Skyrim Crash Compendium

the ultimate compilation of tips to avoid CTDs

Latest Revision: 11/30/2013

Overview
CTDs, or crashes in general, are bound to happen throughout your Skyrim playthroughs. Some have
come to call this "The Bethesda Experience". A large majority of these crashes are faults on Bethesda's
end - generally regarded as lazy programming on their part. Some crashes, however, occur because of
incompatible mods, mod combinations, things you brought upon yourself.

Whilst it's impossible to completely avoid these crashes, there are troubleshooting steps you can take to
drastically reduce the risk. This reference will overview many things that could cause your game to break
down.

Section I: BAT Crashes

Definition: BAT (or batch) file is the name given to a type of script file, a text file containing a series of
commands to be executed by the command interpreter.

BAT crashes are the most subtle of crashes you could experience- because they will almost never cause a
CTD. BAT crashes often cause infinite loading screens. You know that moment: you haven't saved in an
hour, everything is going fine, and you enter a door, you wait, you wait some more, and you realize the
game just isn't going to load. The game isn't frozen- you can still hear the music and see the smoke in the
background. But the next room just won't load. In layman's terms, a BAT crash occurs because you
created a BAT file you shouldn't have.

BAT files work when you open the ~CMD (Command Console) in your Skyrim session and type Bat
followed by the name of your BAT file.

Ordinarily there is no problem. But when you create a very large BAT file with 50+ references, especially
if you add a large quantity of one or more items such as 999999999 Daedra Hearts (it would look like
Player.additem 0003AD5B 999999999 in your BAT file), the game's resources begin to dwindle, and your
computer can't handle it. If you add an astronomically large number of items of varying kinds, it can and
almost always will corrupt your save eventually, assuming you continue to use that BAT file. However,
you can use extremely large amounts of items, and roughly up to 30 commands per BAT file safely,
without issue. Why? Because it may be a SPECIFIC command causing corruption. Certain items, such as
quest items, are meant to be attained only when you've finished or started the appropriate quest. If you
haven't made such progress, and you still add that item to your game, you risk corruption.

Examples of items that have corrupted my saves are as follows:

1. Albino Spider Pods from the Dragonborn DLC. DO NOT add these with a BAT file or in any way other
than picking them up normally. THEY WILL CORRUPT YOUR SAVE! I had added 999999999 of them and
for some reason they don't want to be cheated into your inventory.
2. Dragon Heartscales from the Master Alteration quest for Tolfdir of the College Of Winterhold. NEVER
ADD THESE AT ALL. Even if you started the quest. They corrupt your saves unless you get them normally.
3. Jarrin Root: this one is a possibility that is best not to add. There is only one of these and you must get
far in the Dark Brotherhood quests to get it.
4. Ingredients in general. Never add more than what you REALLY want or need in a BAT file. I cannot
narrow down which ingredient causes this issue, but only add what you need.
5. The second Salt Pile. This sneaky little annoyance is one that is physically impossible to obtain
normally and can cause crashes. Do not add 00074a19 EVER. Again, never "Player.additem 00074a19". It
can cause crashes. Use "Player.additem 00034CDF" instead.
6. I am unsure why, but adding 999999999 of Briar Hearts, Void Salts, and/or Ectoplasm ingredients
causes save corruption. This may not happen to you, and indeed, I have added the Briar Hearts and Void
Salts before in that quantity, and it worked fine, however this was much later in my playthrough. I
suggest making a backup save and doing this after you've been playing for a lot, if you do it at all.

In retrospect, being safe with BAT files goes like this: use scripts that have been proven to work right
from the Skyrim Nexus or other reputable sites. Only add what you need, and never quest items. No
Albino Spider Pods. It's also good practice to, instead of creating fewer massive scripts, create more
smaller ones.

