I've just installed Skyrim on a new PC and installed all the DLCs. I've also setup quite a few mods through NMM but I did use BOSS to ensure correct load order.

I've played and explored for some time this evening with zero problems... until that is I get to Riverwood and meet Gerlof again in his home. They let me have free run of the place and I can take almost what I please. But there is one chest in the room that contains a book called Thief Of Virtue. Aptly named... because I can't get it without a CTD. I did manage to get it once into my inventory but it's glitched because when select it there is an image of a potion instead of a book. And then it CTDs within seconds. Seems like the CTD is caused by the image of the "book" (which must be glitched) trying to appear on screen.

What do you reckon is causing this? I do have a book mod installed for nicer books.

First of all have you installed all the updates official and an-official ???

Is your mod book covers skyrim ???

Yes I have installed all the official and unofficial updates in Nexus.

And yes... the mod is Book Covers Skyrim. Do you know something?

This Mod changes the meshes, textures and some names of the books in Skyrim. Any other Mod that does similar may be incompatible ***

If you notice conflicts in the game place Book Covers Skyrim.esp lower in the load order.

Known Compatibilities:

Skill Book Overhaul

Unread Books Glow

Mark Books as Read

Tamriel Compendium

Books Books Books

Try that, *** and if that not helps try to disable that mod, make a new save - reload and re-enable the mod.

and verify integrity of your game cache...

OK it's definitely the Book Covers Skyrim.esp in my plugins folder that is causing this issue. If I move it DOWN the load order it get worse because then the game crashes as soon as I bring up my inventory. According to the notes this plugin only relies on the Skyrim.esp file, so it should be OK to go at the bottom.

I also have "Even Better Quest Objectives" installed which did have a box for Book Covers Skyrim to be ticked when installing it. I tried reinstalling this mod without ticking that box, but it made no difference. Still crashes when I open that chest.

Finally I just unchecked the plugin for Book Covers Skyrim and that finally worked. I can now get in to the chest and get the book and read it. But... it also means my save now gives the error "This relies on content no longer available..." so will my game be screwed now?

The only other book mod I have installed is "Unread Books Glow".

> Finally I just unchecked the plugin for Book Covers Skyrim and that finally worked. I can now get in to the chest and get the book and read it. But... it also means my save now gives the error "This relies on content no longer available..." so will my game be screwed now? <

Don't do that because,

Now that you've un-installed your mod, there is no way your save game is going to work properly.

But, you can still play the game as normal but that mod will no longer be active. When you save and reload the game, normally you won't see that warning again.( Can you check it for me please ????)***

if you reload your save, and you get the message again, you are going to have to start a new game. (because maybe later you will have problems with that...)

Really the only thing you can do wrong is uninstalling mods, particularly the mod in which your same game was placed. Which added key elements in your current save game.

Save games remember everything... so the more you add/remove from them (mods) the higher the chance it breaks stuff.

You can always safely run Weather, Lighting and Texture mods, as well as weapons, armors, skins, skeletons, etc... they contribute a great deal to the experience...

just take care with things that add stuff (buildings, quests, skills, etc) to the game... they have potential to break stuff if not used (uninstalled in this case) or created well.

In your game, if you want to avoid problems, play through on vanilla with no mods until after Helgen, then add one or two mods or other changes at a time, run BOSS (if you added mods) and play a bit to check stability

before adding one or two more.

Once you get a stable game with the mods you want, do not alter the game until you are tired of your character and are ready to start over.

Also, disabling autosaves and quick save will minimize corrupt save problems.

-------------------------------------------------------

From the Bethesda document, “Skyrim Mod Troubleshooting: Best Practices”:

"When you play Skyrim with a mod, in most cases, the new data for the mod will be written into any new saved games you create.

For example, if you play Skyrim with Mod X and create a save, the next time you load that save, the game will expect Mod X to also be loaded.

If you no longer want to play Skyrim with Mod X, it is best to unload Mod X (by unchecking the plugin under Data Files in your Skyrim launcher) and loading a save that does not require Mod X, usually an older save or a backed up save."

The short version is, “Never continue with a save once a mod it relies upon has been removed.”

--------------------------------------------------------

However, although this is good advice, there may be occasions when it is inconvenient to heed it.

There are many mods that modify the game in a way that does not immediately change when the mod is uninstalled, a more thorough cleaning must be attempted.

These modifications can cause CTDs and freezes (and other issues) if they remain in the world space after the mod has been uninstalled.

These advanced cleaning steps will force exterior and interior cells to reset, despawning and respawning almost all actors in the game, among other things.

To make sure almost all cells reset, its is necessary to wait for 31 days. Some cells will never reset, as they are flagged as "Never Resets" by Bethesda.

These mostly include player homes and other important locations.