Freezing and CTD's

[Neowulf]

Until recently all of my mods worked together seamlessly. I could play for hours on end with an occasional CTD wich mostly happened in exterior areas.
Recently however my game has started to freeze and CTD after 20 min or, depending on the area, 10 min or less.

I thought I fixed it by removing Darker Nights wich caused the game to freeze after 1 min everytime I went to and exterior cell and it was night.

The only things I changed between when SKyrim worked perfectly and now was update a few mods and installed 3 companion mods I wanted to try out and SKyrim Holidays.

Added companon mods:
Aurlyn Dawnstone
Mirai
Song of the Green

My loadorder sorted with LOOT:

Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
RSkyrimChildren.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
BSAssets.esm
BSHeartland.esm
BS_DLC_patch.esp
Campfire.esm
Falskaar.esm
TravellersOfSkyrim.esm
SkyUI_SE.esp
3DNPC.esp
Undeath.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
Gildergreen Regrown.esp
Immersive Sounds - Compendium.esp
SoundsofSkyrimComplete.esp
RLO - Interiors.esp
MLU.esp
JKs Skyrim.esp
MagicalCollegeofWinterhold.esp
WARZONES - SSE - Civil Unrest.esp
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition.esp
Immersive Wenches.esp
Cutting Room Floor.esp
Skyrim Revamped.esp
Weapon AF.esp
Beards.esp
FNIS.esp
WICO - Immersive People.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
Civil War Equip organised.esp
RLO - Exteriors.esp
OBIS SE.esp
MLU_EZupdate.esp
FCO - Follower Commentary Overhaul.esp
Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp
DIVERSE SKYRIM.esp
Eli_Breezehome.esp
Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
Skyrim Alchemy Fixed - Ordinator.esp
MCoW_ELFXHardcore.esp
HearthfireMultiKid.esp
HearthfireMultiKid_LastName.esp
AmazingFollowerTweaks.esp
AmazingFollowerTweaks-3DNPC.esp
NoBSAIProjectileDodge.esp
Realistic Haircolors.esp
RLO - Effects.esp
RLO - VIS Patch.esp
dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp
RSChildren Patch - BS Bruma.esp
CRF_RSChildrenPatch.esp
RSChildren - CRF Patch.esp
Sleeved Imperials.esp
Companions Radiant Quests Requirement.esp
TravellersOfSkyrim - Vanilla.esp
TravellersOfSkyrim - Dragonborn Addon.esp
SGEyebrows.esp
VioLens SE.esp
VioLens SE - Book Menu.esp
MLU - Immersive Armors.esp
WICO - USSEP Compatible Patch.esp
RSChildren.esp
XPMSSE.esp
FalskaarRSChildrenPatch.esp
BetterMagicLights.esp
20 More Perk Points.esp
Backshields.esp
Unique Uniques.esp
Dark Face Bug Fix.esp
WICO - Immersive Character.esp
WICO - Wild Hunt Gears.esp
Original Opening Scene.esp
MLU - WICO.esp
MLU - Unique Uniques Patch.esp
Mortal Enemies.esp
Aurlyn.esp
Holidays.esp
Wild World.esp
SOS_RLOInteriors_Patch.esp
zMirai.esp
ZIA_Complete Pack_V4.esp
SimplyBiggerTreesSE.esp
JKs Skyrim_Holidays_Patch.esp
Blowing in the Wind SSE.esp
Blowing in the Wind - JKs Skyrim Patch.esp
Run For Your Lives.esp
Cloaks.esp
Inigo.esp
Keld-Nar.esp
Immersive Patrols II.esp
WindstadMine.esp
Shor's Stone.esp
Cloaks - USSEP Patch.esp
IB - All-in-One.esp
MCoW_Cutting Room Floor.esp
sandboxcylinderheight.esp
RLO - CRF Patch.esp
MLU - Inigo.esp
MLU - Wild World.esp
MLU - ZIA.esp
018Auri.esp
Frostfall.esp
Helarchen Creek.esp
Kynesgrove.esp
Soljund's Sinkhole.esp
Karthwasten.esp
1nivWICCloaks.esp
BenDoonSSE.esp
Darkend.esp
notice board.esp
JKs Skyrim_Mirai_Patch.esp
Conan_Hyborian_Age.esp
EasierRidersDungeonPackSSE.esp
The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
TrueStormsSE.esp
Obsidian_TS_Patch_Spectral_WaterFix.esp
Obsidian_TS_Patch_Spectral.esp
WetandCold.esp
Blowing in the Wind - Helgen Reborn Patch SSE.esp
Ravengate.esp
Blowing in the Wind - SMIM Merged All Patch SSE.esp
MCoW_CampfirePatch.esp
My Home Is Your Home.esp
Auri3DNPC_patch.esp
Ars Metallica.esp
Cloaks - Dawnguard.esp
WICO - Immersive Dawnguard.esp
Serana Renewal.esp
MLU - Ars Metallica Patch.esp
018InigoBanterPatch.esp
InstantMining.esp
WICO OPS Patch.esp
SoS_TrueStorms_Patch.esp
Obsidian_TS_SoS_Patch.esp
Obsidian_TS_Wet&Cold_Patch.esp
SoS_Obsidian_Patch.esp
Imperious - Races of Skyrim.esp
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.esp
Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul.esp
Darkwater Crossing.esp
Whistling Mine.esp
Immersive Wenches -Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul Patch-.esp
SOS_ImmersiveCitizens_Patch.esp
RLO - IC Patch.esp
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
RDO - iAFT Patch.esp
Convenient Horses.esp
RDO - CRF + USSEP Patch.esp
RDO - USSEP Patch.esp
CH Bruma Patch.esp
Serana Dialogue Edit.esp
Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
Bruma - Alternate Start.esp
Alternate Start -- New Beginnings.esp
Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp
Ordinator - Beyond Skyrim Bruma Patch.esp
Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim.esp
Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
JKs Skyrim_RWT_Patch.esp
RealisticWaterTwo+-+Verdant+Patch.esp
WACCF_BashedPatchLvlListFix.esp
Scarcity SE - Less Loot Mod.esp
Scarcity SE - 4x Merchant Item Rarity.esp
Scarcity SE - 6x Loot Rarity.esp

