(SOLVED) MO 2 (2.5.2) - start the game, but the game exit (crashes?) running just before opening GUI

[4ndr34]

I have 2 different PC, one gaming rig desktop, actually full tower, PC and a laptop.
I usually play a decently modded Starfield with my gaming rig, the desktop, using MO 2 without any issue.

Due to the fact that I upgraded the storage of my laptop I have installed Starfield in my laptop too, to play it on the move, I installed MO 2, installed SFSE and a couple of other SFSE scripts but when I try to run the game using MO 2, it starts sfse_loader without any apparent issue, then Strarfield, and after a while, before any Starfield GUI, the game closes (or CTD) without any apparent message, before closing and unlocking the MO 2 interface it tells me that it is running nvngx_update, but I see no trace in the logs of it, then the process shuts down silently and MO 2 interface is unlocked again.

The version of the game, of MO 2 and of every mod are exactly the same for both the gaming rig and the laptop, MO 2 is installed inside a fully writable directory for both the PC and the laptop.

The differences between the gaming rig and the laptop are:
Gaming rig PC: CPU AMD Ryzen 9 5950x, 64GB RAM, RTX3090, MS Windows 10 Pro 22H2 Starfield on SATA SSD.
Laptop: CPU AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 32GB RAM, RTX3070 (laptop), MS Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Starfield on NVMe SSD PCIe Gen 4.

MO 2 on the laptop is able to run both NMS and Skyrim without any issue, but it seems unable to launch Starfield. On the laptop if I try to run sfse_loader.exe directly, without using MO 2, it launches the game, Starfield without any issue.

What am I missing? Why MO 2 is working on the gaming rig without any issue at all but it's failing to launch the game on the laptop? Why MO 2 on the laptop is able to launch without any issue other games but it seems unable to launch Starfield? Why am I able to launch Starfield without any issue directly?

Any help is very much appreciated.

EDIT: Thx to anyone has replied and above all to oak that insisted in the right way.
It seems I solved my issue.
What I made to solve it:

• Checked again both NVIDIA Control Panel and MS Windows 11 Settings -> Display -> Graphics, paying attention that all the exes (starfield.exe, modorganizer.exe and sfse_loader.exe) are using the discrete GPU and not the CPU integrated one, in MS Windows 11 Settings -> Display -> Graphics I have disabled for the exes (starfield.exe, modorganizer.exe and sfse_loader.exe) the optimizations for windowed games.
  
• Checked again my AV (Bitdefender) exceptions, being sure that all the MO 2 folders, the whole game (Starfield) folder and any interested exes (starfield.exe, modorganizer.exe and sfse_loader.exe) have all the possible exceptions from the AV.

Follow up: it seems that either the 2 GPUs or the AV were silently, whitout any trace in any log, making MO 2 failing to run the game. Now it works and I'm happy in such a way, I don't feel the need to investigate any further if it was the 2 GPUs issue or the AV.

It just works...

[AuddieD]

Never mind. I am at a loss.

[4ndr34]

Originally posted by AuddieD:

When you launch with SFSE directly, no mods are being loaded. MO2 uses a virtual file system instead of installing into the game folder. You aren't crashing because the mod causing the crash is not loaded.

You need to disable all your mods and enable them a couple at a time until you crash. Then you can narrow it down. It's a pain but the only way I know of.

You are right, but unfortunately it (CTD) even without any mod at all..., I have tried to launch even Starfield from MO 2 without any mod and without SFSE same behavior.

Anywyay I use the same mods, exactly the same version, that I use on my gaming rig PC, so why they don't crash on my gaming rig PC but on my laptop they aren't working?

[4ndr34]

Originally posted by AuddieD:

Never mind. I am at a loss.

It's OK, and thank you to have tried to help me, usually I'm not asking for help and I'm able to fix it by myself, but this time I have really no idea how to cope with this issue, I would just want to play the game on my laptop too...

[AuddieD]

I was looking and it looks like nvngx_update might be your problem. So maybe a driver issue. But since it loads without mods, I am not sure. Are you running out of RAM?

[AuddieD]

I doubt you are though. 32GB is more than enough. Just helping you guess at this point. LOL

[tkwoods]

Could it be a save issue? How do you play the same save on two machines?

[tkwoods]

What about the starfieldpref.ini files?

[oak]

Don't have a lingering DLSS mod left in the Starfield folder do you?

