I have been preparing my computer for another jaunt into Oblivion (I just keep coming back) and I'm trying to be a little better about the whole setup aspect of the equation.

I've cleaned, defragged, updated, even removed everything I can to allow for plenty of room on the drive.

I was wondering, since modders must run into this issue constantly, how you make the process of breaking the game a little more bearable? What tricks do you use so that when you completely pooch your installation you can quickly recover?

And maybe more specifically, what do you backup?

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Nevermind, I just found a fantastic page that has alot of useful info regarding this very subject, http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/?page=preparing_for_mods.

I've never backed up the game, but I guess the easiest way would be to backup the entire Oblivion folder after having installed and patched it.

What I do is:

1. Install incrementally while checking for stability/issues. That is, I install/patch the vanilla game - then start a new game to see if it seems to work OK. Then install OOO - repeat. Then FCOM - repeat. And after that I basically install one mod at a time and check for stability/issues. For one thing, it's difficult to trouble shoot if installing, say, 50 mods at a go. Also, if getting issues I know that it's probably the latest mod installed and can easily revert to a stable load order/save. One recent example is that I got two weird CTD's soon after installing Hentai Mania 2 - so I simply uninstalled it and reverted to a save made before installing it.

2. Make lots and lots of saves, which means I can always load an earlier save if something weird happens w/o losing more than, say, 10 minutes of play time. One example from just an hour ago was that my char collapsed with negative Fatigue after fighting a mod added Lich. No idea what happened, but I just loaded a save made two minutes before the battle and redid it w/o issues.

Seeing as reinstalling the game, patches, and SI takes about 15 minutes, I didn't bother. Otherwise, you should just be able to copy \Data somewhere else, and replace it later - that's how I back up modded installs.

Since I am actually doing this right now, where should I install Oblivion? I am running Win7, and I know some people say don't install to the default directory. On the other hand, if moving it is going to make installing mods harder then I'd just rather leave it where it normally is.

Default, or not default? That is the question! I was thinking of just putting it on the root, C:\Oblivion.

Oh, and thanks for the help!

Don't go for the root, use something like C:\Games\Oblivion. You will avoid the UAC problems associated with win7, and vista, and installing mods won't be an issue.

I use this, it's saved me so much time:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20258

Very nice, SomeWelshGuy, I will check that out. I'll go ahead and to the games\oblivion thing. Thanks.

I must say, this process never seems to get less complicated. Thank goodness for this forum and the folks who come here.

i cannot agree more

I think as a mod user, the game is easy enough to reinstall that you don't need to backup the vanilla app.
Personally as a modder, I do keep a full backup on the harddrive for a little more convenience.

If you use Oblivion Install Cleaner, you should know that it does not restore the original files, it merely deletes everything that is not in the vanilla setup.
It's a tiny issue really, but there is potential for some of the vanilla files to be altered by a mod and OIC will not restore them to original. It just won't delete them.

The following is more a about prevention than backup and recovery, but it still applies.

To someone who just plays mods, other than keeping the downloaded copies of the mods you install, LEARN TO USE WRYE BASH!
This is so important if you want to be able to add mods to your game without problems.
Once you learn, it's actually fairly easy and an EXTREMELY useful.
You should also get and learn to use BOSS.
Combined with Wrye bash, these two tools together will allow you to easily add far more mods without problems in your game.
You should try to use wrye bash to install ALL your mods, so you can maintain the most control.

If that's all too complicated and more effort than you want to put in, then just use OBMM.
OBMM is alot friendlier to use and it's a good program, but it won't give you nearly the level of control that wrye bash does.
The problem with OBMM is that it uses a special type of install called omods.
Not all mods are packaged as omods, so you are limited in what mods you can install.

You can use both BASH and OBMM, but I personally beleive it's best to just use one.
When you use both, it adds complications because BASH can't see what OBMM has installed and vice versa.

Both Wrye Bash and OBMM will allow you to install a mod and if you don't like it or it causes issues, you can remove the mod and all of the files it changed will be restored to how they were.

Also, when installing new mods, managing your save files is important.
Before you install a new mod, you should be sure to make a new save. The Quicksave and Autosave might get corrupted if the new mod causes problems, so do not rely on those.
After installing a new mod, NEVER overwrite an existing save game file that does not use the new mod.
In other words, whenever you add a new mod, ALWAYS make a NEW save.

I keep a pristine copy of my Data folder (vanilla Oblivion+SI+DLCs) on a separate drive. I takes me a whole lot less time to copy that than it does to reinstall everything.

I actually keep several copies. But my arrangement is fairy complex to simplify management of multiple installs.

I think this might be beyond the scope of what the OP was asking but I have gone as far as compiling my own patch of essential tools, mods, tweaks and default settings.
So whenever I create a new copy of the fresh install or if I have to rebuild one of my copies, I can add my patch to include all my must-haves.
Type of things in my personal patch include for example, customized oblivion_default.ini, bash, obmm, obse, tescs, UOP, DarN UI, TQP, MAO, QTP, etc.

Wow, this was really helpful. I think I'm going to opt for the separate HD option. I certainly have the space and re-installing is would be less speedy that just a copy-to.

I will make a real effort with Wrye, but after all these years I must say that someone just needs to break down and write an easy to understand guide to using it. My experience with it is that none of what it does is hard to understand, once you're able to figure out what to do. Getting to that point in excruciating. As I get back into this I'll see if anything has improved on the documentation front. Last time there were actually things in Wrye that no one (literally) could explain to me, due to the fact that something in the documentation wasn't in the current version of the program, or vis versa. But it is extremely useful and there is no question about that. I imagine everything will be a little easier this time.

Big thanks to everyone who offered help.