SKYRIMLE Skyrim Project Stability by GrandBulwark

[Agnusthemagi]

Skyrim Project Stability - https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/32363

 

This guide is the fruit of research from the author with help from the community into stability and computer optimization, and this one works for real! I was getting annoying CTD everywhere but most annoying was every time I loaded a new cell both going to and coming from Riverwood. After applying the fixes I can get stable FPS, 99% smooth gameplay with ocasional stutter when there are many shadow casting lights. But more important, no more CTD unless it's something reproductible (in which case it's mod caused)!

 

Have in mind my game has 250 plugins active and many more merged with Tes5edit and imported into bashed patch plus skyproc patchers. I was beggining to think I would have to disable most script intensive mods (I already use moderate retextures and all optimized for better performance).

 

Most of you people probably already know a lot of mods is no excuse for a CTD plagued game, but I want to emphasize I didnt disable any mods to achieve stability by following this guide. Everyone which has been getting random CTD and/or stuttering should give it a try, specially the steps about Cleanmem, HPET and CPU Parking if you got a multi core CPU. All of the guide is recommented for best results! 

 

Those tree I consider fixes because to me that's how the hardware/software was supposed to behave from the start. RAM should be cleanned periodicaly, processor cores shouldnt be parking while my CPU intensive software struggles with one core at 90% activity. HPET was already enabled on my BIOS setup, I wonder why windows dosent have any built in menu to activate this if your hardware supports it? Overall those tree fixes bring about general better responsiveness to the whole system, not just Skyrim.

 

The author is reviewing the guide on the part of disabling windows services.

[GrandBulwark]

Thank you very much for spreading the word Agnusthemagi! You have done more than anyone has in terms of getting the word out there. I'm not exactly sure what you mean in regards to disabling service; I'm reviewing the HPET timer guide and while it will still be included, it will have a more adequate warning. I don't want anyone trying to update their bios for the sake of HPET and I certainly don't want people thinking is an absolutely necessary step. For you and I, it works great but that is computer dependent.

 

Next, the most important part of the guide is of course Cleanmem. Cleanmem is what has removed the freezes; the unparked cores, hpet, timer resolution, disable services and defrag/cleanup/registry help are all for performance, FPS and lag reduction. Recently I added guides to TES5EDIT and BOSS. The mod pages included (Like STEP) are so that users have alternative sources of information, direct access from my guide to useful guides and utilities.

 

The guide is a compilation of my trial and error process over the course of my Skyrim experience. It lists only tested and proven methods for increasing performance. Everything listed aside from "Skyrim Performance Monitor," I have personally tested and optimized for the most desirable result. There is nothing in the guide that will decrease graphic fidelity; no one who plays Skyrim and has these issues wants to lower their settings. The fact of the matter is, we all know that lowering the settings will likely increase the stability of the game. So, why post it online? Another issue is that many guides have no support (STEP being the greatest exception), the configuration is based on a single person's configuration and is usually hardeware/software or PC dependent. 90% of this guide is universal across the windows 7 platform and before, especially cleanmem. Anything that isn't; states that clearly a directly.

 

I have reached out to many mod authors and attempted to spread the word. How much easier would it be for everyone if a guide like this were posted on the very mod pages that perpetuate instability (eg. HD textures, high polygon meshes, script intensive or enbs). I know I would have loved to find this in early 2012. Anyway; I feel I've adequately made my case. Anyone who doubts this guide, I encourage you to try it. It will stop your freezing and it will increase your stability.

 

Best Regards,

GrandBulwark

[torminater]

MontyMM has stated a very interesting article here: https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=2475

Same as you, I think I have solved the 3 GB crashes/freezes with cleanmem alone, but according to this quite serious article this is only a placebo effect. Any thoughts on this?

[GrandBulwark]

Certainly.  While I think the man has some valid points; cleanmem is not a placebo effect.  It has been endorse over 100 times and I've personally tested it for 600 hours or more.  It's easy to stand back on the sidelines and research; however first hand experience is the only way to come to your own conclusion.  As I've said; no freezes to date.  Finshed dragonborn, dawnguard, hearthfire homes, main quest, civil war, companions, college of winterhold, thieves guild, dark brotherhood; all with one character.  You must understand there are hundreds of assumptions as to whether something will work; but the only way you'll know for sure is if you try.  I'm not going to argue with the man's research, however his presentation and paraphrasing are biased by his own opinions.  Opinions are not facts, cleanmem will solve freezing whether it is a memory leak of not.  If you don't believe it; start a new save with your current configuration, name him testdummy.  Start the game with cleanmem enable throughout.  Report back here with any issues or on my mod page.  How do I know there won't be any reports?  Because my machine was under extreme duress the entire time.  My configuration is insane.  Try for yourself, don't let me or anyone else bias your opinion.

 

Also see my comment on his thread! After rereading you comment; keep using cleanmem and you will see that it isn't a placebo effect!

[WilliamImm]

Hmm... can't say that I can verify your opinions on this matter right now, however.

[Vond]

Well, I'm definitely seeing a positive difference thus far using cleanmem, but my playtime with it running has been rather limited however. There are areas where I'd normally hit the 3.1gb ctd when running with 2k SRO rather than 1k (switched back to 2k when I grabbed cleanmem, just for testing) where I don't anymore, and that's good enough for me for now.

