(Solved) Oblivion crashes upon startup (app error or gpu drivers?)

[LesboIsBesto]

So I havent booted up Oblivion in a long time and wanted to play today but it immediately crashes upon launching through Steam. I have no idea why as I have not touched it myself or any of its files in AGES. No new mods, no directory changes, nothing. I have the same mod setup as I did the last time I played months ago & Steam has no updates for the game obviously so no clue where this is coming from.

 

I 1st thought maybe launching the game from OBMM would change things, but the launch button gives me a message saying its not for that so thats off the list. Then I try from my desktop shortcut, doesnt work either. Tried through the exe file directly and it gives me "Application load error 5:0000065434", not sure what this means and Google didnt help me understand this any better. One thing I should note is for some reason when I 1st launched from Steam it said it could not detect my video hardware, even though it shows my GPU in the Options tab. Does it mean my drivers are the issue? I updated my NVidia drivers awhile ago when Overwatch gave me some disturbing graphical issues 3 weeks ago that reminded me of when my GPU burned out so I updated my drivers out of fear of it happening again.

 

If anyone can tell me if my drivers are the problem or can better explain that application error, Id appreciate it

 

EDIT: Here's some more steps I tried that havent worked:

 

Deleted the documents folder for Oblivion in "My Games"

Run Steam as Admin

Run Oblivion.exe as Admin

Copied Steam to Oblivion directory

Verified integrity of game files in Steam

Run Oblivion though GeForce Experience

Deleting INI file in "My Games"

[Sladen2019]

This can be a number of things. It could be one of yours mods missing a Master file.. Maybe AV is blocking it. You are probably best off doing a full reinstall of the game. After reinstall, don't add any mods yet to see if it works.

[fejeena]

And missing DirectX files ?

 

The My Games folder is not the problem , there are your save files.

The problem is the game/Steam in C : program files (x86) ....

 

And yes wrong load order and missing masterfiles can crash the game at start.

 

Read my yellow Link below.

 

[LesboIsBesto]

2 hours ago, fejeena said:

And missing DirectX files ?

 

The My Games folder is not the problem , there are your save files.

The problem is the game/Steam in C : program files (x86) ....

 

And yes wrong load order and missing masterfiles can crash the game at start.

 

Read my yellow Link below.

 

My game is installed in my HDD drive, not the C drive. All of my games are not installed in the C drive x86 folder. Steam on the other hand has always been in the C x86 folder and it didn't stop the game from not working back then.

 

I tried launching the game without my save files after deleting that entire folder, still wouldn't launch.

 

Again, I have had the same load order I had since I last played months ago and it worked back then so how it can it be keeping it from launching now?

 

I'm not sure about missing DirectX files, how would it look in the file structure? When I search my PC, it does not appear in Oblivion but it shows up in some other games as "steam/steampps/common/gamename/_commonredist/directx/june2010 and that last folder is empty. Should that folder be in Oblivion's directory and look just like that or does the folder being empty mean that's the problem? I don't know how my PC would randomly get rid of the older DirectX files since I have not updated my OS and again, I have made no changes myself to Oblivion in a long time.

[LesboIsBesto]

7 hours ago, Sladen2019 said:

This can be a number of things. It could be one of yours mods missing a Master file.. Maybe AV is blocking it. You are probably best off doing a full reinstall of the game. After reinstall, don't add any mods yet to see if it works.

What is AV? Also how can mods that let the game work all the time the last times I played suddenly keep the game from launching months later if I havent touched them? When I did 1st install them, I made some custom changes to models and textures and NPCs (again all of this worked without hassle). I cannot go through setting all of this up again for hours unless there's a way to back them up (do not have a backup drive)

[Sladen2019]

5 hours ago, LesboIsBesto said:

What is AV? Also how can mods that let the game work all the time the last times I played suddenly keep the game from launching months later if I havent touched them? When I did 1st install them, I made some custom changes to models and textures and NPCs (again all of this worked without hassle). I cannot go through setting all of this up again for hours unless there's a way to back them up (do not have a backup drive)

AV is antivirus. Maybe one of Windows 10 updates reset your directx files. You should try running this utility again. If it finds any that are missing, it will download them and install them for you.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

[fejeena]

Yes DirectX  is Windows not the game. But Oblivion is old and need old DirectX files. If you install Windowa 10 you have only new DirectX files, so you install the old files.

