing? Am I a dum-dum and missed something glaringly obvious? Is this somehow caused by one of the non-STEP mods I installed after 'finishing' the STEP 2.10.0 guide? Help?
Below is a link to five screenshots showing my SKSE.ini and other relevant files, so you can see that I'm not crazy (or alternatively, that I am and also very blind/dumb).

https://imgur.com/a/Xy1sbSc

Edited May 28, 2020 by Cbode1

[Greg]

Perhaps this may seem counter intuitive, but the config path should be Skyrim/Data/SKSE. Although the folder is really in Mod Organizer/mods/skse_1_07_03/Data/SKSE, Mod Organizer uses a virtual file system so SKSE and the game sees the files in the Skyrim/Data folder.

 

In your case, you installed Mod Organizer in the Skyrim folder so you may be running into an issue with the virtual file system not working correctly. I suggest moving Mod Organizer back out to the root of the Games folder (e.g. C:\Games\Mod Organizer). If you're using Windows Explorer or File Explorer, cut the Mod Organizer folder where it is, go back to the Games folder and paste to move the directory entry. After you do this, edit the ModOrganizer.ini file and fix any paths to point to the new location.

[Cbode1]

Perhaps this may seem counter intuitive, but the config path should be Skyrim/Data/SKSE. Although the folder is really in Mod Organizer/mods/skse_1_07_03/Data/SKSE, Mod Organizer uses a virtual file system so SKSE and the game sees the files in the Skyrim/Data folder.

 

In your case, you installed Mod Organizer in the Skyrim folder so you may be running into an issue with the virtual file system not working correctly. I suggest moving Mod Organizer back out to the root of the Games folder (e.g. C:\Games\Mod Organizer). If you're using Windows Explorer or File Explorer, cut the Mod Organizer folder where it is, go back to the Games folder and paste to move the directory entry. After you do this, edit the ModOrganizer.ini file and fix any paths to point to the new location.

Good to know. I'll give it a shot and give an update, thanks.

[Cbode1]

Well, I moved my MO directory to my Games folder as you suggested, but I'm still getting a CTD when loading an exterior cell. I checked the MemoryBlocksLog and it's still reporting my default heap as being set to 256mb. I checked the skse.ini file through the skse mod listing in MO, just to see if MO can find .ini file, (which it did) and it still showed my original settings of DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768. So yeah. No change. Weird.

[Cbode1]

Well I found something. I found a page on the steam forums where a user reported his similar issues were fixed when he ran SSME - Skyrim Startup Memory Editor. I downloaded and dropped the two necessary files in the my Skyrim folder and launched Skyrim. Upon exiting to an exterior cell, it loaded for about...two seconds longer(?) before CTD. So that's progress I guess. MemoryBlocksLog, however, does finally show my Default Heap set to 768! Joy! Doesn't fix the CTDs, but I'll take what I can get. I noted that the game loaded up to 360MB before crashing for whatever reason, so at this point I can only assume that it's probably not a memory issue, or at least not entirely. More than likely it's some texture conflict or whatever that I may have caused when I first realized something was wrong and tried reinstalling lighter versions of some of the more memory-dependent mods.

 

So, I've decided that I'll just make a separate Skyrim install and start over, this time being a bit more mindful of what I install and how I do it. I'll keep the older install as-is in case someone has another suggestion to the culprit and might know how I can salvage my current setup.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I also tried loading Dragonsreach on a whim, since it's one of the larger interior spaces with decent amount of clutter and people, and also got an immediate CTD upon attempting to load. So that screams "mod conflict/error" to me, particularly since I'm able to load the Abandoned Prison (the starting location in Alternate Start - Live Another Life) just fine. Probably SMIM or some such, which leads me to think I'm better off scrapping this build and starting over with a bit more discretion.

 

EDIT 2: In the process of reinstalling SKSE, as well as other mods, I think I might've found out what was causing my initial memory issues. As other posters above said, this issue is usually caused by SKSE being improperly installed, which I think was the issue in my case as well. I downloaded the pre-made .ini file of the nexus, (the one referenced in the STEP 2.10.0 guide, and while installing the archive I noticed that the STEP guide seems to suggest that the file path should be \mods\skse_1_07_03\SKSE\skse.ini, while the filepath that comes with the premade .ini is \mods\skse_1_07_03\Data\SKSE\skse.ini. My guess is that since I downloaded this pre-made .ini off the skyrim nexus, it was packaged like a standard mod, with the file contents stored within a Data folder so it could be installed through MO. My guess is this discrepancy in file paths kept SKSE from locating the custom .ini file, so it just ran on its default settings, leading to my CTDs. There was a link to an image of the appropriate file structure in the STEP 2.10.0 skse install guide that probably would've tipped me off to this on the first time around, but the link is dead. Kek.

 

Modding sure is an adventure.

 

FINAL EDIT: Final update for anyone interested. I tested my earlier theory regarding the skse.ini file structure through MemoryBlocksLog and it seems to have confirmed what I thought: The addition of the \Data\ folder in my SKSE installation was what was causing the .ini settings to not manifest in-game. Removing the \Data\ header resulted in the settings functioning as intended (I edited the Heap memory allocation just to verify, and the MemoryBlocksLog.log reflected those changes). So yeah. Don't install things like a dingus. EZ.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Cbode1