[4ndr34]

Originally posted by tkwoods:

Could it be a save issue? How do you play the same save on two machines?

I have not still copied the saves from my gaming rig PC to the laptop...

Originally posted by tkwoods:

What about the starfieldpref.ini files?

Here it is its content:

[Display]
fRenderResolutionScaleFactor=0.6200
uiLastVersionAutodetectRun=1
uiMigratedRendererSettingsFlags=1
uiUpscaleTech=4294967295
iSize H=1049
iSize W=1920
iLocation X=-8
uDisplayHash=1447668589
[Quality]
uGlobalRendererQuality=2
[Bethesda.net]
uPersistentUuidData3_Steam=3579492018
uPersistentUuidData2_Steam=2535794480
uPersistentUuidData1_Steam=522469694
uPersistentUuidData0_Steam=3020730492
[Volumes]
bShowVolumeGeometry=0
[General]
bDisplayCreditCTA=0
uiMarketplaceUpdatedHash=0
[Legal]
iHasUserAcceptedVersion=1
bHasUserAccepted=1

And about my StarfieldCustom.ini:

[General]
sStartingConsoleCommand=bat GameSettingsAIO
bRenamePropertiesOnMaterialSwap=0
uExterior Cell Buffer=36
SGPUDefaultQualitySettingsJSON=DefaultGlobalGraphicsSettings.json

[Display]
uiUpscaleTech=3

[Menu]
bUseConsoleHotkeys=1

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
SResourceArchiveList=Starfield - Animations.ba2, Starfield - DensityMaps.ba2, Starfield - FaceAnimation01.ba2, Starfield - FaceAnimation02.ba2, Starfield - FaceAnimation03.ba2, Starfield - FaceAnimation04.ba2, Starfield - FaceAnimationPatch.ba2, Starfield - FaceMeshes.ba2, Starfield - GeneratedTextures.ba2, Starfield - LODMeshes.ba2, Starfield - LODMeshesPatch.ba2, Starfield - Materials.ba2, Starfield - Meshes01.ba2, Starfield - Meshes02.ba2, Starfield - MeshesPatch.ba2, Starfield - Misc.ba2, Starfield - Particles.ba2, Starfield - PlanetData.ba2, Starfield - Terrain01.ba2, Starfield - Terrain02.ba2, Starfield - Terrain03.ba2, Starfield - Terrain04.ba2, Starfield - TerrainPatch.ba2
sResourceIndexFileList=Starfield - LODTextures01.ba2, Starfield - LODTextures02.ba2, Starfield - Textures01.ba2, Starfield - Textures02.ba2, Starfield - Textures03.ba2, Starfield - Textures04.ba2, Starfield - Textures05.ba2, Starfield - Textures06.ba2, Starfield - Textures07.ba2, Starfield - Textures08.ba2, Starfield - Textures09.ba2, Starfield - Textures10.ba2, Starfield - Textures11.ba2, Starfield - TexturesPatch.ba2
SResourceArchiveMemoryCacheList=Starfield - Interface.ba2, Starfield - Misc.ba2
sResourceStartUpArchiveList=Starfield - Interface.ba2, Starfield - Localization.ba2, Starfield - Shaders.ba2, Starfield - ShadersBeta.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSounds01.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSounds02.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSounds03.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSounds04.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSounds05.ba2, Starfield - WwiseSoundsPatch.ba2, BlueprintShips-Starfield - Localization.ba2
sResourceEnglishVoiceList=Starfield - Voices01.ba2, Starfield - Voices02.ba2, Starfield - VoicesPatch.ba2

[Camera]
fMouseWheelZoomIncrement=0.2
bConstrainWorkshopIsoCamToBuildArea=0
[Workshop]
rHavesterInteriorBorderColor=0,98,0
rHavesterExteriorBorderColor=0,98,0
fOutpostSnapWaitForPostSnapCycleTime=-50.0000
fOutpostSnapPreviewWaitForPreviewTime=-50.0000
fOutpostSnapPreviewHoldSnappedTime=-50.0000
fWorkshopItemWouldBeSnappedDistance=0.1000
fWorkshopItemConnectPointQueryRadius=0.1500
fClosestPointToleranceLargeItems=-1.5000
bWorkshopAutoSaveOnExit=1
fBudgetBaseline=99999.0000
fBudgetBaseCost=0.0000
bBudgetEnabled=0
fItemRotationSpeedMax=2.5000
fItemRotationSpeed=0.5000
[Wwise]
iDefaultExternalCodecID=4

EDIT: StarfieldCustom.ini is exactly the same on the gaming rig PC, about starfieldpref.ini it changed just the resolution (gaming rig is iSize H=1409
iSize W=2560).