Section II: Gameplay / UI Crashes

Remember how I mentioned earlier about Bethesda being lazy? This section emphasizes that.
Gameplay / UI Crashes occur when you're performing actions at a fast rate, and your computer freezes
to a halt trying to calculate all the calculations thrown at it, and you open the start menu or inventory
menu to add insult to injury. The game cannot process these complex actions at that speed, hence the
crash - usually to desktop.

Here are some examples of things that have caused me to crash, and useful tips:

1. Using a mod that allows infinite Shouting or a cheat that does and using Whirlwind Sprint
CONSTANTLY. Let me explain. The mod and cheats that allow this are fine. Doing it is fine. Doing it
constantly can cause crashes or freezing because of the speed that it happens. You may also be entering
a new cell while shouting and it causes this.
2. Using the mod "Deadly Spell Impacts". DON'T USE IT. If you use magic at all, it cannot handle it for
some reason. As soon as you press the spell button you will eventually freeze or crash. It's not worth it
and the author needs to fix this. I personally have used this on two separate computer systems and
eventually, when I use a spell like Flames or Sparks, the game CTD's or freezes. And then I have to use
Task Manager to manually close Skyrim.
3. Running and turning very quickly (and jumping too) can cause this issue for the same reasons as
Whirlwind Sprint done constantly can.
4. The mod "Helgen Reborn" must not be activated until you have finished the intro sequence at Helgen
and are on your way to Riverwood (when you exit the Helgen Keep Cave). It alters Helgen entirely and
cause cause lots of problems if you start the game with it enabled. Using the mod "Alternate Start: Live
Another Life" can help with this, from my experience. As long as you only use Live Another Life as your
game start-changing mod, you can have Helgen Reborn enabled with a new game, because you won't
actually be in the vicinity of Helgen.
5. Any mod that LOOT says has "Deleted Navmeshes" stay away from unless the mod's author specifically
says they won't cause problems. Deleted Navmeshes occur when a modder messes with a Navmeshed
part of the game (usually a small part of a location) they shouldn't have. Entering that part causes
crashes. One great example is the "South Dragon Bridge" mod's Mine of Valgus location entrance.
MadFrenchie says these Navmeshes are fine, but they cause me instant CTD's in that area without fail.
6. The mod "Sounds of Skyrim - The Dungeons" causes issues with custom made dungeons and
dungeons in general. The biggest one being Shriekwind Bastion. It's because it modifies in some way the
game's audio in these places and cause crashes and issues. I personally have CTD'd dozens of times at
Shriekwind Bastion, and removing the mod got rid of the issue.
7. Get Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE). End of story. Most mods require it.
8. Use Skyrim Save Cleaner as a lot of times your saves get too big and cause crashes. This helps de-bloat
them.
9. Use Wrye Bash every time you add a new mod to make a Bashed Patch. It helps safely make mods (or
at least their leveled lists) compatible.
10. Make sure your .ESM files are NEVER below your .ESP files. It will cause crashes 100% guaranteed. An
exception is with the Unofficial Skyrim Patches. Load orders usually go like this with them: Skyrim.ESM,
Update.ESM, Unofficial Skyrim Patch.ESP, Dawnguard.ESM, Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.ESP,
Hearthfires.ESM, Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.ESP, Dragonborn.ESM, Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.ESP.
11. Make sure your Skyrim "Plugins.txt" file doesn't have two Skyrim.ESM entries. Don't know why it
happens, but in AppData, if it has two, delete one. If you don't have a Skyrim.ESM or Update.ESM, try
