Skyrim crashes. Any advice

Andrew_C

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It's a Bethesda game, Bethesda are crap coders. They managed to give Gamebryo an undeserved reputation for being unstable and buggy by using it for Oblivion and Fallout 3, while people forget that their earlier games were just as buggy.
 

Disturbed-Hell

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Mar 18, 2010
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Folksoul said:
I had a similar problem with the game at launch. Just replace "crashed to desktop" with game completely froze after the character creation was finished. Fully updated software. No mods to be added. Uninstalled and re-installed everything. No change. No damage to the disk. Bethesda shipped a broken product. This was the PS3 version though. The base product didn't work for me. That is quite honestly the best advice I can give. Do not buy from Bethesda. They are thieves.

Fair enough. However I have had no such problems with any BGS title that I have not been able to fix by either downloading a mod or removing an offending one. But, yes, BGS have a habit of releasing bad PS3 ports.
 

museofdoom

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FizzyIzze said:
museofdoom said:
I can't believe that after giving up on Skyrim on PS3 three months ago I'm actually playing it again. Thanks to you that is.

Of course, when I started playing it just now I totally forgot the controls. And then an ancient dragon fell on top of me. Luckily I've been using the enchant/armor exploit. I won this round, Bethesda!
Oh gosh well you're welcome! I'm glad my advice helped someone xD Well at least the dragon didn't kill you :3
 

nexus

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Are you using Wrye Bash (Wrye Smash actually) and BOSS? If not, you should. You said it's related to Level 25 for some reason... it's most likely your mods being out of order or conflicting. It won't matter if you turn them off or not because it can and will mess with your saves.

I have 200 mods installed, including every texture mod I can get my hands on, plus ENB effects. My crashes are super rare, and usually due to long-term memory leak with the extra textures. Talking like.... every 1hr or so, if I even get a crash at all.

Also, forget the Steam Workshop if that is what you're using. Go to the Nexus instead and use the Nexus Mod Manager along with Wrye Bash. NMM lets you know if any of your mods have an update, and installing mods is as easy as the Workshop method, just waaay more organized.
 

nexus

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Disturbed-Hell said:
While true, that wont have any effect if there are no mods being loaded. Also 29.99? It's £16 on amazon.
Saves can get corrupted sometimes, regardless if you have the mods loaded or not. It's very rare that it's permanent.. it usually just means you have to root out the problem mod, reload it, configure it and order it properly with your other mods, and re-save, etc.
 

Joccaren

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Mar 29, 2011
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Joseph Harrison said:
So I turned off every single mod I had installed and I turned off autosaves and the game still crashes. Its starting to tick me off a bit because Dawngaurd is on sale and I just want to play the freaking game for longer than five minutes.
This is actually inevitable if some of your mods use scripts. Scripts aren't entirely disabled when you disable the mods: They are actually carried in the save file as well, making it unstable. I ended up deleting my old saves 'cause I'd bogged them down with too many scripts and, unless I saved constantly, the game would crash every 10 minutes or so - and half the scripts screwed up anyway, even after I gave them an extra 1000x their normal loading time to initialize.
Best way to check is to check the mod page for each of your mods that has a .esp file in it. If it has uninstall instructions, its got scripts, and those scripts will likely be screwing with you. Uninstalling should disable them, but it isn't guaranteed to fix the problem because the scripts are still in the save file.

Beyond that, what has been said numerous times already: Update drivers, use the Steam "Verify Game Cache" option, ensure the game is updated, and check guides for both Skyrim specific tweaks to improve stability, as well as system wide measures to improve stability. Certain programs, like the "Game Booster" software can provide significant performance and stability increases as well in my experience, especially when I accepted the upgrade to the Razer game booster which allowed me to launch the game on the desktop. Of course, it didn't fix my problem, but as said I was seriously bloated down with scripts. It could also have been the 100 or so graphics mods as well, but I find that a bit less likely, only 8Gb or so of them.

Could be other problems, but those seem most likely to me.
 

CrazyJew

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sanquin said:
CrazyJew said:
1. Remove Skyrim
2. Install Oblivion
3. Play the much superior game
Oblivion isn't 'superior' in every way. Combat is better in Skyrim. So are the graphics, even if they used more bland colors. Not to mention the main plot, and the random dungeons. Npc's too have a bit more personality than in Oblivion, if only a little.

