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(ALMOST) EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TROUBLESHOOTING FALLOUT 4 ( & THINGS TO DO WHEN CRASH LOGS DO NOT HELP )
CONSOLE ( PS / XBOX ) PLAYERS > SEE THE Fallout 4 Load Order Framework DOCUMENT, IT LISTS SOLUTIONS TO MANY PROBLEMS ON CONSOLES
THE Fallout 4 Bugs Wiki Page ALSO LISTS MOST COMMON GAME BUGS AND ISSUES THAT YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER BOTH ON PC & CONSOLES
INSTRUCTIONS BELOW APPLY TO PC ONLY AND ARE INTENDED FOR PLAYERS THAT WISH TO TROUBLESHOOT GAME PROBLEMS / CRASHES
( ALSO APPLIES TO CASES WHERE FALLOUT 4 DOESN'T RUN PROPERLY OR BUFFOUT 4 CRASH LOGS ARE NOT AVAILABLE, NOR HELPFUL )
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1 - FALLOUT 4 INSTALLATION & SETTINGS
PART 2 - BUFFOUT 4 INSTALLATION & CRASH LOGS
PART 3 - WRYE BASH & CHECKING MODS FOR ERRORS
PART 4 - (UN)PACKING MODS WITH CATHEDRAL ASSETS OPTIMIZER
PART 5 - ADDITIONAL TIPS & HOW TO PERFORM A BINARY SEARCH
USE SEARCH [ CTRL ] + [ F ] TO LOOK UP THINGS YOU NEED AND YOU WILL KNOW MERCY
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PART 1 | CONFIRM THAT FALLOUT 4 FILES ARE INSTALLED AND ACCESSED CORRECTLY
1-1 | FALLOUT 4 MUST BE INSTALLED OUTSIDE OF THE PROGRAM FILES FOLDER
Program Files is the default folder for most installed programs, including Steam, GoG and any games installed trough them. The problem is that some mod content can trigger the built-in User Account Control security component in Windows, which can often block and prevent those mods from working correctly. Note that not all players will experience this problem as UAC settings vary between systems and Windows OS versions, and only some mods seem to be susceptible to this type of interference.
Therefore, you should either create another game library or Steam library folder on another partition / drive or move your current library to any other folder.
For example, if Steam is currently installed in C: / Program Files / Steam, move your entire Steam folder to C: / Games / Steam or just C: / Steam
Note that this method will likely break any Steam games shortcuts that are currently on your desktop, you'll have to create them again.
1-2 | ARCHIVE INVALIDATION / LOOSE FILES SETTINGS MUST BE ENABLED
This setting allows the game to load files outside of official BA2 archives.
Without this, many mods won't work or will outright crash the game.
Vortex - Archive Invalidation should be already enabled in most cases, but you can still enable it manually or through BethINI.
MO2 - The integrated setting usually doesn't work properly, so you should always enable it manually or through BethINI.
- MO2 by default uses separate custom ini files, I strongly recommend that you disable this functionality.
- Simply navigate to Profiles [Ctrl + P] in MO2 and uncheck Use Profile Specific INI Files
- Now the game will use ini configuration files from the Documents folder.
ENABLE WITH BETHINI (Recommended)
1.) Download the latest BethINI standalone version from this Nexus page.
2.) Extract it somewhere on your disk, but NEVER directly into your game installation folder.
3.) Run BethINI.exe, check both Load Loose Files and Enable File Selection, then Save and Exit.
OR ENABLE MANUALLY
Navigate to your Documents\My Games\Fallout 4 folder and add these lines to Fallout4Custom.ini (create this ini if it doesn't exist).
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
(Yes, sResourceDataDirsFinal must be blank. MO2 users should disable the "Use Profile Specific INI Files" in profile settings.)
(Archive Invalidation can be also enabled / set up with Crash Log Auto Scanner. Simply run it and press "Scan Game Files")
1-3 | GAME AND MOD MANAGER EXECUTABLES MUST BE WHITELISTED IN YOUR ANTIVIRUS
There have been several cases where an antivirus software would block a certain part of some mod or prevent the game from creating save files, which would then cause a crash. This is especially true for advanced antivirus software like Norton, BitDefender and/or Avast. Therefore it's highly recommended that you whitelist ModOrganizer.exe, Vortex.exe, f4se_loader.exe and any other executable that you run your game from or edit game files from, like Creation Kit or FO4Edit.