adding them in this order: Skyrim.ESM, Update.ESM, Dawnguard.ESM, Hearthfires.ESM,
Dragonborn.esm.
12. Get a computer specifically made for gaming. 8 GB of RAM, a processor that has over 3.0 GHZ, a
video card with at least 1 GB of VRAM (GDDR5, DDR3, ETC), and adequate cooling. It is very possible
your computer simply can't handle your settings, the game, DLC, or mods you have.
13. At some point, unless you have a GTX Titan Black, a RADEON R9 295x2, an AMD FX 9590 or Intel I7-
5960X, and more than 8 GB of RAM, you will not be able to handle the amount of mods (255) that
Skyrim allows. It just can't take it. This is especially true if you use large-scale mods that heavily alter
things on a large scale. If you had 255 smaller mods, it most likely wouldn't be an issue (like 100 armor
and weapon mods, 10 magic mods, 50 creature mods, a few heavy mods, and the rest of things like
dialogue or followers), but if you have most (or somehow all) of your mods as powerful as Skyrim Flora
Overhaul, Skyrim Monster Mod, Static Mesh Improvement Mod, Climates of Tamriel, Intricate
Spiderwebs, WATER, Skyrim HD 2K Textures, things like this? I strongly advise you to use the ones you
can't live without. Because there comes a point where it can't take it.
14. Always make sure your hardware drivers are up to date and your computer has the latest updates.
15. Always update your mods to the latest version, and make sure you add the CORRECT .INI edits if the
mod author says to. Note, however, that updating to the latest version can cause issues, but this has only
ever happened to me once, the chance is almost nonexistent if the author is a good modder.
16. Don't be stupid and spawn 50 Dragons and 150 Stormcloaks right next to you. Your computer most
likely can't handle it, because you did not buy $10,000 worth of parts.
17. As a failsafe, disable all mods and enable them one by one (saving and loading the game in between)
to see which one causes problems.
18. If you have mods still that are unsubscribed on your Launcher? Delete them. They can cause
problems if not subscribed for some Skyrim players.
19. Never delete anything you don't know what it is or does. Usually it's important and can destroy your
computer as well. This goes for everything you ever do on a computer.
20. Don't run a million unnecessary programs along with Skyrim. Only a few get the memory and help,
and you want one to be Skyrim.
21. Always have the latest Offical and Unofficial patches for Skyrim and the DLC.
22. Use the Optimized High Resolution Texture Pack, a stable version of the Official High Resolution
Texture Pack DLC released by Bethesda. Also, use the Unofficial High Res DLC Patch as well with it. There
is no visible difference I can see between Skyrim HD 2K Textures and Optimized High Resolution Texture
Pack. This mod runs much better and is less demanding.
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9080/?
23. Mods that alter the same thing as each other usually don't get along as only one of them gets
preference.
24. I cannot 100% say this is the case, but it seems like it. If you use an Xbox 360 controller on your
Skyrim game, have you noticed it jostle, like your character moving even if you didn't make it do so? If
that happens when you are loading a new area (for me it has been Kolbjorn Barrow), it seems it can
cause a crash.
25. You can clean the official DLC with TESVEdit. I owe Sharlikran an apology. It would appear I managed
to make the same mistake numerous times while using the program. So, I apologize, Sharlikran. I
apologize Nexus community. ("I apologize Bikini Bottom", if you get that reference, you just added +5 to
your Coolness attribute.) Make sure you follow the guides out there on CreationKit.com and others
EXACTLY. For cleaning the official DLC's, only load ONE at a time, it will load the dependent files for you.
If you want to clean Update.ESM, only click Update.ESM. Right click on the file and select "Apply Filter