Originally posted by oak:

Don't have a lingering DLSS mod left in the Starfield folder do you?

As far as I know I don't use any DLSS mod, on the laptop it fails with

1. Address Library For SFSE Plugins - All in one - v17 (1.14.74.0)
   
2. Baka Achievement Enabler 5.0.0
   
3. BetterConsole SFSE 1.4.3

On the gaming rig I have other 36 mods, but that 3 are the same in the first places, in the same order...

[oak]

That StarfieldCustom.ini file has a lot more in it than mine. Is that ini file from an MO2 profile folder path, or the windows user\documents\my games\starfield\ folder?

If it's an ini from a profile folder and it's trying to run a batch of commands, I wonder if either the batch has some dependency or the file itself isn't there:
sStartingConsoleCommand=bat GameSettingsAIO

I'd be tempted to drop a 'clean' StarfieldCustom.ini file in (renaming your original, of course) and see if that made an impact.
That's just a thought.

My StarfieldCustom.ini base for reference:

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

[Display]
bVolumetricLightingEnable=1
bVolumetricLightingUseDistanceCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseOcclusionCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseWeatherSettings=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableDistantScattering=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableScatteringVolume=1
bVolumetricLigthingInLiteBrite=0
bVolumetricLightingUseAreaLights=0
bVolumetricLigthingUseLightGobos=0
bEnableVolumetricLightingOnParticles=0
bVolumetricLightingEnableNearSpatialFiltering=0
bVolumetricLightingFogMapUseWeatherSettings=0

[jobo3010]

What's wrong with just playing the base game vanilla? I hear a lot on this forum that the game is perfect as is. Should be enough to enjoy "on the move".

[4ndr34]

Originally posted by oak:

That StarfieldCustom.ini file has a lot more in it than mine. Is that ini file from an MO2 profile folder path, or the windows user\documents\my games\starfield\ folder?

If it's an ini from a profile folder and it's trying to run a batch of commands, I wonder if either the batch has some dependency or the file itself isn't there:
sStartingConsoleCommand=bat GameSettingsAIO

I'd be tempted to drop a 'clean' StarfieldCustom.ini file in (renaming your original, of course) and see if that made an impact.
That's just a thought.

My StarfieldCustom.ini base for reference:

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

[Display]
bVolumetricLightingEnable=1
bVolumetricLightingUseDistanceCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseOcclusionCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseWeatherSettings=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableDistantScattering=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableScatteringVolume=1
bVolumetricLigthingInLiteBrite=0
bVolumetricLightingUseAreaLights=0
bVolumetricLigthingUseLightGobos=0
bEnableVolumetricLightingOnParticles=0
bVolumetricLightingEnableNearSpatialFiltering=0
bVolumetricLightingFogMapUseWeatherSettings=0

Thx Oak for your reply.

GameSettingsAIO is my game settings that I use on my gaming rig PC https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/1071.

Both INIs files are from MO 2 profile (default) and MO 2 is configured to use profile INIs,

Anyway because I understand that I need to focus to make it working I have followed your suggestion, and I have dropped a 'clean' StarfieldCustom.ini, I have made some trials but unfortunately I have got the exact same behavior.

In details I have tried:

1. Using exactly your own StarfieldCustom.ini - same behavior.
   
2. Creating a new instance with MO 2, using the following StarfieldCustom.ini

   [Archive]
   bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
   sResourceDataDirsFinal=
   

   no mods at all. - exact same behavior.
   