Does anyone see something that could contribute to the freezing and crashing?

I know its an extensive list and I am working to remove mods I no longer use, but it has worked without major problems until recently.
There are just to many good mods.

Thanks in advance!

[DPMR]

And you are starting a new game each time you remove mods, right?

A number of your mods will bork the game if remove midway threw playing.

What sounds like is you Prossesor, ram or vid card is overheating.

[Grumpy]

Originally posted by DPMR:

And you are starting a new game each time you remove mods, right?

A number of your mods will bork the game if remove midway threw playing.

What sounds like is you Prossesor, ram or vid card is overheating.

Lets better say, just a number of mods (non script mods) will not produce problems when they got removed mid playthrough. Every other mod has the chance to bork the game when aggressivly ripped away from the game

whats your hardware speccs? if you dont know how to get them then in steam > help > sys information. CPU, GPU, RAM are sufficient if you are know what to look for, if not post everything.

@OP
If I would have recurring CtD problems, I would not call that your mods worked seamlessly together or that your game had no major issues.

[Neowulf]

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz
Speed: 3499 Mhz
8 logical processors
4 physical processors
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
RAM: 16314 Mb

My setup is in need of replacement :-)

Bear in mind, I have no stutter or anything like it. The game runs smooth until it CTD in the blink of an eye. Freezing occurs occasionaly compared to a CTD.

CTD occurs 99% of the time when I am in a nightime exterior or when it is snowing (day and night). What I am doing doens't seem to matter, combat, walking,...

[Dustin Dalby]

I have a similar build (except with a i5 4690k running at stock) and don't experience that kind of problem (mostly I get stutter and FPS dips due to overdoing it on texture mods). Check your temperatures with Speedfan while running the game to see if it's really an Overheating problem.

