Oblivion - so I finally installed it...

[Qbah]

Hello folks,

So there I was chatting with a friend and she started to talk about Oblivion, how nice it is and stuff. So then I thought, worth a second shot (played it a bit on my old X1950XTX). Since I got the GOTY pack, I installed everything and the moment I press New Game the game freezes. Can only close it through Task Manager. It happens each time. I tried googling for the problem, but managed to find another guy with the exact same problem and no solution. Perhaps any of you have any ideas on how to solve my problem? I really want to give the game a go, if only to see how well it runs on my new computer (and if it's still fun I might play it a bit more). Here's what I do:

1. Install first DVD with the base game to an empty folder
2. Install second DVD with the 2 expansions

Clean install, no mods or anything, ->New Game ->game hangs each time. The game's version is 1.2.0416, so the newest available officially. I tried some unofficial patches (using OMOD), doesn't help.

The cursor just stops, the HDD blinks a bit. I left it like that for 2h+ and it was still at the same moment.

My rig's below. I'm running Cat's 8.9 WHQL, newest X-Fi drivers (added Oblivion to ALchemy) and Vista Ultimate x64 (UAC off). Everything in the system is up-to-date.

Halp plx

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Hello folks,

So there I was chatting with a friend and she started to talk about Oblivion, how nice it is and stuff. So then I thought, worth a second shot (played it a bit on my old X1950XTX). Since I got the GOTY pack, I installed everything and the moment I press New Game the game freezes. Can only close it through Task Manager. It happens each time. I tried googling for the problem, but managed to find another guy with the exact same problem and no solution. Perhaps any of you have any ideas on how to solve my problem? I really want to give the game a go, if only to see how well it runs on my new computer (and if it's still fun I might play it a bit more). Here's what I do:

1. Install first DVD with the base game to an empty folder
2. Install second DVD with the 2 expansions

Clean install, no mods or anything, ->New Game ->game hangs each time. The game's version is 1.2.0416, so the newest available officially. I tried some unofficial patches (using OMOD), doesn't help.

The cursor just stops, the HDD blinks a bit. I left it like that for 2h+ and it was still at the same moment.

My rig's below. I'm running Cat's 8.9 WHQL, newest X-Fi drivers (added Oblivion to ALchemy) and Vista Ultimate x64 (UAC off). Everything in the system is up-to-date.

Halp plx

Try it without Alchemy thats how I run the game on Vista x64,also no need to disable UAC ,I always leave that on and it causes no issues with any of my games in Vista.

One more thing try running the game as an administrator and setting the compatibility tab to Windows XP (Mine are set to them).

 

[Qbah]

So I put everything on stock, tried with and without ALchemy, tried XP SP2 compatibility mode. As for UAC it annoys the crap out of me not to mention I'd say I have enough knowledge and experience not to need it. The administrator option didn't help either. The moment I click New and select YES the game just stops. I have to ctrl+alt+del to get to Tast Manager and kill the process.

It's times like these I love my xbox 😛 I just put the DVD in and don't have to worry about a single thing (never thought I'd be saying that btw... 😵). There was a time when I loved to tinker with every little bit of my computer. These days it's just annoying that something doesn't run the way it should 😛

EDIT: I think I'll try to uninstall everything (like the 5th time or something...) and clean the registry from every mention of Bethesda, Oblivion and TES (that last part I'll be a bit careful about). And then start over...

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
So I put everything on stock, tried with and without ALchemy, tried XP SP2 compatibility mode. As for UAC it annoys the crap out of me not to mention I'd say I have enough knowledge and experience not to need it. The administrator option didn't help either. The moment I click New and select YES the game just stops. I have to ctrl+alt+del to get to Tast Manager and kill the process.

It's times like these I love my xbox 😛 I just put the DVD in and don't have to worry about a single thing (never thought I'd be saying that btw... 😵). There was a time when I loved to tinker with every little bit of my computer. These days it's just annoying that something doesn't run the way it should 😛

EDIT: I think I'll try to uninstall everything (like the 5th time or something...) and clean the registry from every mention of Bethesda, Oblivion and TES (that last part I'll be a bit careful about). And then start over...

