I'm not sure where to post this. I'm inclined to favor the mod forum simply because my game has a fair number of them.

Problem: game freezes during either intitial load, zone change, or less frequently outdoor travel. It does not CTD. The screen simply freezes as-is (no black/blue screen). Sound continues.

History: This problem began over a week ago. I was traversing Elsweyr-Anequina and exited the game (meal break) after saving outdoors. When I later attempted to launch the game, that save would only partially load. The load-bar stuck in-place and would advance no more, no matter how long I let it run. Had to bring up Windows Task Manager and terminate the game. I tried loading that save numerous time (with computer reboots between some attempts). All froze.

I reverted to a previous save, made inside an Orcrest building. It loaded fine. I was then able to explore to my heart's content, including many cell changes, structure entrances and exits, numerous saves and the like. Being somewhat paranoid, my next few game exits occurred after an indoor save. I became bolder and exited following outdoor saves with no harm done.

Then, several days later, attempting to load the game from an outdoor save... POOF...it froze again. As before, nothing I tried would make that save load. I again reverted to an earlier indoor save and launched the game and explored without issue. Several days of problem-free play followed.

Then, after working on quests which kept me confined inside the Imperial City, I had need to visit the Waterfront District to chat with a quest NPC. Attempting to leave IC via its Temple District exit...POOF...frozen. Repeated attempts ended with like results. I then tried the Talos District exit. POOF...frozen. Next came the Arboretum. That exit worked! But when I attempted to walk from there to the Waterfront, the adventure screen froze (sound continued as always). Three walking attempts ended in a frozen adventure screen at roughly the same point. I next tried the Market District exit. That too worked. But again, when I attempted to walk from there to the waterfront the adventure screen froze (this time just outside the Talos stables).

Thinking I might have a bad spawn point, I yet again loaded the game, traveled to my Archmage quarters in the University, and rested three-and-a-half days. This made no difference whatsoever.

I recalled that I had needed to resurrect a quest NPC who had apparently died beneath the Talos/Weye bridge. Now, playing both Ayleid Steps and Kragenir's Death, I'd been in that situation before. Resurrections had never been an issue. But to play it safe, I reverted to a two day old save made just prior to the resurrection (and thankfully labeled as such). Voila! I could and did roam freely outside the Imperial City. Even spent time in yet another futile attempt to find the dropped dagger from Region Revive ? Lake Rumare. All seemed well.

Then, this morning, I was again questing in the Imperial City and again needed to contact an NPC at the Waterfront. You guessed it. Frozen load- and adventure-screens in the same places as before. Admitting defeat, I decided to work on a different quest, which saw me travel from IC to a farm outside Bruma. I exited from the Market District without problem, walked to Millstone Farm to collect my horse, then rode to Bruma via the Cheydinal, mountain trail route. This all went perfectly, including numerous combats.

I arrived at my destination too late, the farmhouse was closed for the day. I elected to sleep at the Bruma Fighters Guild hall. Backtracked to Bruma and attempted to enter via its North Gate. POOF...frozen load screen. Second attempt...POOF. That's where things stand now.

I must say that when not getting frozen screens, the game runs flawlessly. Load times are fast. I get very little lag or stutter except in parts of Elsweyr, the one area I run with RAEVWD. I have been suffering with what I think might be AI overload for some time, but not often enough to worry over. And in any case that leads to a black screen rather than freezes.

Basic Hardware: Intel Core 2 Due e8500 (not OC), 4gb DDR2 800 ram, nVidia 260 core 216 (185.xx drivers), Creative X-fi sound (with Alchemy), 620watt Corsair PSU. Screen resolution 1280x1024. OS is Vista64. My last hardware change was mid 2009 (original nVidia 8800gts went belly-up).

My load order has not markedly changed since weeks before this started. I did add one new mod just this morning, but that was after my freezing began so can't be held responsible. I also cleaned a mod (City Lights ? Imperial City) that had somehow escaped cleaning before, but that too happened after the freezes started.

Oblivion save-game size is right at 12mb, none of which is bloat (according to Wrye Bash).

I run many of the standard utilities: FastExit2, Crash Prevention, OSR4.1 (but not streamline).


Here's a copy of my most recent freeze. Note that the "Hang Type" is always the same, "2048".