Do you remember which mods it was that you updated? I personally recommend sticking to a single version per playthrough, game and mods and all, unless some serious glitch really needs fixing. Perhaps try to see if your problems also manifest in a brand new savegame.

[Neowulf]

Originally posted by The Ghost of Iwata:

I have a similar build (except with a i5 4690k running at stock) and don't experience that kind of problem (mostly I get stutter and FPS dips due to overdoing it on texture mods). Check your temperatures with Speedfan while running the game to see if it's really an Overheating problem.

Do you remember which mods it was that you updated? I personally recommend sticking to a single version per playthrough, game and mods and all, unless some serious glitch really needs fixing. Perhaps try to see if your problems also manifest in a brand new savegame.

I updated:
Sounds of Skyrim
Obsidian Weathers
Mayby some others but I'm not sure wich ones.

And I added opening scene overhaul because I was imperessed by the voice acting done for Hadvar. But any crashes here should only happen during the prologue, not in the rest of the game.

I will check if the crashes persist in a new game.
If this would turn out to be the problem, is there any way to "clean" a savegame?

[Jouchebag]

Skyrim is notorious for save bloat and memory leak. Between the two, a heavily modded game will become more and more unstable over time 'naturally.' The severity is mostly based on your mod compatibility which takes many hours of research to ensure is done correctly.

Sometimes you can leave "baked in" little save corruptions as well if you mod heavily. Say, you find a bug and retreat but never actually find a solution to the bug which eventually turns into a problem baked into your save. Had you simply reloaded 2-3 autosaves back, your game may have continued smoothly.

This can often be confirmed in the wiki site's bug list with solutions that are simply "reload before you entered the area." There are a lot of... unconscious rules... that get applied by avid Bethesda RPG players and especially so for people who mod.

[Neowulf]

Originally posted by Jouchebag:

Skyrim is notorious for save bloat and memory leak. Between the two, a heavily modded game will become more and more unstable over time 'naturally.' The severity is mostly based on your mod compatibility which takes many hours of research to ensure is done correctly.

Sometimes you can leave "baked in" little save corruptions as well if you mod heavily. Say, you find a bug and retreat but never actually find a solution to the bug which eventually turns into a problem baked into your save. Had you simply reloaded 2-3 autosaves back, your game may have continued smoothly.

This can often be confirmed in the wiki site's bug list with solutions that are simply "reload before you entered the area." There are a lot of... unconscious rules... that get applied by avid Bethesda RPG players and especially so for people who mod.

Just tested with a new savegame.
I ran a new character from Dawnstar to Whiterun whitout crashes so it seems my savegame is corrupted.
I was only level 19 so not that much was lost and can always remake the character but are there programs wich can repair a savegame?

[smr1957]

Just a minor correction - game stability has absolutely nothing to so with the size of the mod load, and heavily modded games DO NOT become "more and more unstable over time 'naturally.'"

Nor is Skyrim "notorious" for save bloat and memory leak"

Where people come up with this, is beyond me. But then, there are many myths regarding the game that are spread around the forums and the internet, and which have no basis in realitly or fact.

[Grumpy]

Originally posted by The Inquisitor:

Originally posted by Jouchebag:

Skyrim is notorious for save bloat and memory leak. Between the two, a heavily modded game will become more and more unstable over time 'naturally.' The severity is mostly based on your mod compatibility which takes many hours of research to ensure is done correctly.

Sometimes you can leave "baked in" little save corruptions as well if you mod heavily. Say, you find a bug and retreat but never actually find a solution to the bug which eventually turns into a problem baked into your save. Had you simply reloaded 2-3 autosaves back, your game may have continued smoothly.

This can often be confirmed in the wiki site's bug list with solutions that are simply "reload before you entered the area." There are a lot of... unconscious rules... that get applied by avid Bethesda RPG players and especially so for people who mod.

