Hi guys,

To make a long story short, I made a brave attempt at modding my install of Oblivion, and now everything's gone wonky. I tried fixing it but the problem is quite stubborn. So, I'm tearing out everything and reinstalling, simpler and hopefully better this time around. If at first you don't succeed, apply hammer until done.

Which folders do I delete, and more importantly, which do I not delete?

Note that I am also tearing out and reinstalling utilities like Wrye Bash, OBMM etc.

Thanks for your help.

Asterai

I'm actually doing this exact thing at this very moment. I'm on the forums here waiting for TesNexus to come back up, as I can't seem to access it at the moment.

Anyways, here's what I did:

I saved a copy of my BOSS report, so I can remember which mods I was using at the time. I then copied my Saves, Screenshots, and altered .ini and put them all in a folder.

Then I went ahead and simply uninstalled the game from Programs, along with OBMM. Finally, I deleted my Oblivion folder and my Oblivion 'my documents' folder, containing my .inis and whatnot.

One of the things I personally do is to copy my Data folder right after Installing Oblivion/Unpacking the .bsa files-- that way, if anything seriously messes up, you can just overwrite the Data folder with the back-up, and basically return everything to normal. Obviously it doesn't help you right NOW, but it may help solve the problem in the future and save you the whole re-install issue (which I've had a few times, too).

What Power says seems to be right-- it's what I've always done, at least; and I've never hit any major issues afterward-- just remember to install the patches when you reinstall

Another thing that I do is to keep a folder in my Oblivion folder called "Mod DLs for Oblivion." Everything I DL goes there and I never delete or change it. Combined with that and the copy of the original Data folder, you should be able to "uninstall" and reinstall without actually having to do so.

been there, done that, got the scars to show.

In my sig you'll find link to a tread dedicated to stable instllation of FCOM with links to almost all useful mods and tools (tried to make it one-stop shop), and there are links to other treads like Tomlong's TESPOSItive site which contains many many useful tips, links etc.

I have a separate download folder for downloads too. I keep it separate from the Oblivion folder.

I run 2 installs, first you must make sure your first install is fully setup, not one thing forgotten. Then make a folder Oblivion2, copy every thing in there, first Oblivion i use is untouched only for CS. The second one i do what ever i like, and test my mods in there. And Oblivion will run fine in Oblivion2 folder, rename first folder to any thing and it runs fine. But CS needs to be run at default oblivion folder. For me to fix the game i just copy every thing from orig oblivion over

Thanks for replies, all.

@ powermapler: Thanks for the advice, I have just tried this. I uninstalled/deleted everything and reinstalled Oblivion.

@ Anthropoid: I actually keep not one but two separate backups of all mods I download. Recovering the mod files is not the issue; I'm just worried about making sure things work the way they should afterwards.

@ Blade of Mercy: My installation should not be nearly as complicated as your FCOM install, but I was actually already planning to use your thread as a template for my setup. Thanks for a very helpful thread!

However, after a total uninstall and reinstall, Oblivion now refuses to launch, even entirely unmodded. Any advice folks?

Asterai

Regenerate the Oblivion.ini - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/?page=know_how_to#RegenerateTheOblivion.ini

Thank you Tomlong, that worked!

Uninstalling/reinstalling never solved anything for me.

That's what I keep telling people...

Well it can if one doesn't use a good installer to begin with. When all those files could or could not be in the right place and one forgets what is there.

But once an installer is used and correctly and thoroughly then reinstall is near pointless.

<3 BAIN