There's been no indication that Microsoft Defender (default Windows antivirus) interferes with any game files, therefore consider leaving your main antivirus disabled and only keep Defender active while the game is running. This may be your only option in case your antivirus won't give up on blocking / crashing the game.
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PART 2 | CONFIRM THAT BUFFOUT 4 FILES ARE INSTALLED AND ACCESSED CORRECTLY
2-1 | INSTALL ALL BUFFOUT 4 FILES MANUALLY, WITHOUT USING YOUR MOD MANAGER
Buffout 4 is a mod that includes multiple game engine improvements, expands specific types of game memory, prevents several types of crashes and even
provides proper crash logging if (when) the game eventually crashes. It also combines the functionality and replaces a couple of existing mods available on Nexus.
So make sure that you've installed all Buffout 4 requirements correctly! And it's best that you install all Buffout 4 files manually, WITHOUT using your Mod Manager!
Correct and detailed installation instructions for Buffout 4 and all its requirements can be found here: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/3115
Other important community mods, patches and fixes can be found here: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/3769
2-2 | CONFIRM THAT BUFFOUT 4 IS WORKING AND ACTUALLY GENERATING CRASH LOGS
To check if Buffout 4 is actually working, you can inspect xSE Plugin Preloader.log inside your Fallout 4 install folder or f4se.log inside Documents\My Games\Fallout4\F4SE folder after running the game at least once. You should see a message that Buffout 4 and other DLL mods loaded correctly. Look for any reported errors or missing dependencies. (Ignore all Unknown QueryInterface 00000007 messages, these are normal). Rarely, some crashes won't produce any valid crash logs.
While playing you can also open the in-game console and enter the following command: aop
This will cause the game to crash and generate a relevant crash log, confirming that Buffout 4 is working as intended.
2-3 | USE CRASH LOG AUTO-SCANNER TO CHECK YOUR BUFFOUT AND GAME FILES
Crash Log Auto-Scanner (CLAS) is a tool (script) that can be also used to check the integrity of your Fallout 4 game files and if any game logs report additional errors. Simply download the latest version, extract it somewhere and run the Crash Log Auto Scanner.exe. From the main window press Scan Game Files and read the report in the terminal.
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PART 3 | CONFIRM THAT YOUR MODS ARE INSTALLED AND ACCESSED CORRECTLY
3-1 | CHECK YOUR LOAD ORDER OF PLUGINS WITH WRYE BASH
Simply download Wrye Bash (Standalone Executable recommended) and run the Wrye Bash exe through MO2 (or directly if using Vortex) and pay attention to orange boxes next to plugin names, these plugins aren't ordered correctly. Reorder them until those boxes become green or yellow. Yellow boxes can be safely ignored. Watch out for plugins with red boxes, they have missing requirements and won't be correctly loaded, so always keep those disabled.
3-2 | RUN THE PLUGIN CHECKER TOOL IN WRYE BASH
Plugin Checker tool is available in the top bar, under View in Wrye Bash. Once you run it, a report can be created about the following problems:
Corrupted -> Wrye Bash could not read these plugins, as they might be corrupted. You should resave them in Creation Kit and then check if problems persist.
If WB still reports these as corrupted after resaving, remove them completely.
Incorrect ESL Flag -> These plugins have an incorrectly assigned ESL flag or extension. Remove the ESL flag with FO4Edit or rename the plugin extension to .esp if the plugin is already .esl (requires having extensions enabled in File Explorer settings). These plugins could potentially crash the game or cause other problems if you don't do this.
Old Header Form Versions -> These plugins have a header that is older than the minimum valid Creation Kit version.
Such plugins need to be resaved in Creation Kit to fix the incorrect header. Download and install Fallout 4 Creation Kit from Steam.
ESL Capable -> Giving the ESL flag to plugins is optional UNLESS you've reached the plugin limit. To do this, download FO4Edit and SimpleESLify, extract them both and place SimpleESLify.pas into your FO4Edit\Edit Scripts folder. After that, run FO4Edit.exe from MO2 (or directly if using Vortex) and load all plugins. After everything loads, right click on any plugin and select Apply Script. Find SimpleESLify from the dropdown menu and select OK. After the script completes, save all plugins (CTRL + S) and exit FO4Edit.
Missing Masters -> These plugins have additional requirements that you didn't install or activate. If you cannot find required mods for these plugins, you need to disable them.
Delinquent Masters -> These plugins are not in the correct order (ex. patches for mods loading before the mod they patch). Check your load order in Wrye Bash as explained.
