Guide:Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Guide

Troubleshooting FAQs and other info related to STEP & Skyrim modding

by: frihyland and the Step Team  | Forum Topic

Using the Console

To open (and close) the game console press the tilde key ~ (located under escape on most keyboards).

Missing or Corrupted STRING Files

On some rare occasions, Skyrim's STRING files will either go missing or become corrupt. The STRING files contain text for the game, and is generally what you see when looking at item names, quest descriptions, subtitles, etc. There are two options to fix the missing or corrupted STRING files.

1. Verify the game cache. This can be done in Steam by right-clicking on Skyrim in the Library list, clicking on properties, and then navigating to the Local Files tab. Once there, click on the Verify Integrity of the Game Cache button. Remember that if you are using Skyrim Unplugged, this will fail to work.
2. In the case that you either have Skyrim Unplugged, and/or would like updated and corrected English STRING files, you can download English Strings for Skyrim at Skyrim Nexus. This is the preferred option as this is a mod that modifies the STRING files to fix many grammatical errors, as well as make lore accurate tweaks, in the vanilla STRING files.

Purple or Black Textures

If you are seeing purple or black textures while playing Skyrim, you have either corrupted or missing textures. There are several solutions to this problem. It also requires some common sense to determine where the texture is coming from. For example, if a wooden chopping block is purple, it does not come from a mod such as SRO, since that mod does not contain the texture file for the chopping block. However, Bethesda's Hi-Res DLC does contain the texture file for the chopping block. Hence, the DLC is a good start for troubleshooting using the steps below.

1. Verify the game cache. This can be done in steam by right-clicking on Skyrim in the Library list, clicking on Properties, and then navigating to the Local Files tab. Once there, click on the Verify Integrity of the Game Cache button. Remember that if you are using Skyrim Unplugged, this will fail to work.
2. Uninstall and reinstall any texture DLCs or mods that you have.
3. If the problem still persists, it may be that the mod or DLC was corrupted during downloading. Simply re-download and reinstall the mod or DLC that you suspect of containing the corrupted texture file.
4. If the problem is yet again still present, it may be that you failed to properly uninstall a mod that affects the texture. In this case, it is easiest to perform a complete clean reinstall of Skyrim. See the "Reverting Skyrim to a Pristine (Vanilla) Installation" steps on the top of this page on how to best achieve that.

Exterior Crash to Desktop (CTD)

There are several causes for this. Usually its due to mods. Several solutions are listed here.

1. Visit the "Are you having constant exterior CTDs? Ive finally found your solution" thread by Yafi on the Skyrim Nexus forum. All credits go to Yafi.

Papyrus Script Errors

Constant error reporting can sometimes be found when performing Papyrus script logging. While these errors can be benign, it can cause stuttering, freezes or CTDs in certain cases. The cause is usually a mod with scripts that are either buggy or poorly written. However, it is also possible for vanilla Skyrim to produce errors. The fixes listed below will be named as to how the script appears in the log.

1. fxDustDropRandomSCRIPT - Visit the "fxDustDropRandomSCRIPT errors *FIXED*" thread by steve40 on the Skyrim Nexus forum. All credits go to steve40.
2. dunBluePalaceArenaSCRIPT - Visit the "dunBluePalaceArenaSCRIPT errors *FIXED*" thread by steve40 on the Skyrim Nexus forum. All credits go to steve40.
3. HelgenRandomSoundScript - Same solution as listed under Exterior Crash to Desktop. Visit the "Are you having constant exterior CTDs? Ive finally found your solution" thread by Yafi on the Skyrim Nexus forum. All credits go to Yafi.
4. lvlpredatorscript or LvlPredatorScript - Same solution as listed under Exterior Crash to Desktop. Visit the "Are you having constant exterior CTDs? Ive finally found your solution" thread by Yafi on the Skyrim Nexus forum. All credits go to Yafi.

Mods and Savegames

Installing, Uninstalling, & Upgrading

NOTE

This procedure should be used whenever uninstalling, upgrading, or installing a mod.
For those who are experiencing any CTD's, savegame bloat, or other issues that they have been unable to resolve, I recommend following Reverting Skyrim to a Pristine (Vanilla) Installation and then following this guide. This ensures the cleanest possible save.