Just tested with a new savegame.
I ran a new character from Dawnstar to Whiterun whitout crashes so it seems my savegame is corrupted.
I was only level 19 so not that much was lost and can always remake the character but are there programs wich can repair a savegame?

nope. well, there are savegame cleaner but..

imagine you get an arrow to the knee, you can use a bandage so you dont bleed out but it will not solve it. same with savegame cleaner. they may help partly but they dont fix a corrupt save game.

[smr1957]

Amd, as grumpy said - nothing can repair a save - not even Besthesda developers were able to.

[Neowulf]

Ok. Started a new game, but the game still freezes.
Here is the load order I use for the new game:

Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
RSkyrimChildren.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
BSAssets.esm
BSHeartland.esm
BS_DLC_patch.esp
Campfire.esm
Falskaar.esm
TravellersOfSkyrim.esm
SkyUI_SE.esp
3DNPC.esp
Undeath.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
Gildergreen Regrown.esp
Immersive Sounds - Compendium.esp
SoundsofSkyrimComplete.esp
RLO - Interiors.esp
MLU.esp
JKs Skyrim.esp
MagicalCollegeofWinterhold.esp
WARZONES - SSE - Civil Unrest.esp
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition.esp
Immersive Wenches.esp
Cutting Room Floor.esp
Skyrim Revamped.esp
Weapon AF.esp
Beards.esp
FNIS.esp
WICO - Immersive People.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
Civil War Equip organised.esp
RLO - Exteriors.esp
OBIS SE.esp
MLU_EZupdate.esp
FCO - Follower Commentary Overhaul.esp
Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp
DIVERSE SKYRIM.esp
Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
Skyrim Alchemy Fixed - Ordinator.esp
HearthfireMultiKid.esp
HearthfireMultiKid_LastName.esp
AmazingFollowerTweaks.esp
NoBSAIProjectileDodge.esp
Realistic Haircolors.esp
RSChildren Patch - BS Bruma.esp
CRF_RSChildrenPatch.esp
RSChildren - CRF Patch.esp
Sleeved Imperials.esp
Companions Radiant Quests Requirement.esp
TravellersOfSkyrim - Vanilla.esp
TravellersOfSkyrim - Dragonborn Addon.esp
SGEyebrows.esp
VioLens SE.esp
VioLens SE - Book Menu.esp
MLU - Immersive Armors.esp
WICO - USSEP Compatible Patch.esp
RSChildren.esp
XPMSSE.esp
FalskaarRSChildrenPatch.esp
BetterMagicLights.esp
20 More Perk Points.esp
Backshields.esp
Unique Uniques.esp
WICO - Immersive Character.esp
WICO - Wild Hunt Gears.esp
Original Opening Scene.esp
MLU - WICO.esp
MLU - Unique Uniques Patch.esp
Mortal Enemies.esp
Wild World.esp
ZIA_Complete Pack_V4.esp
SimplyBiggerTreesSE.esp
Blowing in the Wind SSE.esp
Blowing in the Wind - JKs Skyrim Patch.esp
Run For Your Lives.esp
SOS_RLOInteriors_Patch.esp
Cloaks.esp
Inigo.esp
Keld-Nar.esp
Immersive Patrols II.esp
WindstadMine.esp
Shor's Stone.esp
Cloaks - USSEP Patch.esp
IB - All-in-One.esp
MCoW_Cutting Room Floor.esp
sandboxcylinderheight.esp
MLU - Inigo.esp
MLU - Wild World.esp
MLU - ZIA.esp
Frostfall.esp
Helarchen Creek.esp
Kynesgrove.esp
Soljund's Sinkhole.esp
Karthwasten.esp
1nivWICCloaks.esp
Darkend.esp
notice board.esp
Conan_Hyborian_Age.esp
EasierRidersDungeonPackSSE.esp
The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
TrueStormsSE.esp
Obsidian_TS_Patch_Spectral_WaterFix.esp
Obsidian_TS_Patch_Spectral.esp
WetandCold.esp
Blowing in the Wind - Helgen Reborn Patch SSE.esp
Blowing in the Wind - SMIM Merged All Patch SSE.esp
My Home Is Your Home.esp
Ars Metallica.esp
Cloaks - Dawnguard.esp
WICO - Immersive Dawnguard.esp
Serana Renewal.esp
MLU - Ars Metallica Patch.esp
InstantMining.esp
WICO OPS Patch.esp
SoS_TrueStorms_Patch.esp
Obsidian_TS_SoS_Patch.esp
Obsidian_TS_Wet&Cold_Patch.esp
RLO - CRF Patch.esp
dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp
SoS_Obsidian_Patch.esp
Imperious - Races of Skyrim.esp
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.esp
Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul.esp
Darkwater Crossing.esp
Whistling Mine.esp
Immersive Wenches -Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul Patch-.esp
SOS_ImmersiveCitizens_Patch.esp
RLO - IC Patch.esp
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
RDO - iAFT Patch.esp
Convenient Horses.esp
RDO - CRF + USSEP Patch.esp
RDO - USSEP Patch.esp
CH Bruma Patch.esp
Serana Dialogue Edit.esp
Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
Bruma - Alternate Start.esp
Alternate Start -- New Beginnings.esp
Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp
Ordinator - Beyond Skyrim Bruma Patch.esp
Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim.esp
Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
JKs Skyrim_RWT_Patch.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Waves.esp
WACCF_BashedPatchLvlListFix.esp
Scarcity SE - Less Loot Mod.esp
Scarcity SE - 4x Merchant Item Rarity.esp
Scarcity SE - 6x Loot Rarity.esp

