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 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 BOSS 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, a RADEON 7990, an AMD FX

9370 or 8350, or the highest grade of Intel Processors, 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 BOSS, doesn't mean BOSS 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-thread38/?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 love Skyrim HD 2K Textures, don't get me wrong,

but even with a Gigabyte Radeon 7950 video card with 3GB of VRAM, a GPU
clock of 1000MHZ and a Memory clock of 1250MHZ, my monster of a card
couldn't handle it. 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.

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

Unofficial
Unofficial
Unofficial
Unofficial
Unofficial

Skyrim Patch- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19/

Dawnguard Patch- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23491/
Hearthfire Patch- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25127/
Dragonborn Patch- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/31083/
High Resolution Patch- http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/31255/

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) BOSS
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6/
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. BOSS 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.

Skyrim Save Cleanerhttp://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/31724/?

13)

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.

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.)

Watch your back, Lydia!

--Written by Ted95 - Revised and formatted by Jupiter0026