Yes Oblivion has a better skill system, better magic, and better models. But it's not 100% superior.
> Skyrim
> Superior dungeons
> Superior plot
> Any year

u w0t m8t?
 

Rawne1980

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Disturbed-Hell said:
barbzilla said:
Try to put a little effort into your mods and their launch order. It can wreck havoc with your ability to start the game sometimes..
While true, that wont have any effect if there are no mods being loaded. Also 29.99? It's £16 on amazon.
Depends.

He did say he turned mods off then launched a save that had already used said mods.

Turning them off and launching a save that's used them won't do anything. They need to be uninstalled and start the game from scratch.

On Topic.

Uninstall all mods.
Uninstall and reinstall Skyrim.
Get Skyrim unofficial patch.
If you are going to use mods then go through every mod carefully. I have 231 running and zero problems but certain mods can and will screw up the game especially if you are running various texture mods, lighting mods or other overhauls.

USE WRYE BASH. I can't state this loud enough. Too many people just download Mod Manager and think that's enough to start with mods IT'S NOT. A lot of mods have some form of conflict even if it's not obvious. Hit up Wrye Bash, search out any conflicts and do what it says on the tin. Then make a bash patch to make sure the mods you have will exist in a happy loving atmosphere together.

Make sure when you install a mod you have read the description to see if any other mods are required to run it. Missing out on required mods will screw up your game or cause it to CTD.

This may all sound incredibly obvious to people used to using mods but it's surprising how many people just use Mod Manager or the abomination that is Steam Workshop and think they are good to go then wonder why their game goes arse up.
 

ThePuzzldPirate

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My best guess it to uninstall everything to do with Skyrim and start fresh. Go vanilla and see if it crashes. if it does, next go to drivers or try to find out what exactly it is crashing on.
 

Disturbed-Hell

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Mar 18, 2010
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barbzilla said:
Rawne1980 said:
--again--
Sorry for the confusion, but just to clear that up, I was referring to the load order being irrelevant, not the missing mods. I know that not loading a requied mod can cause crashes, but changing the order of disabled mods will (to my knowlage at least) have no effect of the game.

Still, the load order of enabled mods is vital as a bad order can dozens of problems. However I don't see how it a bad load order can cause problems like the OP's. It sounds more like he's installed a bad mod or has hardware that is not fully compatable.
 

Rawne1980

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Disturbed-Hell said:
Sorry for the confusion, but just to clear that up, I was referring to the load order being irrelevant, not the missing mods. I know that not loading a requied mod can cause crashes, but changing the order of disabled mods will (to my knowlage at least) have no effect of the game.

Still, the load order of enabled mods is vital as a bad order can dozens of problems. However I don't see how it a bad load order can cause problems like the OP's. It sounds more like he's installed a bad mod or has hardware that is not fully compatable.
You are right there, load order of disabled mods won't matter at all.

Agreed on your second point as well.

I've seen load order cause CTD when not done right or mods not work correctly (missing textures etc) but i've not seen it corrupt a save.

Only time i've seen that is corrupt files in the mod or large mods with huge conflicts.

For example, I know running certain overhaul mods (flora, trees and grass) or some lighting mods alongside the 2K HD texture pack can serious frack up a game. Or housing mods that occupy the same world space.

Which is one the reason I always tell people to use TESedit, FOedit, BOSS and/or Wrye Bash so conflicts or missing masters/files can be sorted before booting up the game and getting any problems down the road. Same reason I always advise using Script Extender and, not in Skyrim though it's not needed, Archive Invalidation Invalidated.

Like I said, the amount of folk that just use Mod Manager and that immense fuck up that is Steam Workshop are begging for problems.
 

Joseph Harrison

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nexus said:
Rawne1980 said:
Okay so my current game plan is to uninstall Skyrim and all my mods, reinstall Skyrim, install BOSS and Wyrebash and then see if Skyrim works then.
Thanks for the advice, I'm sorry if I came across as ignorant I am rather new to modding.
rhizhim said:
Joseph Harrison said:
Start -> Control Panel -> Sound
Select the output speakers being used and click Properties
Under the advanced tab, change the sample rate to 24 bit / 44100 Hz or lower
What would this do?
rhizhim said:
and if you uninstall skyrim from your pc, run ccleaner ( http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner ) to get rid of the files that remain when you uninstall it.

also look here:
http://www.gamersnexus.net/features/82-swguides/846-skyrim-troubleshooting-mods?showall=1
Thanks for the links I downloaded the PC Cleaner thing and the website looks helpful.
 

sanquin

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I find it kind of funny. Oblivion and Skyrim are both -heavily- reliant on mods making the game playable for a large audience. Yet it's so easy to have conflicts and the like in said mods.

