CTDs becoming more and more frequent

[raptor4d4]

I've been working on a comic series for quite some time now.  Just finished Part 31 and I've got pics taken through at least Part 42.  And I'm nowhere near done with the series.  I still have a lot more planned.

 

But with the save files I've been using, CTDs have become more and more common.  Today I've been struggling with them constantly and they've been happening at very odd or random times.  Never used to be like this. 

 

Now I have installed and uninstalled various mods along the way.  Recently all I've really installed are some new outfit mods.  And I've uninstalled all mods I feel I can do without.  But still the CTDs are a problem.

 

Anyone recommend a fix?  Or are my saves just too "old" for lack of a better term?  Have I been using them too long?  I don't relish the idea of trying to recreate my character and certain circumstances but it would be feasible.  What are the general recommendations in a situation like this? 

[Comrade Isbariya]

First, if you're not using racemenu, have a look at the Nexus, download and install it. (Version 3.4.x I think) 

With it you can save your current character as a preset, so you will only have to load that preset if you have to ecreate it, and you're done. (might be that you have to change face textures again if you're using any custom ones, but that's it.) 

 

Second, have a look at the guide I linked in my signature, it has many useful tips on stability and performance. (if you're not using Crash Fixes and stuff yet) with all download links and detailed descriptions on how to use it.  

[RW311]

I would use save tool and clean out the orphaned scripts, then clean your save and from there you should end up with a hopefully stable save to work from. Uninstalling mods mid game will leave data in the saves and that will always cause you problems later on.

[El_Duderino]

...

Now I have installed and uninstalled various mods along the way.  Recently all I've really installed are some new outfit mods.  And I've uninstalled all mods I feel I can do without.  But still the CTDs are a problem.

...

 

That's most likely the cause for the crashes, leftovers of the uninstalled mods lurking in your savegame and causing trouble. You should try your luck with the aforementioned SaveTool (or also the ReSaver tool from LL here), but generally you should avoid uninstalling stuff mid-game. Some mods come with an "uninstall" function in their MCM, use that if you absolutely must remove a mod.

 

However, overall I would still recommend not altering your load order once a new game has been started -- adding new .esp's to the end of the load order is about the only thing you can more or less safely do (unless those newly added mods then overwrite tons of crucial things from other mods in your load order).

 

All that applies to mods with .esp/.esm's. Texture packs, body replacers, and many SKSE plugins can usually be changed at any time.

[Kjuzhren]

I would use save tool and clean out the orphaned scripts, then clean your save and from there you should end up with a hopefully stable save to work from. Uninstalling mods mid game will leave data in the saves and that will always cause you problems later on.

The irritating thing is when you clean your saves only to find out it CTD's even more XD

[Comrade Isbariya]

 

I would use save tool and clean out the orphaned scripts, then clean your save and from there you should end up with a hopefully stable save to work from. Uninstalling mods mid game will leave data in the saves and that will always cause you problems later on.

The irritating thing is when you clean your saves only to find out it CTD's even more XD

 

 

Themn you may have done it wrong. 

[kepler78]

First, if you're not using racemenu, have a look at the Nexus, download and install it. (Version 3.4.x I think) 

With it you can save your current character as a preset, so you will only have to load that preset if you have to ecreate it, and you're done. (might be that you have to change face textures again if you're using any custom ones, but that's it.) 

 

Second, have a look at the guide I linked in my signature, it has many useful tips on stability and performance. (if you're not using Crash Fixes and stuff yet) with all download links and detailed descriptions on how to use it.  

 

With RaceMenu, and Alternate Start ( http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557/? ), you can recreate a character in 5 minutes. Moreover, this system is useful because you can just create two characters (one female, one male) very quick, to set it up on MCM, and then, u just have to load your race and face to be ready to play.

 

I've reboot my saves 3 or 4 times since I play Skyrim, and byr this way it is really fast to create new saves to fight against old dirty saves.

 

U can use it too : http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52363/?

.

To clean saves, it can clean saves, refs, etc

[sen4mi]

I imagine we are supposed to be greatful that governments have been investing in malware instead of nuclear weapons, and that companies have been cutting corners and costs and trying to defend themselves by insisting no one understand their software, and that the hardware people have been shutting down and...

 

Seriously, it is kind of amazing anything works at all.

 

Personally, though, I have a great suggestion:

 

Find a goat, kill it, and draw a circle on your lawn with its blood. If you do this right, all the CTDs will stop. If the CTDs continue, you did it wrong and you need to try again. Or, your money back.

 

(A better approach would be if there were tools for isolating these kinds of problems, and ... nah... just go with the goat.)

[raptor4d4]

Thanks for all the advice.  Normally I try to avoid uninstalling mods mid-playthrough but it was my ill-conceived attempt to add some more stability to this save.  I'll try one of those save cleaners.

 

Out of curiosity, do they give you a list of all the scripts they clean up?  I'm curious how many orphan scripts I actually have. 

[RW311]

save tool will tell you how many orphaned scripts, I have not used any others for a long time.

[Susano69]

Clean your master files with tes5edit  , had the same problem today and that made my game load faster and stop ctds , use loot to see if there are any dirty plugins and clean them

[Dubhorizon]

Without a load list and papyrus logs it's hard to say what's wrong. But the main advice is always the same. The more mods you have the worse it is. When you start a new game it won't be visible, but the more you play, make changes, do things in game, the more and more the strain on the engine. So by level 40 you will be having issues. No matter what save game tool you use, if you remove scripted mods mid-game, there will be problems. Remove most scripted mods and start a new game. While you are at it get the latest ENB (you can use it without the graphics, just for the memory patch) and set DataSyncMode=1.

[Comrade Isbariya]

Save game script cleaner does show you what it is deleting if you write something in the box on the upper left, as far as I know, it should be shown there somewhere. (like a bunch of #'s or stuff) 

But it tells you the number of orphaned scripts it removed anyway, if you want the list or not. ANd it creates a backup of your save before it touches it too. 

[raptor4d4]

Gave that script cleaner a try.  Said it cleaned 2,121 scripts.  That definitely sounds like a lot to me.  Is that a common amount? 

 

Hard to tell if it has made a big different.  Still have gotten a few CTDs.  Going to play some more and try out some more steps later. 

[raptor4d4]

Well all of this ultimate has become a moot point.

 

Delved a little further and found several other mods have broken.  Mods that this comic playthrough simply can't do without.  So I am wiping the slate clean with a fresh save. 

 

I've updated a couple mods I've been meaning to update and went through my list and eliminated a bunch of mods.  Several of these mods I may have needed in the early stages of the comic but now?  Unnecessary.  Fortunately I think only a small handful of quests will need to be redone to catch up to where I really need to be for my comic. 

 

Before my cleaning, LOOT said I had 238 plugins active.  Now I have 186.  Hopefully this will be enough to keep things relatively stable.  Everything else I will need now or in the near future.  This time I WILL NOT remove any mods mid-playthrough.  May add one or two later as I need them but nothing will be removed.  Hope this works.

 

Thanks for all the help! 

[Comrade Isbariya]

Over 2000 scripts cleaned? Woah! I never made it over ~100. 

But yeah I'm at 183 mods on my active plugin list and everything works fine, after stopping to remove stuff again I didn't have to start over again. 

 

If you really have to install a mod in the middle of a playthrough, you should save twice before doing so (so yu have a backup), using the newest save to test the mod, and if you don't want it get rid of it completely before going back to the other save you made, that keeps your current one clean too. 

 

But yeah I hope it works better now.