This should remove the problem of savegame corruption from previously installed mods still affecting your gameplay (and testing). You can then re-install mods a few at a time and test for the issues to see if they recur (and check the log files for issues you would not necessarily see in game). This helps to isolate the mod causing the problem or verify that it is indeed savegame corruption if no recurrence is noted after all mods are re-installed.

One crucial fact to understand about Skyrim is that information from the mods you use can be written into your save games, and may continue to affect your game even after the mods are removed or updated.

From the Bethesda document, Skyrim Mod Troubleshooting: Best Practices "When you play Skyrim with a mod, in most cases, the new data for the mod will be written into any new saved games you create. For example, if you play Skyrim with Mod X and create a save, the next time you load that save, the game will expect Mod X to also be loaded. If you no longer want to play Skyrim with Mod X, it is best to unload Mod X (by unchecking the plugin under Data Files in your Skyrim launcher) and loading a save that does not require Mod X, usually an older save or a backed up save."

The short version is, “Never continue with a save once a mod it relies upon has been removed.”

However, although this is good advice, there may be occasions when it is inconvenient to heed it. Below is one possible procedure for attempting to ‘clean’ the effects of a removed mod from a save. Remember, you do this at your own risk, and it is not guaranteed to succeed; you may be left with insidious problems later in your game. There are many mods that modify the game in a way that does not immediately change when the mod is uninstalled, a more thorough cleaning must be attempted. These modifications can cause CTDs and freezes (and other issues) if they remain in the world space after the mod has been uninstalled. These advanced cleaning steps will force exterior and interior cells to reset, despawning and respawning almost all actors in the game, among other things. For a more complete description of what a cell reset does, visit this UESP wiki page.

To make sure almost all cells reset, it is necessary to wait for 31 days. Some cells never reset because they are flagged "Never Resets" by Bethesda. These mostly include player homes and other important locations. See here for the complete list.

WARNING

Forcing cell resets clears almost all containers and respawns random or the original objects contained therein, while deleting anything else, such as player added items. Therefore, do not store any objects that you may wish to keep in these containers. Instead, place these objects within a container in a cell that is flagged "Never Resets". A good place is a chest or sack in a player-owned home.

These steps can also be applied when installing mods that modify many cells and actors. In most cases, these mods install correctly and modify all relevant actors. However, in some cases, not all actors are properly modified when installing the mod. These steps force these actors to respawn with the correct modifications.

When uninstalling a mod that uses scripts, sometimes the scripts continue to be present in your save-game. Basically any script that attaches to an object in-game via a mod remain attached to that object, even once the mod has been removed. See here and here on the Creation Kit WIKI for a more complete description of how scripts can affect save-games. You can also find a discussion by modders here about this issue on the Bethesda Skyrim forums. These steps may also purge these redundant scripts from your game. However, this has not been verified, and still requires testing.

The following procedure is almost always going to be overkill, but it is much simpler to present (and follow) a comprehensive procedure than to explain all the variety of different mods and different uninstall requirements for each of them. This is a uniform catch-all procedure.

Clean Savegame Procedure

NOTE

To travel to the Testing Hall, type "coc qasmoke" (without quotes) in the game console. Note that if you pick up or open or use anything in here it creates savegame corruption and possibly CTD. Also, when you wish to exit from this testing hall, you need to travel out using the console command "coc <cellname>" (without quotes). The <cellname> must be replaced with the name of the cell you would wish to travel to. Before traveling to the Testing Hall, it is a good idea to know the cell name where you would wish to return. To discover the cell name of this place, be present at that location and type "help <location> 0" (without quotes) in the game console. The <location> must be replaced with name of the location; i.e. "help breezehome 0" (without quotes) tells you that the correct code is WhiterunBreezehome or that Sovngarde can be reached with Sovngarde01.

1. Open (or create) SkyrimCustom.ini file in .../My Documents/My Games/Skyrim. Add the following lines to that file. This creates a log so you can see just how much crap is in your savegame currently and how much is removed by the procedure. Alternatively you can just add these lines to Skyrim.ini or change the =0 to =1 if they already exist.