DescriptionA problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.Problem signatureProblem Event Name:	AppHangB1Application Name:	Oblivion.exeApplication Version:	1.2.0.416Application Timestamp:	462392c7Hang Signature:	d2f2Hang Type:	2048OS Version:	6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3Locale ID:	1033Additional Hang Signature 1:	980f517d8422cacf2083be612a4fe1c0Additional Hang Signature 2:	3ef4Additional Hang Signature 3:	da6f851fd62841f6be8fa88f3923d979Additional Hang Signature 4:	d2f2Additional Hang Signature 5:	980f517d8422cacf2083be612a4fe1c0Additional Hang Signature 6:	3ef4Additional Hang Signature 7:	da6f851fd62841f6be8fa88f3923d979

My load order:

Active Mod Files:00  Oblivion.esm01  Cobl Main.esm  [Version 1.72]02  TamRes.esm03  CyrodiilUpgradeResourcePack.esm04  GTAesgaard_2.esm05  Cybiades.esm  [Version 2.0]06  Windfall.esm07  Kvatch Rebuilt.esm08  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.2.4]09  UOP Vampire Aging & Face Fix.esp  [Version 1.0.0]0A  Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp0B  DLCShiveringIsles.esp0C  TamRes.esp0D  oc_darker_nights.esp0E  Rainbows.esp0F  WindowLightingSystem.esp10  CityLights - ImperialCity.esp11  Cobl Glue.esp  [Version 1.72]12  Cobl Si.esp  [Version 1.63]13  exhSIPalacelodge.esp14  ImpeREAL City Unique Districts - All the Districts - Merged.esp15  ImpeREAL City Unique Districts - All the Districts Visible From Cyrodiil.esp16  ImpeREAL Empire - Unique Castles - All The Castles - Merged.esp17  ImpeREAL Empire - Unique Forts.esp18  300 Regal Imperial City 2.esp19  BlackLuster.esp1A  GTAesgaard.esp1B  GTAesgaard_2.esp1C  (DC) The Pride of Wolfs Gate.esp1D  (DC) Kvatch Watch Towers.esp1E  Kvatch Rebuilt.esp1F  Kragenir's Death Quest.esp20  KDQ - Rural Line Additions.esp21  EiAmod.esp  [Version 1.1]22  EiAmod_ShiveringIsles.esp23  LostSwordOfTheAylied.esp24  LostSwordOfTheAylied - OBSE Add-On.esp25  Order of the Virtuous Blood Expanded v0.3.esp26  Region Revive - Lake Rumare.esp27  The Ayleid Steps.esp  [Version 3.0.3]28  TheElderCouncil_TempleOfTheOne.esp29  VHBloodlines 1.2.esp  [Version 1.4]2A  Villages1.1.esp2B  VOILA.esp2C  VOILA - Soldiers of Empire.esp2D  Windfall.esp2E  Knights.esp2F  The Lost Spires.esp30  LostSpiresImpeREALFortsPatch2.esp31  AFK_Weye.esp32  Rumare-AFK_Weye Patch.esp33  ElsweyrAnequina.esp34  road+bridges.esp  [Version 4.5.2]35  Feldscar.esp  [Version 1.0]36  Vergayun.esp  [Version 1.0.1]37  Faregyl.esp  [Version 1.0.10]38  Faregyl+Anequina Patch.esp39  xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp  [Version 1.6.3]3A  KragenirsDeathQuest-LostCoast patch.esp3B  Cybiades.esp  [Version 2.1]3C  CybiadesDungeon.esp  [Version 2.1]3D  Castle_Seaview.esp3E  CastleSeaview+LostCoast Patch.esp  [Version 1.0]3F  xulImperialIsle.esp  [Version 1.6.3]40  NRB4+UL-II Patch.esp  [Version 5.0]41  bartholm.esp42  Fort Akatosh Redux.esp43  FortAkatoshRedux-NewRoads&Bridges patch.esp44  Millstone_Farm_COBL.esp45  RegionReviveLakeRumare-ImperialIsle patch.esp  [Version 1.3.2]46  NRB4+RR Patch.esp  [Version 1.0]47  BlackScreenSneakFix.esp48  DecoratorAssistant with OBSE v1.1.esp49  DropLitTorchOBSE.esp  [Version 2.1]4A  Duplicate_Item_Spell.esp4B  Panzer_Kleidung_03.esp4C  Quest Award Leveller.esp  [Version 2.0.1]4D  Quest Award Leveller - Knights of the Nine.esp  [Version 2.1.0]4E  Companion Neeshka.esp4F  NRB4 Standard Road Record.esp

I'm at a loss as to what might be causing this or how to fix it. Any and all suggestions/advice is more than welcome.

Thanks in advance!
-Decrepit

Isee you didn't O/C your CPU. How about your GPU? Oblivion is relatively sensitive to O/Cing, I've found.