Cleaning With FO4Edit Needed -> Plugins contain ITMs or UDRs which need to be cleaned with FO4Edit’s QuickAutoClean. To clean these plugins, download and extract FO4Edit somewhere, then run FO4EditQuickAutoClean.exe from MO2 (or directly if using Vortex), double click on the plugin that you want to clean and just wait until Quick Clean Mode Finished message appears in the logging window on the right, then exit the program. Repeat this process for all other plugins that need cleaning.
Deleted Navmeshes -> Plugins contain incorrectly deleted navmeshes and are to be used at your own risk. If any NPC tries to navigate with a Mesh that's Deleted, the game will crash. The easiest way to fix these is to remove Deleted Navmesh records from plugins in FO4Edit, though this is far from optimal, but should at least prevent most NPC pathing crashes. If you ever encounter navmesh / pathing related crashes, these mods should be disabled first to check if the crash still occurs.
Deleted Base Records -> Plugins contain deleted records and the fixing process is the same, these records must be removed in FO4Edit. But unlike Navmeshes, removing them is completely fine and the best fix if they are causing any problems. If you are not comfortable working with FO4Edit, your next best option is to temporarily disable mods that contain deleted records, then see if crashing persists. In most cases, these records should have no adverse effect on your game.
HITMEs or Invalid TES4 Versions -> Plugins contain improperly removed or changed data, but shouldn't pose any major problems. They simply need to be resaved with the Creation Kit. You can find instructions on how to do this in my OGC 2 main document under 07.3 Fixing & Cleaning Faulty Mods or see Quick Video Instructions (Optional File).
3-3 | CLEAN YOUR PLUGINS WITH QUICK AUTO CLEAN (QAC) & CREATION KIT
FO4EditQuickAutoClean (QAC) is included with the files from FO4Edit. Run the QAC executable from MO2 (or directly if using Vortex) then select one plugin that you wish to clean. Only one plugin can be cleaned at any given time and you need to close and run QAC again to clean another plugin. Plugins are automatically cleaned twice and saved.
If you want to save time, you can use Plugin Auto Cleaning Tool (PACT) instead, which will automatically batch clean all plugins.
Read the description and the included readme file on how to use PACT. Most common issues are listed in pinned comment.
Some plugins can only be cleaned with the Creation Kit, for example plugins with HITMEs or Invalid TES4 Versions.
To fix these errors, install the Fallout 4 Creation Kit from Steam and Creation Kit Fixes, which you should manually download and extract its contents into your Fallout 4 game folder. Overwrite everything if prompted. After that, run Creation Kit (if using MO2, set up the shortcut for CreationKit.exe in the drop-down menu and launch it). Wait until it loads the main screen and navigate to FILE > Data. From there, click on the plugin you wish to fix, press Set As Active File and OK afterwards, then wait until it finishes loading.
After it loads, simply navigate to FILE > Save and wait until “SAVE COMPLETE” message appears in Console Window under the Change Log channel. If you cannot see the Console Window, toggle the Show/Hide Log option under EXTENSIONS, then press on Change Log. After the plugin has been successfully saved, exit Creation Kit.
NOTICE: If Creation Kit refuses to launch from the shortcut in MO2, edit that shortcut by enabling Overwrite Steam App ID and put 1946160 into the text box directly on the right. If Creation Kit crashes during opening or saving a particular plugin, this usually means the plugin contains too many errors that the CK cannot resolve, the plugin is corrupted in some way or it's missing some specific files. These plugins might cause problems and should be disabled if referenced in your crash logs.
3-4 | CHECK YOUR MOD PLUGINS FOR ANY ERRORS WITH FO4EDIT
Run FO4Edit and load all mods, then select all plugins (or press CTRL + A), right click on any of them and Check For Errors. If any plugins show a bunch of errors (IGNORE Base Game and DLC plugins), clean these plugins with QAC from FO4Edit as explained above and / or resave the plugin with Creation Kit. Also install Creation Kit Fixes.
Here are the most common FO4Edit error messages:
Skipped / Deleted Navmesh - Removed data that NPCs use to navigate through the world to reach certain locations. Will crash your game if other mods try to look up these navmeshes. Deleted Navmeshes cannot be easily fixed or cleaned. Your best option is to remove mods that contain more than 10 of these, but there's also a chance they have no affect on your current load order. If you ever encounter a navmesh crash, mods with deleted navmeshes should be disabled first to check if any of them caused that crash.
