OK...new computer has arrived and is up and running. I have now been introduced to Windows 7 after all those years of Windows XP. Let the learning curve begin! First thing I need to know is if this path is correct for installing mods. The folder at the end of the path is where my Saves and oblivion.ini reside. The path is Libraries/Documents/My Games/Oblivion. Is this where they go?

Your game is installed in the Program Files folder, just like normal. You should uninstall it, and reinstall it to C:\Games\gamesas or something; otherwise, the UAC will give you trouble.

Installing Oblivion - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/install <-- Aside from the UAC practically forcing Vista and Win7 users to install outside of the default folder, nothing much else has changed, install paths are the same as they would be if you installed the game in a different location on XP

Alright, please enlighten me as to what UAC is. (I knew I would have issues going to a new OS) :unsure:

Google it. For now, reinstall the game so that you do not have to put up with many of its quirks. It will otherwise make running Oblivion somewhat of a pain (more so than modified Oblivion is on its own.)


Edit: I do not even use Win7, but seeing all of the problems users are having with it and Vista, it has started to irk me on bad days. Plus, I just wish there were instructions on the official site that told users to install it outside of the default directory.

From wikipedia



So in other words: if you are the owner of your PC, then there is no real need for UAC, and you could disable it.

Probably better to unlock the hidden administrator account in Windows 7, so that you have all the rights possible to do whatever you want. Then there is no need to install OB outside of the %program files%, either.

That too...

What problems users are having? You mean in reference to oblivion or in general? Either way, it is user error in both cases, windows 7 is (IMO) better than XP was (And is selling very well).

Simply disable UAC on your new machine and install oblivion wherever you like. It's not any different than XP in that regard. But I am also the Admin on my machine, it may be different for you.

I agree. I am looking forward to running Win7 this summer, hopefully...

UAC is a very useful security feature, and I strongly recommend against disabling it entirely. It can prevent malicious software from gaining admin privileges through otherwise undetected exploits.

Installing outside of Program Files is the easiest option if it's tripping you up with mod installation. Alternately, you can give your user account explicit ownership of the Oblivion\data folder by editing its security properties, which prevents UAC pop-ups for file operations on that location.

Right, and then a buggy (or purposefully malicious) app has its day over all your system files... UAC is not designed to limit user accounts (there are other, far more effective tools for that that have existed since Win2000), it is to prevent applications from making unauthorized changes to critical system files (which include all of the Windows directory and all of Program Files and Program Files(x86) ).
Problems start with old (pre-Vista) or badly written applications, which store their ini file or other data that needs to be modified during operation, in one of the protected directories (typically Program Files). The Users directory is intended for that kind of stuff.

I strongly disagree, UAC is basically Microsofts answer for the technical illiterate. It basically prevents the user from having functionality so as to protect them from viruses. This is effective but is equal to having a child guard on your computer, sure it works, but it also can hamper functionality and cost the user valuable time.

I have had UAC off since I got windows 7 when it first came out and had no ill side effects or viruses thus far, but that is mainly because I don't go places where viruses are present and use sufficient anti-virus (aka not Norton or Mcaffee).

As I wrote in my previous post, Windows has far better tools for controlling user privileges than UAC (check out control userpasswords2 and gpedit.msc, as well as security tabs in Computer Management), UAC is designed with a completely different thing in mind (preventing software from doing stuff on its own without user consent). In fact, it makes most sense on an Admin type account, where the user is authorized to do anything and therefore it is easy for malicious software to do a lot of harm.

UAC is Microsoft's incredibly user-friendly and significantly less secure version of the "sudo" command that every operating system with any pretense of real security has had since before there was a Windows. Just because you know what you're doing, doesn't mean you can prevent buffer overflow exploits.

There is no need to turn off UAC. Just install outside of program files folder. Now back to the original question... no, that is not where your mods go. They go in the Data Files folder in your Oblivion directory. Read the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/449239-oblivion-mods-faq/.