No, my GPU runs at stock speed. I've never been one to OC, preferring stability and longevity. I even underclocked my memory for a while when standard speed led to errors. Thankfully a BIOS update fixed that!

This gets weirder and weirder. After posting the above I decided to launch the game and head to Feldscar (Arthmoor village located a bit east of Bruma) and sleep at the Inn there, figuring I'd not freeze trying to enter. Just prior to reaching Feldscar I ran into one of those big scenery holes, the sort you get when something doesn't load properly. I went around it, reached Feldscar and entered the Inn without issue. But the hole bugged me. I decided to exit (without saving) and relaunch the game. That has, in the past, always cleared scenery holes. This time it didn't. Nor did another reload.

[UPDATE: Even after rebooting the computer that dratted scenery hole is there.]

I think I'm jinxed! LOL

-Decrepit

Evening update:

I could not get the scenery hole to go away. I had come to Bruma from the east, and passed by Feldscar on the way. The hole did not exist at that time. Only after arriving at my destination and then backtracking did it appear. I decided to load an earlier save, made a short distance BEFORE reaching Feldscar on the way in. That save would not load. The one before it, made only three minutes prior, thankfully did. No hole! I slept at the Feldscar inn, then proceeded on to Bruma and the farm. No hole enroute. After getting my quest update at the farm I backtracked far enough to see that the hole had not reappeared, then headed to my next quest update locale, a farm north of and in-between Skingrad and Kvatch. I spent well over two RL hours traveling roads and across countryside. Entered several cottages, and Skingrad itself. Fought numerous battles. The game ran perfectly that whole time! Not one freeze or visual anomaly. Little stutter or lag. Fast zone-ins. No odd NPC behavior. I had a blast! Ended up dropping off a wine shipment at Pell's Gate, crossed Lake Rumare via the IC southern bridge (new location), followed the east-side road to the Market District entrance, entered IC, then spent maybe thirty minutes visiting all districts, ducking in to many homes and establishments. Not even a hint of trouble.

Note that I did NOT attempt to exit IC via those two troublesome gates (Talos and Temple). Nor did I tempt fate by trying to reach the Waterfront from an outside route. For all I know, those problems, whatever they are, still exist.

I remain baffled. Why does the game run near flawlessly for long stretches, then freeze during zone change (or rarely while moving) or not even load. Why certain saves only? Why the scenery hole that wouldn't go away?

-Decrepit

Monday morning, 02/22/10 update:

Launched the game and spent maybe 25 minutes roaming the Imperial City to track down a quest NPC. Visited four or so districts and many buildings. All went well. Found the NPC. Quest updated. The quest-arrow showed my next contact to be in Weye. That meant entering an area that has been causing load freezes. I exited IC via the Talos Gate. Sure enough, the load-bar froze. Had to bring up Windows Task Manage to exit the game.

Seems to me that at the very least something is wrong in the general Weye/Waterfront area. That area (Weye/Rumare/ImpIsle) is one of the most heavily modded in my game. But so far as I know all mods that effect it were installed long ago and have not caused issues before. (And don't forget that I also had a load freeze trying to enter Bruma). Is this maybe some broader general issue that is more apparent near Weye/Waterfront due to mod load?


-Decrepit

02/23/10 morning update:

Sorry for all these boring updates. I still have the game-freeze issue in the same places as before. And I'm still not sure of the cause. Is it, as is usually the case, mod related? Or is it something deeper...OS or hardware related? I hope to be a little surer before I start removing mods.

Did a bit of experimenting this morning, attempting travel through the Imp-Isle spots known to trigger freezes, and skirting them to see how much of the game is currently playable. I took several map captures enroute. I combined those maps to show the whole of the Imp-Isles and its immediate surroundings, then painted in my travel path, showing what was safe and where freezes occur. (Note that my map shows the Southern Bridge in its old location.)

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/ImpIsleFreezes022310.jpg.

The paths shown in green have been perfectly safe all this time. Only when reaching the spots indicated in red does the game freeze. Notice that trying to exit via two separate city gates always leads to a freeze. (The other two Gates work fine.) The freeze point North of the Talos gate can be anywhere from just past Shady Sam to the Talos Stables fenced-in-area entrance. (It's usually nearer Sam.) Heading North from the University, I always freeze before reaching the trees shown in the below capture (but always make it past that nice wood bridge).

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/ImpIsleRoadFreeze022310.jpg.

Don't forget that I also froze trying to enter Bruma by its North Gate.

The only mod changes made since my last report were to update NewRoads&Bridges from 4.5.2 to 4.5.3. Also updated the NRB-RR_LR patch, though I don't know that it was needed. The updates occurred but my travel experiment.