Just walking around in the forest north of Falkreath.
The only thing "out of the ordinary" is that a creature from Immersive creatures was nearby in my line of sight.
And I enabled Frostfall 5 min ago.

[Grumpy]

an other thing which came to my mind, how much VRAM does your GPU have?

[Neowulf]

Originally posted by Grumpy:

an other thing which came to my mind, how much VRAM does your GPU have?

2048MB

[Jouchebag]

Originally posted by smr1957:

Just a minor correction - game stability has absolutely nothing to so with the size of the mod load, and heavily modded games DO NOT become "more and more unstable over time 'naturally.'"

Nor is Skyrim "notorious" for save bloat and memory leak"

Where people come up with this, is beyond me. But then, there are many myths regarding the game that are spread around the forums and the internet, and which have no basis in realitly or fact.

I respectfully disagree. OP already proved my point that his mods were creating the instability and just about anyone else can corroborate save bloat and memory leaks. However, as you're used to gaming on a $3000 super computer, it probably hasn't been noticable to you.

Or, the THOUSANDS OF TOPICS about it that pop up when googled are ALL WRONG. Sure.

[bLaCkShAd0w]

Originally posted by Jouchebag:

Originally posted by smr1957:

Just a minor correction - game stability has absolutely nothing to so with the size of the mod load, and heavily modded games DO NOT become "more and more unstable over time 'naturally.'"

Nor is Skyrim "notorious" for save bloat and memory leak"

Where people come up with this, is beyond me. But then, there are many myths regarding the game that are spread around the forums and the internet, and which have no basis in realitly or fact.

I respectfully disagree. OP already proved my point that his mods were creating the instability and just about anyone else can corroborate save bloat and memory leaks. However, as you're used to gaming on a $3000 super computer, it probably hasn't been noticable to you.

Or, the THOUSANDS OF TOPICS about it that pop up when googled are ALL WRONG. Sure.

He is right, It has nothing to do with number of mods, More with number of errors and conflicts within the mods themselves.

If one was inclined to edit the mods for compatability themselves (like smr) Your only bottleneck is what your system can run.

Bottom line is more mods does not mean instability, If done properly.

Which is my guess as to the cause OP's problems.

Proper modded builds are far more involved than dropping files in or hitting the magic button on the mod manager.