Oblivion fails to start

[jgf]

Oblivion was working fine. I installed the Construction Set and WryeBash (ran the latter but did nothing except "look around", it created a "BashedPatch, 0.esp" of 1k size in the data folder, which I did not activate), after which Oblivion would not even load, not even to the small DOS window in the upper left of the screen. Instead an error window immediately pops up about "exception unknown software exception" and "click close to terminate the program".

Activating the BashedPatch did nothing; nor did renaming oblivion.ini so the game would rebuild it (there was a couple of seconds pause while the .ini was created, then the error appeared). Three hours of reading online about this error in general and its appearance in Oblivion in particular elicited only two more possible solutions: remove all mods and/or move all saves from the save folder. Neither worked. Nor did uninstalling the CS and removing Wrye.

Finally I renamed both Oblivion folders, reinstalled the game and patch, added the mods and saved games to the new install, and all is well again. But what happened? I definitely want Wrye and the CS but haven't the patience to deal with continual reinstalls while trying to sort this out.

[Sniffles]

I had that once. It was BASH/BAIN/Python related. I had no clue how to fix and Wrye troubleshooting was overwhelming. Ended up doing what you did.
One thing I do recall was to check all paths and make sure everything was in the right folders.

[jgf]

I used the standalone Wrye so no python, merely two folders to add to the game. If Wrye is the culprit, whatever it did just by being run (no editing, cleaning, or tweaking, much less saving) so corrupted the base game that even deleting those folders, and the couple of Bash files created, didn't restore the game.

FWIW, the CS wouldn't run either; it would load the main screen then I'd get the same error window.

[Sniffles]

If you do ever get it figured out could you post about it? Could you also tell me why I was given the impression I really should have Wrye in the first place? What does it do?

[jgf]

I'm familiar with WryeMash for Morrowind so assume WryeBash for Oblivion is similar. It contains numerous options for cleaning mods of dirty entries, adjusting load order, cleaning saves, etc. It will scan active mods and indicate possible conflicts (two mods editing the same item, etc.); if you disable a mod you can run Wrye on your saves to remove references to that mod.

It does nothing necessary for the game, but periodic cleaning of save files and checking newly installed mods definitely makes the game more stable.

wryemusings.com/#Oblivion


FWIW, we are not alone with this crash, I've found several threads regarding it (such as forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/430268-oblivion-wrye-bash-startup-crash-issue/). Only recommendation I haven't already tried is to use an older version of Bash (290 or 291 is suggested, but that doesn't work for everyone either); and there's still the issue that if the version you install doesn't work you must reinstall Oblivion again.

[Sniffles]

Now I'm living in fear. I suppose if it hasn't gone fut by now everything will be fine. It's frustrating to me, things like this. I have a problem long ago, installed Wrye to clean it up, then forgot why I installed it and how to use it. It's like discovering a strange appliance on your kitchen counter, lurking behind the toaster over. You know it was very important once, but now you have no idea why you have it taking up counter space.