3. Deleting any INIs file contained in the "Documents\My Games\Starfield" folder, launching the game directly, without using MO 2, it worked again, then I have configured no Dynamic Resolution in the Display settings of the game, it has created a brand new StarfieldPrefs.ini

   [Display]
   fRenderResolutionScaleFactor=1.0000
   uiLastVersionAutodetectRun=1
   uiMigratedRendererSettingsFlags=1
   uiUpscaleTech=4294967295
   iSize H=1049
   iSize W=1920
   iLocation X=-8
   uDisplayHash=1447668589
   bDynamicResolutionEnabled=0
   uiUpscalingTechnique=1
   [Quality]
   uGlobalRendererQuality=2
   [Bethesda.net]
   uPersistentUuidData3_Steam=782901393
   uPersistentUuidData2_Steam=2447987512
   uPersistentUuidData1_Steam=3913829694
   uPersistentUuidData0_Steam=3499393505
   [Volumes]
   bShowVolumeGeometry=0
   [General]
   bDisplayCreditCTA=0
   uiMarketplaceUpdatedHash=0
   [Legal]
   iHasUserAcceptedVersion=1
   bHasUserAccepted=1
   

   - tried to launch the game using MO 2 (new Instance) - same behavior, even with the new StarfieldPrefs.ini.

[4ndr34]

For the sake of completeness on my gaming rig PC I play, MO 2 is working round and smooth on my gaming rig PC, with the following modlist.txt:

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer.
+DriftonicsTuning 20250209002
+MTM Inf Boost Rev8 and Deimog - tweaks 1.1
+Deimog Interior Ammo can moved 1.2
+Hammer V Update 104
+Inquisitor Vehicles Expanded
+Space Ship Landing Reloaded 3.01
+Ramtech Unlimited
+Online Shopping 4.0
+Functional Decor
+Better_Living_II
+Better_Living
+No Changes to Range or Number of Clicks Required 1.3.0
+Blep_farm_shatteredspace_patch 1.0
+Blep_farm 1.0
+Blep_protein_synth 1.1
+Miss_O_IntWalls_3a.zip 1.5
+vivs_FurnishYourFleet.zip 1.71
+DP Aerospace Luxury Habs and more 4.1.1
+Place Doors Yourself 2.0.7beta
+Your Personal Spacestation
+Neon Player Home
+Matilija Aerospace 6.12
+TIG_ShipyardsOverhaul 2.12.1 20250203
+Visible Companion Affinity
+Green and Gold
+New Game Plus Framework
+NPC Enhancer Gun - Main 1.0.4
+Nude Swimsuit esm update
+KZ Aggregation of Scraps - UPDATE
+KZ Aggregation of Scraps
+Eit Clothiers (ZBB)
+STARQUEEN 5 - Starfield Female Skin Textures
+ZBB
+Starborn's Bounty - Modded 1.0.3
+Short temple puzzles
+StarUI Workbench-4966-1-2-1727894192
+StarUI Inventory-773-2-4-1-1728063201
+BetterConsole SFSE 1.4.3
+Baka Achievement Enabler
+All in one - v17 (1.14.74.0) Address Library
*Unmanaged: ShatteredSpace
*Unmanaged: SFBGS004

and the following loadorder.txt

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer.
Starfield.esm
Constellation.esm
OldMars.esm
BlueprintShips-Starfield.esm
SFBGS007.esm
SFBGS008.esm
SFBGS006.esm
SFBGS003.esm
SFBGS004.esm
ShatteredSpace.esm
sfbgs00a_e.esm
sfbgs00a_a.esm
sfbgs00a_f.esm
sfbgs00a_g.esm
sfbgs00a_i.esm
sfbgs00a_j.esm
sfbgs00a_d.esm
sfbgs021.esm
sfbgs019.esm
Eit_Clothiers_Z.esm
KZ_AIO.esm
Nude swimsuits.esm
NPC Enhancer Gun.esm
NG+ Framework.esm
GreenAndGold.esm
VisibleCompanionAffinity.esm
TIG_Shipyards.esm
MatilijasAerospace.esm
NeonPlayerHideout.esm
PersonalSpacestation.esm
PlaceDoorsYourself.esm
dpaerospace.esm
vivs_furnishyourfleet.esm
miss_o_intwalls_03a.esm
Blep_protein_synth.esm
Blep_farm.esm
Blep_farm_shatteredspace_patch.esm
NewCombinedFloraFaunaNoRangeNoClicks.esm
Better_Living.esm
Better_Living_II.esm
FunctionalDecor.esm
VA Online Shopping.esm
jramosworks_ramtechunlimitedsupplykiosk.esm
SpaceshipLandingReloaded.esm
inquisitor_additional_vehicles_mod.esm
vehiclerhyno2.esm
MTM-InfBoost-Rev8-Deimog.esm
DriftonicsTuning.esm

DriftonicsTuning is a WIP mod of mine that I'm testing and making on my gaming rig PC, I haven't published it yet.