For Cleaning". Wait until it says "Loader finished". Right click and choose "Remove Identical to Master
Records" on the file you are trying to clean ONLY! After it is done, right click and choose "Undelete and
Disable References". Don't be freaked out when it says "57 Deleted Navmeshes cannot be Undeleted",
the program lies to you. X out of the program and click "Okay" when the rectangular window pops up.
You're done.
26. Just because you use LOOT, doesn't mean LOOT is right. If the mod author says the mod has to be in
a certain load order slot, put it there or it won't work correctly and can cause crashes and bugs (like
SkyHavenTempleEnhanced.ESP not being at the bottom is one I use, even if it doesn't cause me CTD's, it
has caused me Infinite Load Screens before).
27. Do not have TCL (Toggle Clipping Mode) on when you enter a new area (Like opening a cave), it can
cause crashes because you won't be standing, you'll have no clipping.
28. NEVER ADD "iLargeIntRefCount=999999" TO YOUR SKYRIM .INI! I have recently discovered this to be
the culprit of the VAST MAJORITY of dungeon CTD's. It fixed the issues I had with Dustman's Cairn and
Raven Rock Mine.
29. Using a program like Skyrim Mod Organizer can drastically help you. It works like Nexus Mod
Manager, except it places the mods in separate folders, not in the Data folder so you don't have to worry
about something going wrong in that folder. I personally use it. You can actually run BOSS, SKSE, Wrye
Bash, and TESVEdit from it if you add the programs through its drop down "Modify Executables" (edit)
menu.
30. I strongly advise against using USKP Addon (or what it calls itself now, the "Skyrim Misc Patches
Collection"). Why? Because the creators of numerous mods (Including the Unofficial Patches) have
literally stated this individual is fraudulently saying their content is part of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch
Series, and is using it incorrectly (and without permission) which is causing problems in game for people.
I know this because I read about it on the Unofficial Skyrim Patch page, and here is the link if you don't
believe it: http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1477074-relz-unofficial-skyrim-patch-thread-38/?hl=
%2Bmisc+%2Bpatches I used to use it, I don't now.
32. I cannot prove this 100%, but from my experience, using the command "QQQ", can cause corruption
very rarely to your saves. Not sure why that would be, but I suppose it's because it quits Skyrim directly
to the desktop very quickly. Also, when quitting in general to the desktop, you may see a message like
this: "Error: Failed to initialize renderer, unknown malfunction creating renderer". This has never actually
done anything to my game from what I can tell. Again, this is not misinformation, it is a possibility.
33. If you are constantly having problems with your Skyrim game, try validating the integrity of the game
cache. Go into Steam, go to library and right click on Skyrim, choose "Properties", go to "Local Files" and
choose "Verify Integrity of Game Cache". Basically, if something is missing from your game (DLC wise),
this should redownload and fix it for you.
34. Install the mod "SkyUI". It adds a Mod Menu in game called MCM (Mod Configuration Menu). Many
mods that alter your UI require this mod. If they can't find it, the game may crash.
35. Disable autosaves. I am not kidding around. For whatever reason, Bethesda messed up and
autosaves cause problems, and big ones at that. Disable "Save on rest", "Save on wait", "Save on Fast
Travel", and any other autosave functions.
36. Skyrim is a game that really was optimized for consoles, but if you play it on the computer, it's best to
have a 64xBit operating system (Specifically Windows XP or Windows 7). When using a 32xBit operating
system, Skyrim cannot fully harness your ram. This quote from the Steam forums should help you:

"32-bit applications can generally only access a maximum of 2GB of physical memory, even if you have
more installed. This can be gotten around if
1. The application is programmed to use LMA (large memory access), which Skyrim seems to be.
2. You have 4GB or more of physical memory installed
3. Windows is configured for LMA

To configure Windows 7 for LMA:

I) Open a cmd prompt with administrator privileges
* Open Start menu
* Type cmd in the search field
* Right click on the cmd prompt icon and select Run as Admin
II) Type bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072 and press enter, it should say something like "Operation
completed successfully".
III) Reboot your computer then Skyrim shouldn't crash anymore.
IV) If at some stage you want to undo this then at a cmd prompt type bcdedit /deletevalue
IncreaseUserVa and reboot."

37. Always make a new save when installing or unistalling mods. A new game can potentially help as
well.
38. Never add or remove mods in your current game. It seriously screws everything up, from increased
crashes, to oil disappearing from Bleak Falls Barrow, to quests and followers becoming glitched. Sadly, I
have learned the hard way you can only use the mods you started the game with on that specific
character playthrough. Always make sure you have absolutely every mod you want installed before
making a new game. Updating mods is normally fine, and you usually can keep your save by reading the
mod author's instructions for updating.
39. If you use a Steam version of Skyrim, many times your game will crash if a Steam window pops up on
the computer while the game is playing. For example, my game CTD's or freezes whenever the "Steam
Holiday Sale" or update notifications pop up in a separate window. Make sure these are closed before
playing, and if they do pop up, don't panic, just end your Skyrim application, close the window, and then
start again.
40. Get in the habit of making new saves instead of always overwriting saves. Sometimes, if a save file
gets too big in size, it can cause problems. And if you lose that save, you lose a lot of time. It's always
good to make more than one.
41. NEVER USE MORE THAN ONE HIGH RESOLUTION TEXTURE MOD! I have recently figured out the vast
majority of my crashes were being caused by Skyrim HD 2K Textures. I have since removed Skyrim HD 2K
Textures, and only used the Optimized High Resolution DLC, an optimized version of the Official High
Resolution DLC Pack by Bethesda, with the Unofficial High Res DLC Patch, and had no problems. I can
now safely enter all of the dungeons and use Whirlwind Sprint constantly with no issue. I recommend
having a video card with at least 4GB of VRAM to use Skyrim HD 2K Textures.
42. If you are using a mod that alters a perk, in my case it altered the Extra Effect perk, and the perk
stays the same in the description or "dims" like it hasn't been unlocked even if it is? The save has been
corrupted at that point. This happens because you are using too many perk mods, conflicting perk mods,
or the author of the mod altering that specific perk did a very bad job. Like if the Extra Effect perk is
supposed to read "You can use ten enchantments on a single item" because of the mod, and it doesn't
say that, and the perk has the vanilla description and is "dimmed" like it is before you've unlocked it, it is
a conflict with the perks. Be careful, because there may still be conflicts even if Wyre Bash and BOSS say
there isn't.
43. THIS SHOULD DRAMATICALLY HELP PEOPLE!
The infamous "Black Screen" crash where your monitor/TV says "No Signal" out of the blue? You know,
the one where you have to hardboot the system (hold down the power button) just to make your
computer responsive again? I've figured out how to fix it. It at least fixed it in my case.
If your video card is capable of overclocking? You need to underclock it. Reduce the MHZ of the memory
and GPU by 20. Also, use "Simple Borderless Window" to run in fullscreen without actually running in
fullscreen. This solved it, I have no idea why.
44. Some people have mods and/or a video card that cannot handle AA (Anti-Aliasing). It can cause
random LSD-looking triangles and flashing. Simply disable AA. That's it. Seriously. You can get the same
effects as AA by downsampling, which is increasing your resolution to the max.

Section III: Problem Areas

Be careful when you're dancing about these places, they have been known to cause problems. Mostly
mod conflicts and issues, but some are left unexplained:

1. Ustengrav.
2. Dustman's Cairn. (Like the solution below, the culprit should be "iLargeIntRefCount=999999")
3. Raven Rock Mine. (The CTD on entrance is caused by adding "iLargeIntRefCount=999999" to your
Skyrim .ini file. Remove it immediately if you have it!)
4. The Ratway (all of it, Warrens, etc).
5. Understone Keep.
6. Mistveil Keep (strangely, almost anything with "Keep").
7. Shearpoint.
8. Korvanjund.
9. Volskygge.
10. Shriekwind Bastion (North and South, usually caused by "Sounds Of Skyrim - The Dungeons").
11. Nchardak.
12. Nchuand-Zel.
13. The entire Rift and Falkreath Hold. To basically fix this, use the FX series of mods, like Pine Needles
FX, Snowfall FX, etc, to help (they help immensely) and with no noticeable difference in appearance.
14. Hilligrund's Tomb.
15. Kolbjorn Barrow. (Very prone to crashing when opening Menus quickly)
16. Forelhost.
17. The area immediately after passing Embershard Mine on the road to Riverwood can cause a CTD for
some reason. I have confirmed this with multiple save games. Going around the road to get to
Riverwood has worked.