Tint / Morph Layer Index Not Found - NPC is missing some face layers or features, like makeup, tattoos, scars, freckles, etc. Usually caused by mod authors changing the NPC race without readjusting the layers, and the game will simply ignore these layers. They won't cause problems besides making affected NPCs use the default face template.
XPRI / XCRI Reference Could Not Be Resolved - These seem to be broken physics or index references for precombined data, which are part of an optimization system. Broken references might be the cause of some crashes if they conflict with other mods or are unable to be resolved. If you find mods that have a bunch of these errors, let me know.
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PART 4 | HOW TO (UN)PACK MODS WITH CATHEDRAL ASSETS OPTIMIZER
Packed mods can greatly improve performance since the game is much more optimized for accessing data from BSA / BA2 archives. You should always pack the largest mods you have installed, if they aren't packed already. Packing can be easily done with Cathedral Assets Optimizer. Simply download the latest 5.3.X version and extract its files.
CAUTION: NEVER extract CAO or any other modding tool directly into your game folder, always keep them separate.
After extracting, run Cathedral_Assets_Optimizer.exe (run the exe directly and NOT from your mod manager), then set the Profile to FO4
Now check and modify the settings so they look like the image below, though you need to uncheck Extract BSA and check Create BSA instead.
NOTICE: If some settings are greyed out, you need to create a New Profile and check Show Advanced Settings first.
Unpacking mods from BA2 archives into loose files is only necessary when you get a BA2 Limit Crash (see this doc) or wish to check the mod contents by unpacking them. Unpacking mods is done with the same program and settings, simply uncheck Create BSA and check Extract BSA instead, as shown on the image below.
Note that you need to change the directory path to the mod folder that you wish to unpack.
For Vortex, check your Deployed Mods folder. After unpacking, redeploy that mod.
For MO2, your installed mods are saved in the MO2 / Mods folder by default.
To pack mods, simply uncheck Extract BSA and check Create BSA instead.
Also, you should edit Maximum Size so it matches your RAM size in GB.
YOU SHOULD ONLY UNPACK THE SMALLEST MODS TO PRESERVE GAME PERFORMANCE
To check which of your mods are smallest by size, download and run TreeSize Free
Then select your Deployed Mods / MO2 Mods folder as previously mentioned.
You can find comprehensive CAO (un)packing instructions in my Optimization Guides Collection 2 main guide.
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PART 5 | ADDITIONAL STEPS TO TAKE WHEN CRASH LOGS ARE UNHELPFUL OR UNAVAILABLE
A | Make sure that the problem / crash you're getting is consistent and repeatable. For example, if you crash when using a specific weapon, see if you can confirm that only that weapon is causing the crash and no other weapon is affected. If you crash while entering a certain location, see if you crash every time you try to enter it (at least twice or thrice in a row). This should at least help you narrow down the exact problem and any such details should be given when you upload or post your crash logs anywhere.
B | Disable any mods that can frequently cause crashes, listed in this article: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/3115 and install any important community patches and fixes, listed in this article: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/3769 Disable, fix, test or install any patches relevant to your situation.
C | If you are still unable to resolve your game crash, reset your INI files. This is done by deleting all .ini files inside your Documents/My Games/Fallout4 folder and running the game once directly through Fallout4Launcher.exe. After you reach the main menu, exit the game and run BethINI to readjust your settings.
D | If all else fails, find the culprit(s) through a binary search. Sometimes, your only viable option is brute force.
To perform a binary search, disable half of your mods and test each half in-game to see which half causes the crash. Once you determine which half crashes the game, disable half of the mods in that group to see which half crashes again. Repeat this procedure until you're left with just one mod, which should be that one causing the crash. Repack that mod into BA2 archives with CAO or simply disable / uninstall the mod if that doesn't help. Afterwards, enable all other mods.
Example with some mods A, B, C, D, E, F, G, & H:
A B C D E F G H
> Crash
ABCD | EFGH
> Crash
AB | CDEFGH
> Crash
A | BCDEFGH
> No Crash
Mod B must be causing the crash since the game didn’t crash while only mod A was active, while it did crash when both mods A and B were active with all other mods disabled.
= = = THIS ARTICLE IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, EXPECT VARIOUS CHANGES AND ADDITIONS = = =
5 comments
But I have another problem. The Creation Kit that I installed via Steam doesn't work anymore when I install the Creation Kit Fixes (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/51165)! So I can't use it fixed but only in its original form from Steam.
Does anybody know why the CK doesn't accept the fixes and has anybody an idea what I can do to make it run with the fixes or can I also use it to repair plugins without the CK-Fixes?