i need some advice. i accidentally deleted my oblivion.esm file when i was clearing out some mods. now my game won't work. i have done a new re-install (now the game works) but my question is this:

should i copy and paste all my oblivion info (it's under C:/MyGames/Oblivion/Data) into another spare folder?

because everytime i re-install i have to do it from the CD's which takes ages. would it be better just to copy and paste from a spare folder in case i make mistakes in the main folder? or do you need to re-install oblivion from the CD's each time??

plz help and give me ur advice and experience

Many people have two separate Oblivion directories, one for modding, one for backup and playing. If you have sufficient space, then why not; it can't hurt you.

Can't you find your Oblivion.esm file in the recycle bin?

ok but do i need to re-install from the CD to a backup folder OR do i just copy and paste the folder to a new section?

which one??

I accidentally deleted it

Well, AFAIK, you can¨t install the game twice when the old one is still in the registery. I think it is the same, it should be, whether you "install" it or duplicate it. You can go for the duplication. That's what I did, and both instances of Obby are running great.