Section IV: Overhauls

Overhauls are mods that completely redesign and / or restructure everything about either a specific
facet of the game, or in more extreme cases, the core gameplay mechanics. These overhaul mods are
almost always massive, so it's recommended you pay extra consideration when you're installing other
mods, to avoid conflicts.

Say you're using SkyRe- a mod that completely remasters (almost) the entire game - with a heavy
emphasis on the new perk system. Installing another mod that tampers with the perks in the slightest
may cause game-breaking problems.

It's always a good idea to be careful when you're installing mods to avoid potential conflicts, and even
moreso when dealing with an overhaul.

If you do decide to use an overhaul, always see if you can find compatibility patches for the other mods
you want to use with it.

Section V: Useful Programs And Tools

1) CTD and Memory Patch ENBBOOST

http://www.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/38649/
Description: This mod greatly reduces the chances of CTDs as you add more and more mods.

2) Skyrim Performance PLUS

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6387/
Description: This mod reduces the quality of effect textures such as leaves, snowfall, pineneedles, and
rain. This mod is especially beneficial to those of you who are crashing near The Rift or Falkreath Hold.

3) Safety Load
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/46465/
Description: This mod will eradicate memory-related infinite loading screens by giving you a CTD instead,
and dramatically reducing the occurence of crashes. Better to CTD than to wait forever!

4) Texture Optimizer
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12801/
Description: This mod allows you to combine many texture-heavy mods and mush them down into a
single mod instead.

5) SkyUI
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3863/
Description: This mod reworks the entire menu system in Skyrim. Bethesda had consoles in mind when
desigining the UI - and this mod fixes that. Mods that are labeled as requiring "MCM" need this.

6) The Unoffical Patch Series/USLEEP

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71214/?

All of these patches IMMENSELY help with really everything, actually. These people are fixing the
mistakes Bethesda made.

7) Alternate Start: Live Another Life

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9557/
Description: This mod greatly reduces the chance of conflicts with mods that affect the start of the game
(Like Helgen Reborn) by having you start in a location of your choice, rather than Helgen. What I am NOT
saying is it makes it okay to use multiple game start altering mods. They will conflict with each other. But
using this mod with Helgen Reborn actually lets me start new games with Helgen Reborn active.

8) Wrye Bash
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1840/
Description: This mod can merge two or more mods and attempts to make them compatible with each
other. It will also notify you of any issues using color coding.

9) LOOT
https://loot.github.io/
Description: This mod will indentify your game's load order and attempt to alter it according to its
massive database of almost every mod created - in hopes of eliminating conflicts. LOOT is not the end all
be all for your load order needs. It's not perfect. It's always a good idea to look at a mod's page and see if
the author specified any required load order position for their mod.

10) TES5Edit
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25859/
Description: This mod, unlike most, is aimed at mod authors rather than mod users. In Skyrim, there are
things called dirty edits and wild edits.

I can't really say much about TESVEdit as I haven't spent too much time with it myself. If you're
interested in learning more, watch Gopher's video: v=UOQO2S6HDBw.

11) Mod Organizer- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1334/

Description: This mod takes the traditional mod sorting method and throws it out the window. It works
in the same way as the Nexus Mod Manager, but instead, it splits yours mods into their own folders
instead of the Data folder. This greatly reduces chances of conflict like files being overwritten or
misplaced into places by mistake.

12) SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender)

http://skse.silverlock.org/
Description: This mod is a godsend. In vanilla Skyrim, the scripting possibilities are very limited. You can't
even create a custom keybind. SKSE provides a remedy by expanding upon the scripting language -
making it significantly more powerful. Almost all complex mods require SKSE.

13) Skyrim Save Cleaner- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/31724/?