Download Link see Sladens post above. 

But if you have played Oblivion with the Windows installation you have now  you have the old DirectX .

 

And AntiVirus can crash the game at start. Or the Construction set. With my Anti Virus the game works but the CS crash and error message. And that can happen after a AV update  ( so an hour ago you was able to play and the next time you start the game or CS it crash.

So I set my Oblivion folder to the ignore/exceptions list in my Anti Virus program.

 

 

[LesboIsBesto]

1 hour ago, Sladen2019 said:

AV is antivirus. Maybe one of Windows 10 updates reset your directx files. You should try running this utility again. If it finds any that are missing, it will download them and install them for you.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

 

14 minutes ago, fejeena said:

Yes DirectX  is Windows not the game. But Oblivion is old and need old DirectX files. If you install Windowa 10 you have only new DirectX files, so you install the old files.

Download Link see Sladens post above. 

But if you have played Oblivion with the Windows installation you have now  you have the old DirectX .

 

And AntiVirus can crash the game at start. Or the Construction set. With my Anti Virus the game works but the CS crash and error message. And that can happen after a AV update  ( so an hour ago you was able to play and the next time you start the game or CS it crash.

So I set my Oblivion folder to the ignore/exceptions list in my Anti Virus program.

 

 

Now Im really confused because I have not updated Windows 10 at all since maybe early 2018 (before I bought Oblivion on Steam). Also I have no Antivirus at all or at least no 3rd party ones, just Windows Defender if that counts but it has not interfered with the game launching in the past. I just tried the link and it gave me this result:

 

 

Also I should note that this appeared in my Oblivion directory:

 

So what do I do at this point because June2010 isnt in this list? I tried the download link in the yellow link as well and it asked which folder do I place the extracted files in? So where do they go exactly?

[Sladen2019]

Your directx is uptodate. The web installer and the offline installer automatically put whichever files are missing, to where they go for you. You can delete the web installer and the offline installer. The offline installer comes with all files. When you run it, it extracts them to wherever you put that exe to. You can safely delete the files that it extracted. Windows Defender might be foolishly blocking it. Windows Defender is Antivirus. You should try whitelisting the Oblivion game folder. I dont know how to do that, but its easily Googleable for you. Unless you absolutely need it, you should get rid of Geforce Experience. It buggers up ini files.

[fejeena]

I said you have the DirectX files  if you have played Oblivion with your current Win10 installation.  So you have all files. ( I do not know why you have a Oblivion DirectX folder ? I don't have such a folder in my Oblivion folder. DirectX  is in my Windows folders in C.  Or is it a Steam  thing ? I do not have Steam.  But it doesn't matter you have DirectX )

 

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

And if your  Anti Virus Program have the name Windows Defender  you set the Oblivion folder in that program to ignore/exceptions/whitelisting ( can have other names, I do not have Windows Defender  )

[LesboIsBesto]

2 hours ago, Sladen2019 said:

Your directx is uptodate. The web installer and the offline installer automatically put whichever files are missing, to where they go for you. You can delete the web installer and the offline installer. The offline installer comes with all files. When you run it, it extracts them to wherever you put that exe to. You can safely delete the files that it extracted. Windows Defender might be foolishly blocking it. Windows Defender is Antivirus. You should try whitelisting the Oblivion game folder. I dont know how to do that, but its easily Googleable for you. Unless you absolutely need it, you should get rid of Geforce Experience. It buggers up ini files.

GeForce is necessary for me but it doesn't even work in Oblivion so cannot be whats causing it.

58 minutes ago, fejeena said:

I said you have the DirectX files  if you have played Oblivion with your current Win10 installation.  So you have all files. ( I do not know why you have a Oblivion DirectX folder ? I don't have such a folder in my Oblivion folder. DirectX  is in my Windows folders in C.  Or is it a Steam  thing ? I do not have Steam.  But it doesn't matter you have DirectX )

 

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

And if your  Anti Virus Program have the name Windows Defender  you set the Oblivion folder in that program to ignore/exceptions/whitelisting ( can have other names, I do not have Windows Defender  )

I whitelisted the game & still does not work, keeps throwing out that Application Load Error. I even tried running the game both in and out of XP compatibility mode this time around too & doesnt work.