I never had any issues with Oblivion or 98% of my games in Vista anyway try FAQ tech support here .

 

[Qbah]

So I uninstalled the game... Deleted everything related to the game in the registry... Installed new Cat 8.10s... Installed just the base game... And same sh!t. Ehh, I give up.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
So I uninstalled the game... Deleted everything related to the game in the registry... Installed new Cat 8.10s... Installed just the base game... And same sh!t. Ehh, I give up.

Did you try the game with UAC enabled?

 

[Qbah]

Just tried it with UAC on, also in compatibility mode, disabled visual themes and desktop compositions, ran as admin... The same thing happens. Even tried a crack, same result.

Problem is, everything else runs great, no problems what so ever. Just Oblivion...

No clue what to do now.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Just tried it with UAC on, also in compatibility mode, disabled visual themes and desktop compositions, ran as admin... The same thing happens. Even tried a crack, same result.

Problem is, everything else runs great, no problems what so ever. Just Oblivion...

No clue what to do now.

Try the DVD disc in another PC,rule out a bad DVD disc.

 

[Qbah]

Just tried it on a friend's laptop, Vista x64 too, 8600m GT. Game installs and starts without any issues. Seems it's just my rig that the game doesn't like 🙁

Thanks a lot Mem for all the ideas, but it seems it just won't run. And I have no plans of reinstalling Vista.

Though if you have any more ideas, I'm open to suggestions 🙂

 

[DaveSimmons]

You could shrink the Vista partition, use the room to create a second primary partition, install XP on it.

I use Acronis Disk Director to toggle between partitions, it's slower but safer than using a boot menu with Vista:
p1 = (unhide p1, set p1 active, hide p2, commit changes )
p2 = (unhide p2, set p2 active, hide p1, commit changes )

 

[Qbah]

I have a 60GB (with 15-ish GBs free) system partition and a 800-something for everything else. I guess I could try it out, however... I don't own a copy of XP. And no way I'm gonna buy that just to run Oblivion 🙂

If the itch won't go away, I guess I will reinstall Vista 😕 I will change my mobo shortly (need a third monitor connection for the TV and this GA board has only one PCIe slot - two monitors max) so a fresh Vista would be possible.

Though I hope I don't have to, I have plenty of things installed, doing it all over again isn't something I want to do unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Just tried it on a friend's laptop, Vista x64 too, 8600m GT. Game installs and starts without any issues. Seems it's just my rig that the game doesn't like 🙁

Thanks a lot Mem for all the ideas, but it seems it just won't run. And I have no plans of reinstalling Vista.

Though if you have any more ideas, I'm open to suggestions 🙂

Yes one thing did you install latest DX9.0C from here (Aug 2008).

Some games need it even in Vista,yes I have it installed on all my Vista PCs,you'll still have DX10...Example being The Witcher demo would not run unless latest version (at that time) of DX9.0c was installed in Vista.

Remember its for Vista as well as XP.


I assure you Oblivion /Morrowind run fine on Vista,I'm always playing them on my Vista x64(even with mods).

 

[imported_Imp]

Not sure of the problem, but you could try the following:

- Reinstall video card drivers, then reinstall DirectX (likely a DirectX issue; just reinstall drivers to wipe directx).
- If you have a soundblaster, reinstall/update those.
- Try a different DVD player. Maybe something (copy/imaging software) is screwing with the disc check.
- Try it without the expansions. They are essentially mods.


Good luck.

 

[Qbah]

Alright, so I woke up with a fresh mind. Installed the DX9.0c from the link, did an autoupdate for my X-Fi (it downloaded and installed some files). I installed new video card drivers yesterday (I have the problem on both 8.9 and 8.10 Cats)

As for the drive having issues with disc check, I tried a crack too, same results.