[GrandBulwark]

Hmm... can't say that I can verify your opinions on this matter right now' date=' however.[/quote']

I'm not sure what you mean.  If you can't confirm them, and can't deny them; what can I say to that?  The best I can tell you is I've had a positive experience with it.  105 others have too and the results are conclusive.  Cleanmem has a positive effect on skyrim's frequent freeze issue.  It solves my issue entirely; and it has done exactly that for numerous other individuals. 

[DoYouEvenModBro]

This post has been deleted

[uglykidcid]

I belive that I can say with a certaintly after hours of CTDs and Freezes while monitoring papyrus logs and Skyrim Performance Monitor that I get both CTDs and Freezing from hitting the 3.1 ceiling.

 

I would add that the largest reason I have had in my game for instability has been the unreliable piece of garbage known as the Nexus Mod Manager.

 

I am going to test this and respond here.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

This post has been deleted

[uglykidcid]

Here is my take:

 

Project Stability has cleared up all my stuttering and for that I am thankful but I get constant inventory freezes and this did nothing to fix those. (Didn't make them worse either) So the claim never freeze again is not so accurate. Before anyone asks I have cleaned every mod with TES5edit, I run BOSS (infact I am one of the people who worked on the Oblivion version, I have a very powerful rig, all drivers are up to date, I followed the instructions to a letter, and I am an experienced modder. I have the time set to every minute and I see it working as I run Skyrim Performance monitor. I also often get infinite loading screens on loadup and on zone changes. I was hoping this would fix that but nope.

 

As stated the game most definitely runs smoother but no CTD and no freeze ever again not so true

[Aiyen]

Yeah I am with uglykidcid on that one.... you can not claim you will never have freezes or CTD´s ever again!

You can only claim that your install on your hardware will not but even then I would not be inclined to believe ya, since even vanilla skyrim is prone to fits every now and again!

 

Anyways.. just tested it out too see what all the fuzz was about. Used the default settings and set it to clean every minute once my memory use was above 35% of my total. Guess I should note that I have 16Gb of RAM.

 

Only thing I noticed was a slight increase in stuttering and a more general sluggish performance. When the actual cleaning took place there would also be stuttering in the audio of the game as well.

 

As if it is "working" or not I cannot tell, since I do not have any memory related issues to begin with, since my setup is properly optimized to stay within the limits of the game engine. The only thing I can report is a slight drop in performance.

[GrandBulwark]

Papyrus logs are horrible. Yes; in my personal experience; I was getting freezes at the 3.1 ceiling. After opening task manger, it would then generate an error report "apphangb1." I've added a few debugging steps for you on my mod page uglykidcid. Try those out and get back to me. If they don't work; then we'll further troubleshoot the issue; it's a tricky process. Eventually; I'll need your mod list in a PM on the Nexus please. Also joshkope brings up a good point; have a look at your save files. How big are they?

[GrandBulwark]

Here is my take:

 

Project Stability has cleared up all my stuttering and for that I am thankful but I get constant inventory freezes and this did nothing to fix those. (Didn't make them worse either) So the claim never freeze again is not so accurate. Before anyone asks I have cleaned every mod with TES5edit, I run BOSS (infact I am one of the people who worked on the Oblivion version, I have a very powerful rig, all drivers are up to date, I followed the instructions to a letter, and I am an experienced modder. I have the time set to every minute and I see it working as I run Skyrim Performance monitor. I also often get infinite loading screens on loadup and on zone changes. I was hoping this would fix that but nope.

 

As stated the game most definitely runs smoother but no CTD and no freeze ever again not so true

Also no freezes ever is not a subjective statement.  It is configuration based; mod conflicts, scripting errors and cleaning every plugin (specifically in the cleaning guide as a thing not to do) will certainly cause errors.  I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up with the evolution of this guide.  It's hard to help everyone and update the mod all at once.  Prior to the recent update; it was made clear that the freezes eliminated were random, and due to memory.  In that; you could crash and reload at that exact same point and then play through the same situation you just crashed in.  This is due to the build up of redundant information, it cannot be reproduced by opening the inventory screen.  Although I will look into your issue further.

 

BTW I've updated the long and short description; it now moake clear once more that you will never freeze from over utilization of memory resources. 

[GrandBulwark]

Yeah I am with uglykidcid on that one.... you can not claim you will never have freezes or CTD´s ever again!

You can only claim that your install on your hardware will not but even then I would not be inclined to believe ya, since even vanilla skyrim is prone to fits every now and again!

 

Anyways.. just tested it out too see what all the fuzz was about. Used the default settings and set it to clean every minute once my memory use was above 35% of my total. Guess I should note that I have 16Gb of RAM.

 

Only thing I noticed was a slight increase in stuttering and a more general sluggish performance. When the actual cleaning took place there would also be stuttering in the audio of the game as well.

 

As if it is "working" or not I cannot tell, since I do not have any memory related issues to begin with, since my setup is properly optimized to stay within the limits of the game engine. The only thing I can report is a slight drop in performance.

If you enabled HPET; disable it.  That is the only thing in the guide that could potentially reduce performance.  If you didn't have issues; there is no way to properly test whether the guide is effective.  Cleanmem will keep you off the memory limit; that much is certain.  That's on any configuration; and again I'm sorry for the confusion.  I've updated the mod to reflect that it fixes RAND freezes due to memory.  Other CTD's and freezes; although they are touched upon in the guide, cannot be fixed with a broad spectrum generalization.  There are too many factors to account for.