 

EDIT: Noticed for some fucking reason OBSE's loader exe file was missing from the directory so following the instructions of the yellow link, I copied the required files into my directory again, did not change anything. Really hoped that was the issue here -_-

[fejeena]

With Steam you do not need the OBSE's loader exe . You start the game with the Oblivion.exe or with Steam.  Never use the OblivionLauncher.exe !!!

Do you have the right Steam stettings ? See my yellow Link.

[LesboIsBesto]

1 hour ago, fejeena said:

With Steam you do not need the OBSE's loader exe . You start the game with the Oblivion.exe or with Steam.  Never use the OblivionLauncher.exe !!!

Do you have the right Steam stettings ? See my yellow Link.

Oh right, my mistake. And yes Steam's overlay is still checked as usable for Oblivion.

[LesboIsBesto]

On 10/5/2019 at 10:28 PM, fejeena said:

With Steam you do not need the OBSE's loader exe . You start the game with the Oblivion.exe or with Steam.  Never use the OblivionLauncher.exe !!!

Do you have the right Steam stettings ? See my yellow Link.

 

On 10/5/2019 at 7:28 PM, Sladen2019 said:

Your directx is uptodate. The web installer and the offline installer automatically put whichever files are missing, to where they go for you. You can delete the web installer and the offline installer. The offline installer comes with all files. When you run it, it extracts them to wherever you put that exe to. You can safely delete the files that it extracted. Windows Defender might be foolishly blocking it. Windows Defender is Antivirus. You should try whitelisting the Oblivion game folder. I dont know how to do that, but its easily Googleable for you. Unless you absolutely need it, you should get rid of Geforce Experience. It buggers up ini files.

Are there any other solutions you two might know of? Tried a few more from Reddit & had no luck.

[fejeena]

No.

Have you did all I wrote in my yellow Link?

 

And is it the game without any Mods?

 

Like I wrote in my yellow Link, first you install Oblivion with Shivering isle and the latest patch ( think with steam you get the latest patch version )

 

THEN YOU TEST YOUR GAME before you install OBSE or any other tools ( 4GB patch , stutter remover , OBMM or ... NOTHING ! You test if the game works. ) 

Seems this step many people ignore. Then I can only say:  Own fault if the game does not work. because if you install tools and mods in a not working game ... that just makes it worse.

Start game with Oblivion.exe.

 

And when you have a working game install not all tools at once! test often so you know which tools cause problems. The same with Mods, install a few, then test. ( so many people do "I want it all, I want it now" and install all at once. )

 

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

If you try to get  a game with Mods to work  then it can be the load order.  You told you have OBMM installed, so you have Mods? Post your load order, maybe that is the reason why the game does not strat.

[LesboIsBesto]

26 minutes ago, fejeena said:

No.

Have you did all I wrote in my yellow Link?

 

And is it the game without any Mods?

 

Like I wrote in my yellow Link, first you install Oblivion with Shivering isle and the latest patch ( think with steam you get the latest patch version )

 

THEN YOU TEST YOUR GAME before you install OBSE or any other tools ( 4GB patch , stutter remover , OBMM or ... NOTHING ! You test if the game works. ) 

Seems this step many people ignore. Then I can only say:  Own fault if the game does not work. because if you install tools and mods in a not working game ... that just makes it worse.

Start game with Oblivion.exe.

 

And when you have a working game install not all tools at once! test often so you know which tools cause problems. The same with Mods, install a few, then test. ( so many people do "I want it all, I want it now" and install all at once. )

 

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

If you try to get  a game with Mods to work  then it can be the load order.  You told you have OBMM installed, so you have Mods? Post your load order, maybe that is the reason why the game does not strat.

I haven't uninstalled Oblivion yet because I want to be sure that I can take the games files as they are now, including the ones from mods as they are currently installed, & back them up somewhere on my PC along with my save files so that once I'm sure the game works without them from a fresh install, I can inject them back into the game's directory & it will work like it used to. I know not to overwrite certain files that will be installed by Steam but as for everything else like models, textures, esp files, i want to know if putting my current files back in the system as they are now will work? Alot of these files were modified to fit my playstyle like changing the models of creatures, turning most male NPC's female, my ENB settings, etc. that could only be done from scratch initially. 

[Sladen2019]

Try a differnt Steam game, and if you can, differnt Bethesda game. If they all work, then its something with your Oblivion install.  ENB and ENBoost are known to be problematic for Oblivion on Windows 10. You can try removing their files.