And I get the problem even installing the base game without expansions (both with the version coming with the DVD and the newest 1.2.0416 for the base game). No expansions installed. I tried running the game on Very Low 640x480, same result.

I just don't get it 😛 The game runs fine on a friend's laptop with Vista x64. I installed it on his machine using my DVD disc and it started without any issues. It is definitely something with my Vista. But I really don't know what.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Alright, so I woke up with a fresh mind. Installed the DX9.0c from the link, did an autoupdate for my X-Fi (it downloaded and installed some files). I installed new video card drivers yesterday (I have the problem on both 8.9 and 8.10 Cats)

As for the drive having issues with disc check, I tried a crack too, same results.

And I get the problem even installing the base game without expansions (both with the version coming with the DVD and the newest 1.2.0416 for the base game). No expansions installed. I tried running the game on Very Low 640x480, same result.

I just don't get it 😛 The game runs fine on a friend's laptop with Vista x64. I installed it on his machine using my DVD disc and it started without any issues. It is definitely something with my Vista. But I really don't know what.

Could be the DVD drive?..try a different or USB drive if possible.

 

[IEC]

Perhaps your system is not as stable as you think it is?

 

[Majic 7]

Where are you installing it? If installed in programs it can have problems with any add-ons or mods that change anything in the install. I installed to the games folder then overwrote data with my XP mods and DLCs and migrated my saves over from the XP install and everything works fine on Vista 64 with no security features disabled. OBMM and Wrye Bash don't work exactly right but nothing major that makes the end result bad.

 

[Qbah]

Stability: The system was running the whole night on full burn on Prime95 (was some time ago, when I added the HD4870). Not even a hitch. Oblivion is hardly that demanding 😉 Furmark - no problems either. Everything's at stock btw.
Location: I installed it to D:\Games\Oblivion - seems easy enough 😉
DVD: I just borrowed a friends' Toshiba IDE DVD-RW drive, those things can read a DVD even if you write it yourself with a nail and hammer 😀 Gonna try it out tomorrow, dead tired after work now...

 

[Martimus]

I found that it gives you problems when you install it on a drive other than your OS drive. I managed to get around it by installing it on my other partition, then copying it over to where it was supposed to be on my game partition, and it actually worked.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Alright, so I woke up with a fresh mind. Installed the DX9.0c from the link, did an autoupdate for my X-Fi (it downloaded and installed some files). I installed new video card drivers yesterday (I have the problem on both 8.9 and 8.10 Cats)

Now, since you regularly reformat your system, I'll assume the best. But to make sure, you installed DirectX after installing fresh drivers right? Just making sure from your sentence order.

 

[imported_protoz]

Is there a log file that Oblivion generates? Maybe take a look in there.

 

[styroe]

Gonna give you some left field advice... It may be a ram issue, if you have two sticks, try taking one our or the other, see if it runs. I had a problem downloading WoW time after time, seems the ram would fail when so much of it was used. Or if you are away all day try and run a Memtest. A long shot, but I did reinstalls and everything until I ran a Memtest and found faulty RAM, could be that Oblivion hits your system's RAM so hard that it found some faulty RAM. Faulty RAM won't always give you a bluescreen. Good luck.

 

[Qbah]

Well, I officially give up. Tried the other DVD drive, ran stress tests and what not. The only thing that's left is a total wipe which I am not willing to do.

As for the log, there isn't one. Even if the game did create something, that wouldn't be the case here as the game just stops. No errors, no nothing. It just stops.

Well, I have Fable 2 and Fallout 3 for now. And very limited time to relax. So that's enough.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Qbah
Well, I officially give up. Tried the other DVD drive, ran stress tests and what not. The only thing that's left is a total wipe which I am not willing to do.

As for the log, there isn't one. Even if the game did create something, that wouldn't be the case here as the game just stops. No errors, no nothing. It just stops.

Well, I have Fable 2 and Fallout 3 for now. And very limited time to relax. So that's enough.

I still think trying the default directory for installation by Martimus is a good idea ie C:\Program Files (x86)\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion" ,that's where mine is at.