Frequent Oblivion crashes

[Space_Coyote]

I just got this game a week ago and I'm loving it, despite the problems I'm having with it. Most serious are the crash-to-desktops, usually at least once (sometime many more) per 1.5-2.5 hrs session. The game will also lock-up practically every time I alt-tab, so now I try not too.

I downloaded the most recent patch I could find (v1.2), hoping it would fix these problems. Unfortunately during patching I got the message "Old file not found. However, a file of the same name was found. No update since file contents don't match". Ummm...ok that contradicts itself. I’ve read about bugs and lower-FPS as a result of this patch, so now IDK if I even want to get it to work (I’d still like to know how I can get it to patch though).

I also have frequent stuttering whilst entering new areas or panning around in a city etc. I did a search on these forums and have found several tweaks, so I’ll give those a shot. It has to be my PC, I'm thinking myself it's the RAM. The board only has 2 slots and I can't afford to upgrade to 1GB sticks any time soon. If someone could just help with the CTD’s I’d be eternally grateful, the other issues are just slightly annoying compared to this.

eVGA 7900GS (slightly overclocked at 550, 1.57 GHz)
Athlon 3200 64-bit
1GB PC3200 RAM
NForce 4 Board.

 

[Scoobydo]

Oblivion has always been rock solid for me until I installed some 4in1 codec pack, then I started having frequent CTD. Do you happen to have any codec packs installed? If so, try uninstalling it and see if the CTD go away.

 

[evilcartman]

Do you have Martigen's Monster Mod installed by any chance? Since I upgrade to 1.2 I noticed the game would crash all the time. I eventually narrowed it down to MMM and it turns out the mod wasn't compatible with the 1.2 patch. Here's a post from Martigen himself concerning the issue...

MMM works fine with regular and Frans, as always. However, you do need to install the new compatibility plugin if you've installed the Official 1.2 Patch. This applies regardless of which version of MMM (for Fran, for OOO, etc) you use.

So -- IF YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE OFFICIAL 1.2 PATCH, YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING:

Link

- Copy the 'meshes' directory to your Data folder
- Load the new compatibility plugin .esp in your mod load order

In the next release of MMM, these fixes for the official 1.2 patch will be integrated.

Just FYI...maybe it might help in your situation.

 

[Space_Coyote]

No codec pack installed, no Oblivion mods at all.

 

[dderidex]

Uninstall, delete directories (including the 'Oblivion' folder in your 'My Documents\My Games').

Uninstall ffdshow and any other third-party CODECs (DIVX, Quicktime, and Windows Media seem alright...all others gotta go. ffdshow, ogg codecs, xvid, etc).

Defrag and run scandisk.

Re-install game. Do not use any no-CD cracks or whatnot, as they break all kinds of things (and, yes, in the case of 'Oblivion', are unstable). Apply patch then. Again, DO NOT use no-CD cracks.

There is at least one mod you must install to improve stability - the "purge cell buffers" mod. It cleans up a rather sloppy memory management issue that persists even as of the 1.2 patch.

Update your soundcard drivers. Onboard Realtek audio or Creative soundcards especially MUST be updated to current drivers (newer than the shipped drivers/OEM supplied) for stability in Oblivion. Not a bad idea to update your nVidia or ATI drivers, as well.

 

[LordVampyre]

just me, but I would also install the unofficial patch ... takes care of a few hundred errors in the game.

 

[Space_Coyote]

I started having other problems in other games, and so decided a fresh XP install was the way to go. I reinstalled Oblivion fresh, not even any saved games, and the CTD's are worse than ever. Now they happen every few minutes, sometimes just seconds after loading.

I don't even have to be doing anything. I was wrinting down my starting stats so I could keep track and blam! I tried the purge mod as suggested, but it didn't help.
I even turned the settings WAY down, it was painful to look at, but I still had problems so I doubt now if it's my system. I'm running Prime95 now just to be sure. I'll try some more games and see how those are.

 

[Glyphic]

by the way, for keeping track of stats, try skilldiary, awesome mod. I have oblivion issues as well, everytime I exit I get the error report message.

 

[H-street]

might be worth posting more indepth system specs (power supply etc..)

also what is your experience with the non-overclocked 7900? did you CTD before overlocking? have you tried underclocking? (to see if the 7900 might have gone bad)

what are your temps while running oblivion? (use Nvmonitor to log the temps)

 

[Space_Coyote]

Well I ran Prime95 last night and it failed on the first test It said there was a rounding error. Is this a problem with the CPU then? The Athlon 3200 is only overclocked to 220MHz from 200MHz, but I'll put it back to stock tonight and run the test again.