[LesboIsBesto]

2 hours ago, Sladen2019 said:

Try a differnt Steam game, and if you can, differnt Bethesda game. If they all work, then its something with your Oblivion install.  ENB and ENBoost are known to be problematic for Oblivion on Windows 10. You can try removing their files.

IT WAS THE FUCKING ENB OH MY FUCKING GOD I AM SO UPSET THAT GOOGLE NEVER SHOWED ANYONE ELSE DISCOVERING THIS

 

Before deleting the ENB files, I already checked Skyrim, Fallout 4, Skyrim SE, Fallout New Vegas & even Morrowind, all worked without issue. If either or both the ENB I used and ENBoost are the issue, I'm not sure if I can I can manage my FPS because they are whats kept the game from jumping over 60 fps. Oblivion Stutter Remover stopped working a while back (at least the FPS manager inside it stopped working, never noticed or touched its other functions) & fresh installs of that didn't solve it back then

 

I feel I should also explain that the reason am so against a fresh reinstall of Oblivion is that Steam once overwrote my Skyrim directory with an install of CK. Thank fuck Nexus Manager preserved literally the entire load order, FOmod settings, and intricate changes I made to files barring a few small outliers but since then, am always wary of reinstalling games.

 

Anyways, I just booted up the game and did random shit as I would normally play, the game seems to run fine although the FPS will randomly stutter here & there, not sure if OSR is doing its job or its cuz of the lack of ENBoost/ENB. Also the issue of my FPS dropping hard from multiple continuous sex animations is still present but not my biggest concern at the moment. My ENB was a really nice looking one & I'd be glad to get it working again if you have or Fejeena have any suggestions?

[Sladen2019]

Oblivion Reloaded is very nice for graphics. Its not ENB, but it can get very close.  Using that and various HD Textures can make the game look really good.

Version 7.0 is the current latest, but it makes the game crash if you also use the mod called Enhanced Camera. Version 6.5 works fine with Enhanced Camera.

You can get Oblivion Reloaded from this link. It probably requires signing up to view the links. Its the best place also for technical support with it.

http://tesreloaded.com/

 

These days OR comes with many features and some that you may want to disable. This link has a guide that can help you configure it.

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/articles/44296

[LesboIsBesto]

2 hours ago, Sladen2019 said:

Oblivion Reloaded is very nice for graphics. Its not ENB, but it can get very close.  Using that and various HD Textures can make the game look really good.

Version 7.0 is the current latest, but it makes the game crash if you also use the mod called Enhanced Camera. Version 6.5 works fine with Enhanced Camera.

You can get Oblivion Reloaded from this link. It probably requires signing up to view the links. Its the best place also for technical support with it.

http://tesreloaded.com/

 

These days OR comes with many features and some that you may want to disable. This link has a guide that can help you configure it.

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/articles/44296

this looks like something I may not be able to get working correctly, so imma hold off on it for now. As for what I have now, ENBoost alone is confirmed for now as not the cause of the crashing as the game boots up fine with it installed without any ENB. Using my old one with the current settings causes a crash while using a 2nd one I downloaded but never used is not showing as a reliable test because ENBoost isnt using its effects for some reason.

 

Using the old ENB from a fresh download on default settings appear to be working. Im now going to attempt to reinstate all my old settings one by one to determine the cause of the crashes. At least I can leave the FPS limiter out already as its currently redundant for some reason i guess

 

EDIT: K im still a dumbass. I mixed up the the ENBs based on what I had installed already and the other one I never got working & found out that my ENB (the correct one this time) is causing at least one other person to crash his game too. He had it only a few weeks ago and never got an answer while I installed this ENB back in DECEMBER before him and as I said, it worked perfectly fine back then so something is definitely wrong with this ENB:

 

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45492?tab=description

 

UPDATE: So after digging and rereading through the comments of that ENB's page, I realized that deleting the dxgi.dll file is basically mandatory for the ENB to work. Author doesn't say so himself but that is the problem and thats the solution there^

 

Anyho, game seems to be working now and I preserved my games files, thnx for the help u two :3

 

Now I have to find out how this phantom file appeared in my game folder if it was always the cause of these crashes unless it only causes the crashes starting those few weeks ago???