I can't figure out how to get OBSE working for Morroblivion

I'm sorry to post this here because this question is all over the Internet but I've been completely unable to solve this via searches.

I'm running Steam installed Morrowind and Oblivion. I followed the instructions to the letter and installed Morroblivion via Wrye Bash.

I installed OBSE as instructed. But when I start a new game I'm in the prison cell and the Morroblivion popup says OBSE is not installed.

I've tried to solve this for 2 days now but I just don't know what else I can do. I've tried switching off UAC for Windows 10, enabling and disabling Steam overlay, starting Steam in administrator mode (but then Oblivion launcher crashes to desktop).

Any ideas?

How did you install OBSE? Are

How did you install OBSE? Are you launching the game with the OBSE exe?

Quorwyf wrote:

Quorwyf
How did you install OBSE? Are you launching the game with the OBSE exe?

Hello, I installed OBSE as per the instructions for Steam. Then I launch the game with Steam. The Steam overlay won't appear in game.

I should mention that I can load Oblivion and start a game but OBSE fails to load because Steam overlay won't work. However if I change into admin mode for Steam then Oblivion.exe crashes on launch.

The crash on launch is

The crash on launch is usually related to an ini problem or missing file. Try deleting your ini from the Documents folder then launching in admin mode again. If you still crash, verify that all your installed mods have the required ESPs, BSAs, ESMs, etc. and sort your load order with BOSS.

Quorwyf wrote:

Quorwyf
The crash on launch is usually related to an ini problem or missing file. Try deleting your ini from the Documents folder then launching in admin mode again. If you still crash, verify that all your installed mods have the required ESPs, BSAs, ESMs, etc. and sort your load order with BOSS.

I would agree, however I have a different theory.

If I launch Oblivion from Steam without running Steam in administrator mode then Oblivion will launch fine. I can start a new game and I can play. But OBSE does not load. My theory is that it will not load because Steam Overlay is not working.

People have suggested I run Steam in administrator mode. However, if I do that then Oblivion.exe crashes no matter what compatibility mode it runs in.

Since Oblivion runs fine when launched from Steam normally, I assume it's got something to do with the Steam Overlay. But I cannot figure it out.

I have put in a ticket to Steam tech support but I'm not altogether hopeful.

If you are using the latest

If you are using the latest non-beta version of the steam client, OBSE should load even if you have the steam overlay UI turned off. First, make sure you did not try to install OBSE v0021 via a mod manager: (1)obse_1_2_416.dll and (2)obse_steam_loader.dll should be in same directory as your Oblivion.exe. Second, make sure that the steam overlay is enabled in the two places you can set it: (1) Steam->Settings->In-Game tab and also (2)Oblivion Properties->General tab. I also find installing the SteamLibrary in a directory outside of Program Files (x86)\Steam to be extremely helpful for many games.

Check Log Files:
- Start with the steam loader log files inside the same directory as your Steam.exe:
- GameOverlayRenderer.dll and GameOverlayRender64.dll are the components that load the obse_steam_loader.dll. Its log file is GameOverlayRenderer.log: The second line should be Oblivion's game ID (GameID = 22330). The third line should be "{timestamp} Loaded OBSE". This log should show obse_steam_loader.dll, obse_1_2_416.dll and all the OBSE plugins that are installed. Look for any error messages. Also, verify the timezone corrected time to make sure you're not looking at an old log.
- Check GameOverlayUI.exe, which is the component that handles the in-game overlay. Since your overlay is not working, check its log file (GameOverlayUI.exe.log): the first line is the GamerOverlay process ID. The second line is the process ID for the game exectuble (Oblivion.exe). Check to see if there are any error messages.
- If OBSE shows up in the steam GameOverlayRenderer.log, then check the log files produced by OBSE. These are in the same directory as Oblivion.exe:
- obse_steam_loader.log: this should show that obse_1_2_416.dll was loaded.
- obse.log: this should show the initialization progress as OBSE loads itself and its plugins. Check for any error messages.

Let us know if you find any error messages. Good luck!

Hello, thanks for your reply.

I did a clean wipe of Oblivion, reinstalled, loaded Steam in administrator mode and Oblivion launched with Steam Overlay and OBSE is running. I probably should have tried a clean install earlier but I didn't want to re-do the Morroblivion, Wrye Bash install. However I'm happy it's working now.

Thanks!