It would be nice if Bethesda would research into the mods a little, select a 'package' of mods that works together and properly fund said package. As in, pay the creators of the mods in the package a small sum of money to be allowed to 'use' them in an 'official' mod package. Would save a whole lot of people a whole lot of trouble.
 

Rawne1980

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Joseph Harrison said:
Okay so my current game plan is to uninstall Skyrim and all my mods, reinstall Skyrim, install BOSS and Wyrebash and then see if Skyrim works then.
Thanks for the advice, I'm sorry if I came across as ignorant I am rather new to modding.
It's not ignorance bud, we were all new to mods once and we've all made mistakes.

It wasn't you I was semi ranting at it was more to some of the people answering you.

Not one of them mentioned BOSS or Wrye Bash which are incredibly important if you are using multiple mods to point out errors and missing files/masters not to mention the Bash Patch from Wrye Bash that makes similar mods work together and all other mods want to be friends and hug.

It's fine if you are just using small mods like armour and weapons, they don't change anything unless it's a replacer and even then it's a mediocre change that won't do much if it goes wrong.

It's when you step into full graphical upgrades, gameplay overhauls or a small army of smaller mods it can be a problem.

A lot of people use other peoples resources to make their mods. For instance I use Calientes Female Body with an improved body texture to add muscle (because the CBBE body is too plain without it) and 3 mods for improving faces. They all overlap and use each other resources so I had to bash them together so they would work or I ended up with dark faces and white bodies.

Sometimes, in the mod description, they will tell you if any other mods are required but on the odd occasion they won't and it can cause corruptions.

BOSS also gives you the best load order for the mods you have which cuts down on most issues.

Sometimes though, you just find mods that flat out don't work. They have missing textures or, in the case of new ares/buldings, missing navmesh. Sometimes the mod is dead and hasn't been updated to work with new DLC or new patches and may break the game. Sometimes you have mods that require DLC and won't work if you don't have it yourself.

Mods can be annoying to get going right, especially if you use a lot like I do. It took me 12 hours to get all mine working properly. But once they are it can be a major improvement.

Quick word though, the biggest cause of problems for a lot of people are companions. For some reason, quite a few of the companions over on Nexus and Steam have some major issues. Same as I said above, some are incredibly broken (especially those with any sort of scripting like companions with quests) and some were made using outdated resources. A lot of people use Apachii hair which is now on version 1.5 but some companions require 1.4 which is now obsolete. Using the wrong mesh up will CTD.

Best thing to do is read the description of every single mod and then have a skim through the comments to see if anyone has any problems with it. If it's just one or two you will probably be okay but if it's quite a few with the same problem then avoid it unless you think you can manage Creation Kit to fix it yourself.

Then load BOSS up to give the load order and see if it comes up with any isses. Then load up Wrye Bash and see what that says, use Wrye to make a Bash Patch and then you are good to go.

It is a pain in the arse and takes longer than most people want but it saves trouble in the long run.
 

razor343

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Sorry if this has been mentioned but consider using the LARGE ADDRESS AWARENESS FIX. This is assuming that you have more than 2GB of RAM (Which, if you don't, then may doG have mercy on your soul.)
 

Kungfu_Teddybear

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It could be the load order of any mods you're running. If you're running mods and the mods aren't in a certain order it can cause crashes. If you're playing Skyrim modded I highly recommend using BOSS [http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6] to modify the load order.

EDIT: I see I have been ninja'd and BOSS has already been mentioned. Oh well.
 

Bvenged

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Sounds like corrupted game files. Try reinstalling it. Make a backup of your saves too, just in case you accidently delete them. I also recommend you give your computer some maintenance. Use the 2 system tools called Defrag and DiskCleanup, and then clean up the registry too with CCleaner.

I doubt it's a computer spec or compatibility issue if the game works fine up to lvl25. It's either bad game files and cache, or mods, or your computer needs a spring-clean and some oiling.

Kungfu gave some good advice too -
Kungfu_Teddybear said:
It could be the load order of any mods you're running. If you're running mods and the mods aren't in a certain order it can cause crashes. If you're playing Skyrim modded I highly recommend using BOSS [http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6] to modify the load order.