Thanks for the ear!
-Decrepit

Can you start a new game, and go to those areas without a freeze?

What are your save habits like? Do you overwrite them often? Use auto/quicksaves?

Do you have autosaves turned on?

How many save files in your saves folder?

First, the easy responses...

2. I save frequently, but no longer overwrite saves. Used to do that, but stopped a few months ago after reading it was unhealthy.

3. I disabled all forms of autosave early on (prolly within a month of installing the game). Never liked autosave, so even when it was functioning I tended to avoid using those saves. BTW, I now always save via the console.

4. Not terribly many. I periodically move older saves to storage directories on another drive/partition.

As to 1., no, I have not yet tried that. Do you mean a new character (or very early save of my current character) while keeping current mods in-place? I'll likely try that NTL tomorrow. (Thanks to our ever-glorious recession I have more than enough free time this week to monkey with Oblivion starting tomorrow...or tonight if I'm not too fried after work.) I sort of expect that I'll be okay doing so (assuming all those quest-start messages don't crash the game), at least initially. After all, when these Imp-Isle freezes first appeared I was able to stop them by reverting to a two-day-old save. Sadly, the exact issue re-surfaced later during the course of normal play.

-Decrepit

The Elder Council: have you cleaned this ESP? There were several complaints about that in some versions. I suggest http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11536 for the purpose. It's extremely easy to do: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/TES4Edit/Mod_cleaning_tutorial_with_TES4Edit I would actually suggest cleaning all non-dependent ESPs. You have nothing to lose in doing so, except a bit of time. And dirty ESPs are a cause of CTDs and freezes.

Interesting. Aye, I do indeed clean many of my installed mods. I have been, however, following cleaning instructions from http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/TES4Edit_Cleaning_Guide#List_of_Mods_Needing_Cleaning. It somewhat differs from your linked info. Mine appears to be more recent (based on "last edit" date). Yours seems more thorough (and a little confusing). Which is the best cleaning advice?

As to TEC:Temple, I have not cleaned it. As mentioned in an earlier update, it is my most recently added mod (discounting the NR&B update), installed over a week after my freezing began. Whatever its merits, it can not be the root of my woes.

-Decrepit

yes, start an entirely new game, with all mods active. See if there are still problems.

The information under "Actual Cleaning Instructions" mirrors in different words the tutorial I linked to. I just prefer to err on the careful side in recommending that people avoid cleaning dependent ESPs and ESMs.

Well now...

I did pretty much as you advised. Only difference is that I had kept a copy of my original save No. 7 (made in the Imperial Undercroft before the Emperor dies). Loaded that and continued on, with all mods (as shown in my load order above) in place. I was indeed able to wander through Weye and the Waterfront. Did so several times. Took the IC Talos Gate exit twice without issue. Played only an hour-and-a-half or so. Might give it another try a bit later.

What does this indicate? My guess it that I can revert to a save from a week ago with my standard game and be able to access the Weye/Waterfront without issue, until the glitch hits again. Hmm... think I'll try that and see.

It might mean corrupt saves. Try running Wrye Bash, do a right click on one of your old saves, and choose Repair Bloat--not because you want to repair it, but to see what number it gives you.

I ran the Wrye Bash bloat repair tool on my most current standard-game save. As always, it found nothing. Not sure what you mean by a number. The only message I see it "No bloat found".

Update:
I loaded a save from 02/15/10. As suspected, it did not have the Imp-Isle freeze issues. I did that once before, and got rid of freezes. They returned a few days (or was it a few hours?) later.

-Decrepit

What the heck?

I launched Wrye Bash and looked over its Save Game menu. Didn't find anything useful other than bloat removal, which found nothing amiss. But I noticed an a-bomb repair option. I use another program for that, but haven't ran it in a long time. Out of curiosity I launched that tool to see how close I was to the dreaded 49th byte. To my amazement I was already there! In the past, hitting 49 was glaringly obvious... frozen spell-effect graphics, frozen torch flame and so on. I had none of that, and no other visual warnings of suffering the bomb. But since the tool was open I decided to run its fix (resetting bytes to 40). After doing so I launched Oblivion with my current save, one of those with the Imp-Isle freezes. Only, now I was able to exit via IC the Talos gate an travel to Weye!

Is this a fluke? I mean, a-bombs have always been visual anomalies for me. They never before had anything to do with crashes or freezes during cell transitions. In any case I'm gonna give my newly a-bombless game a thorough testing tomorrow.

-Decrepit