Description: This is a very useful tool for repairing save games that have become extremely problematic
or completely unplayable. It works by removing unneeded references (and scripts as well, I believe) to
free up memory for the save and reduce crashes.

14) SSME: Skyrim Startup Memory Editor

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50305/?

Description: For whatever reason, this mod seems to drastically reduce crashes. I don't pretend to know
how, but I can see the effects. I highly recommend it.

(This is possibly no longer needed with the latest SKSE.)

Section VI: Quest Related Save Corruption Crashes

These are something I have just deciphered, they are very insidious and hard to identify. These occur
when you are doing a particular quest that can overlap or affect another quest you are doing. They can
hinder NPC dialogue, not allow you to progress, and the only way to get past them is by console
commands. I only have these verified examples at the moment. The best advice I can give is to finish
every quest normally, and finish quests that might overlap with other quests before starting the other
quests.

1. "A Blade in the Dark" and "Taking Care of Business". This has personally caused me save game
corruption and CTD's, freezes, and Infinite Loading Screens. The Main Quest, "A Blade in the Dark" must
be completed before progressing with the Thieves Guild quest, "Taking Care of Business". Why? If you
are trying to find Esbern in A Blade in the Dark while trying to reach The Ragged Flagon to speak to
Brynjolf for Taking Care of Business, Brynjolf will go through the normal dialogue of saying he's glad you
made it in one piece. However, as soon as he finishes saying "How about taking care of some dead beats
for us?", the dialogue for that never comes, and Brynjolf will end the conversation. He will say something
along the lines of "Come back when you grow a spine", you cannot talk to him. You can only get past this
with console commands. It is because these quests affect each other, yet I am unsure why this causes
corruption of the save. You must finish "A Blade in the Dark" before you speak to Brynjolf at the Flagon,
or finish Taking Care of Business before A Blade in the Dark. I have personally confirmed that this causes
CTD's, save corruption, freezes, and Infinite Load Screens.

(I have a theory that if at any point a quest cannot progress normally, such as winning the Battle for Fort
Greenwall or Rescue from Fort Kastav and General Tullius not letting you report back to him, that the
save is corrupted at that point. You must reload a previous save and retry until it progresses normally. It
would seem as in Morrowind, when you kill someone you shouldn't? You know how it says you messed
up, you can still play the game, but not finish the quests, that it doesn't do anything? Well it appears in
Skyrim that not only happens, but it literally breaks the game.)
Section VII: Mod Bugs

UFO: Ultimate Follower Overhaul

It would appear that Ultimate Follower Overhaul can make it impossible to recruit Blades. The dialogue
"I've found someone to induct into the Blades" will either not appear at all, or appear and then
disappear. Delphine will say everything as normal, but not administer the oath and the follower will not
become a blade.

Courtesy of UESP.net and my own sleuthing, there is indeed a fix for this.

Click on the follower you want to recruit into the Blades.

Type "SetConsoleScopeQuest FreeformSkyhavenTempleA".
Now type "ForceRefinToAlias Blade01-03" to add that follower into the Blades. The "01" refers to the
first follower recruited. Delete the "-03" if this is your first follower. Then "02" for the second, and "03"
for the third you want recruited. Simple!

They may not automatically (or at all) add their Blades armor and weapons. You will have to console
command this into their inventory, or craft it and trade it with them, removing their default armor and
weapons with the "You could dress better" option.

You don't need UFO to use this fix, but it seems the bug is caused by UFO.

Helgen Reborn

There is a bug (technically) in the Fight Cave. After your first battle that you win, after speaking to Goreau
for your earnings and returning to Wiglaf, he will not speak to you. This is some kind of glitch. But before
you delete your save (like I used to do before finding this out), simply exit the Fight Cave and head back
in. Wiglaf will now talk to you. Repeat this process as many times as needed.

Watch your back, Lydia!

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Written by Ted95 - Revised and formatted by Jupiter0026