Like the title says. I'm using tools and settings which seem to maximize the purging of memory and other stuff so as to increase play time. But I didn't notice until recently that my time between crashes is down to roughly 1 hour & 15 minutes So I ran a few tests thanks to http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?showtopic=1118450. I have 4gb ram, and running Win7 + misc. has my physical memory usage at around 40%. But the highest memory use I've been able to see Oblivion at before crashing is 1.2-1.5 gigabytes. So I'm afraid that some mod has left remnants which are affecting the game, even though I use OMODs for everything. So is it possible for a save to have pieces of old mods still in the file?

Yes, it is. Certain scripting functions leave behind data. That can cause save game bloating, but I don't think it can cause CTD's. Someone more knowledgeable than I may be able to tell you more.

It depends on what kind of changes the mod made. If the mod only adds in new content, then is later removed, it's unlikely any ill effects will remain in your savegame once the content is removed. But if the mod directly affects your character, or content that's still active after the mod is disabled--say, vanilla NPCs or items--then problems can remain. Finally, mods like Streamline, Oblivion Stutter Remover, OBSE, etc. that affect the executable itself could have lasting effects.

That makes sense, albeit rather disheartening. At least this narrows down the potential problem mods.

If a mod introduces entirely new content, it generally can't contaminate the game once its gone. Although you should take care to be in an area not affected by the mod if possible just in case the save game is holding script reference to the mod.

If a mod alters vanilla content, then yes, it can leave behind lasting footprints. This can get especially nasty if the mod screwed around with vanilla scripts and possibly messed up the variable indexing in the process. That can definitely lead to CTDs when the game tries to revert back to the original but your save has a modified version of the script and won't let go of it. It's also possible to corrupt spawn points this way. As BFG99 also points out, if a mod disables vanilla stuff by script, those changes will remain permanent once made. Changes to more mundane things like NPC inventories shouldn't stick though.

Mods using PlaceAtMe calls in scripts that don't do proper cleanup (only possible with OBSE) can leave things behind that could mess things up too. The old version of Real Lights before AN took it over was notorious for this because it handled turning lights on and off with repeated use of PlaceAtMe calls, which is irreversible in the save. It caused bloat due to the number of records it could generate, and it could lead to CTDs if the forms it made contained copies of the scripts from the mod.

DLL based plugins don't normally leave lasting effects behind. OBSE itself is harmless. Oblivion Stutter Remover is harmless. Provided a DLL based plugin doesn't make alterations to the save, they can just be tossed aside with no ill effects. NONE of these things ever touch the original game executeable so that's not a concern. Streamline does not modify the executable, it's just a mod like any other, and if removed it won't leave anything behind.

Thank you for the tutorial I'm currently using a mod called http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19847. And if I recall correctly, an older version of the mod used a resource called http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18160, which makes use of the PlaceAtMe function. The mod hasn't used that resource for some time now, but I had the mod back when it did I'm going to try a new game without it, and see how high I can get Oblivion' memory consumption before crash.

How has such a mod gone this long without getting my attention. That reads as an absolute must have, oh the fun you can have with that.

Still recompiling my Bashed Patch while I write this :brokencomputer: After this I'm done bumping my own thread, lol. Assuming I have left over scripts or alterations from the aforementioned resource, is there any way to detect it? And if not, will replacing the BSAs with my backup copies produce adverse affects? p.s. Enhanced Grabbing is a whole ton of fun. I wrecked every store in the IC and got thrown on my ass for days at a time :whistling:

Heh, I learned something new too

PiipEG doesn't use You are Here...