   [Papyrus]

   bEnableLogging=1

   bEnableTrace=1

   bLoadDebugInformation=1

2. With these settings on, the game creates a new folder at “.../My Documents/My Games/Skyrim/Logs/Script”. Your logs appear inside that folder, named Papyrus.#.log with the # number going from 0 to 3. The 0 log is always the newest with older logs cycling through the increasing numbers.
3. Download and install the No Boring Sleep-Wait Menu mod from Skyrim Nexus. This mod allows you to wait for 31 days without having to wait 24 hours 31 times due to the limitations of the default vanilla wait menu. This mod was created with mod cleaning in mind.
4. Deactivate or uninstall any mods that require you to eat, sleep, drink, stay warm, etc, to survive, such as Total Realism - Basic Needs. If you do not disable these, your character will die instantly after following these steps due to starvation, dehydration, etc.
5. Start Skyrim and load the savegame you wish to clean.
6. If you are uninstalling mod(s), you need to strip naked and store your gear in a player home. (If you don't have one yet, use anywhere that is listed in the safe places link above and make a backup save just in case).
7. Check to make sure your active effects are clear; if not, click on yourself and type this in the game console: "dispelallspells" (without quotes) and recheck active effects. This cures vampirism and lycanthropy so if you have one of those, you must add it back with console after finishing the procedure.
8. Make a new save by typing "save <name>" (without quotes) in the game console. If the name contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double-quotes, i.e. save "My Skyrim Save". Make sure this is a unique name.
9. Exit Skyrim by typing "qqq" (without quotes) into the game console.
10. Uninstall the mod(s) you no longer wish or are upgrading. Or (NOT and), install the mod(s) you want to have in Skyrim. If doing both, first uninstall and complete the entire procedure, then install new mods and complete the entire procedure again.
11. Load your savegame. A dialog stating that the save file relies on missing content is to be expected. Choose "Yes".
12. Travel to another world space that IS NOT classed as the Skyrim world space. The best options are the Skyrim Testing Hall or an empty unmodded player home. See the Testing Hall note above.
13. Once in the Testing Hall or home DO NOT pick up or open or use anything! Open the game console and type "pcb" (without quotes).
14. Next, in the game console, type "tfc" (without quotes). This enables free camera mode, and helps reduce the waiting time required for 31 days to pass.
15. Exit the game console, and press "T" on your keyboard to enable the waiting menu. The change in appearance is due to the No Boring Sleep-Wait Menu mod you installed.
16. Move the slider all the way to the right until 31 days appears.
17. Press "Enter" on your keyboard. You need to wait for 2-3 minutes if you toggled free camera mode with the "tfc" command, or 12 minutes if you did not.
18. Next, in the game console, type "tfc" (without quotes). This disables the free camera mode that was enabled before.
19. Make a new save by typing "save <name>" (without quotes) into the game console. If the name contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double-quotes, i.e. save "My Skyrim Save". Make sure this is a unique name.
20. Exit Skyrim by typing "qqq" (without quotes) into the game console.
21. Rename skyrimcustom.ini (so it doesn't load and you won't have to recreate it later if you need it again) or change Skyrim.ini settings added above =0. Now check the logs to see what changed and to make sure you don't have crazy errors.
22. Reactivate your realism mods, start Skyrim and load your save.
23. Open the game console and type "pcb" again (without quotes).
24. Travel to your preferred destination using the game console "coc <cellname>" (without quotes).
25. Play! (Thanks to apoJake, MontyMM, Madwizard25, and Frihyland for contributions).

Saving and Reloading Games

As a best practice, disable autosaving. Avoid overusing quicksave, and only save indoors.

When reloading a savegame, exit the game completely first to clear out any trash in memory and allow the savegame to initialize properly.

It is best not to rely on autosaves or quicksaves because overwriting a save can result in corruption or more commonly loss of a useful save. In game settings disable all save on options (rest, wait, travel, menu). This also speeds up transition times between areas and prevents many CTDs. It also requires you to manually save at appropriate times. Use the console command save <savename> to name your saves as you like. If the name contains spaces it must be enclosed in double-quotes; i.e., save "My Skyrim Save". Make sure this is a unique name because you will not be prompted to overwrite.