[4ndr34]

Originally posted by jobo3010:

What's wrong with just playing the base game vanilla? I hear a lot on this forum that the game is perfect as is. Should be enough to enjoy "on the move".

OK, you have got your own dose of Steam Points, now you could try to be helpful or move on to troll the next thread...

(17 years on Steam to just become a troll like that? Really???)

[oak]

Originally posted by 4ndr34:

Originally posted by oak:

That StarfieldCustom.ini file has a lot more in it than mine. Is that ini file from an MO2 profile folder path, or the windows user\documents\my games\starfield\ folder?

If it's an ini from a profile folder and it's trying to run a batch of commands, I wonder if either the batch has some dependency or the file itself isn't there:
sStartingConsoleCommand=bat GameSettingsAIO

I'd be tempted to drop a 'clean' StarfieldCustom.ini file in (renaming your original, of course) and see if that made an impact.
That's just a thought.

My StarfieldCustom.ini base for reference:

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

[Display]
bVolumetricLightingEnable=1
bVolumetricLightingUseDistanceCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseOcclusionCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseWeatherSettings=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableDistantScattering=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableScatteringVolume=1
bVolumetricLigthingInLiteBrite=0
bVolumetricLightingUseAreaLights=0
bVolumetricLigthingUseLightGobos=0
bEnableVolumetricLightingOnParticles=0
bVolumetricLightingEnableNearSpatialFiltering=0
bVolumetricLightingFogMapUseWeatherSettings=0

Thx Oak for your reply.

GameSettingsAIO is my game settings that I use on my gaming rig PC https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/1071.

Both INIs files are from MO 2 profile (default) and MO 2 is configured to use profile INIs,

Anyway because I understand that I need to focus to make it working I have followed your suggestion, and I have dropped a 'clean' StarfieldCustom.ini, I have made some trials but unfortunately I have got the exact same behavior.

In details I have tried:

1. Using exactly your own StarfieldCustom.ini - same behavior.
   
2. Creating a new instance with MO 2, using the following StarfieldCustom.ini

   [Archive]
   bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
   sResourceDataDirsFinal=
   

   no mods at all. - exact same behavior.
   
3. Deleting any INIs file contained in the "Documents\My Games\Starfield" folder, launching the game directly, without using MO 2, it worked again, then I have configured no Dynamic Resolution in the Display settings of the game, it has created a brand new StarfieldPrefs.ini

   [Display]
   fRenderResolutionScaleFactor=1.0000
   uiLastVersionAutodetectRun=1
   uiMigratedRendererSettingsFlags=1
   uiUpscaleTech=4294967295
   iSize H=1049
   iSize W=1920
   iLocation X=-8
   uDisplayHash=1447668589
   bDynamicResolutionEnabled=0
   uiUpscalingTechnique=1
   [Quality]
   uGlobalRendererQuality=2
   [Bethesda.net]
   uPersistentUuidData3_Steam=782901393
   uPersistentUuidData2_Steam=2447987512
   uPersistentUuidData1_Steam=3913829694
   uPersistentUuidData0_Steam=3499393505
   [Volumes]
   bShowVolumeGeometry=0
   [General]
   bDisplayCreditCTA=0
   uiMarketplaceUpdatedHash=0
   [Legal]
   iHasUserAcceptedVersion=1
   bHasUserAccepted=1
   

   - tried to launch the game using MO 2 (new Instance) - same behavior, even with the new StarfieldPrefs.ini.

Damn. Sorry it didn't move the needle.
I have two more thoughts (there's always more thoughts lol).

Could MO2 be using your CPU's integrated GPU rather than the discrete 3070? I don't know how that could be responsible for a crash, but stranger things have happened when the divide between CPU and discrete GPU gets in the mix. Can we still force which one an application uses with the nvidia control panel?

And another thought: I personally never experienced it, but I hear it was an issue for some - antivirus misbehaving with MO2 virtual folders? If you're using a third party (not Microsoft) antivirus, perhaps try temp disabling it and test again.

And finally, I read back your OP and then your post with your ini file details.
Thought I'd check, since you listed just three mods:

Originally posted by 4ndr34:

As far as I know I don't use any DLSS mod, on the laptop it fails with

1. BetterConsole SFSE 1.4.3

That one, Betterconsole, I would honestly try disabling it (removing it if manually installed to Starfield dir). It hasn't seen an update since Aug 2024, we've had a few updates in the time since.