Fallout 3 (GOTYE) on Windows 10 Pro.

[IainB]

Note: "GOTYE" = "Game of the Year Edition".

We had been given some gift vouchers to spend at a high street IT chain store, so we went to their store to buy a computer game, and came away with my daughter's choice, which was Fallout 3.
It installed the Steam delivery system and required GFWL (Games For Windows Live) to be installed and running as well.
After a bit of mucking about recovering our relatively unused GFWL signon ID/Password, Steam, the game, and GFWL were installed and ran fine on a Samsung-S3 (Series 3) laptop with standard Windows 10 update.

A couple of days later I installed the thing (Steam, the game, and GFWL) on a Toshiba Satellite L855D laptop with Windows 10 Pro. It all seemed to install OK, but it wouldn't run - kept coming up with the same nondescript error at startup:
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Fallout 3 Launcher
Fallout 3 Launcher has stopped working
A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.
Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.
[Close program]
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For several hours I scoured the discussion forums, searching for a solution or a workaround.
Not being able to run Fallout 3 on Win8 or Win10 seemed to be a common problem.
There were two very useful posts at steamcommunity.com:

• ULTIMATE Fallout 3 Setup Guide READ THIS!
• Fallout 3 runs GREAT with these easy steps!

However, after several hours of playing Sherlock Holmes and repeatedly reinstalling the thing on the Toshiba-L855D, using different tweaks here and there, I still couldn't get Fallout 3 to run. So near, and yet so far! Very frustrating.
I checked and compared, and found that game installation folders/files and Steam components were identical on both laptops, but I had noticed that, on both laptops, GFWL Client had been set to run at Windows startup, and, out of interest tonight I compared the GFWL files as installed on each laptop, and noticed a difference:

One subfolder was different: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE\Redist\DirectX
- on the ToshibaL855D, there were only two files in that folder, and though the same two were in the corresponding folder on the Samsung-S3, on the latter the folder held a few more files, so I copied them across to the ToshibaL855D folder, leaving it with these in all:

• APR2007_xinput_x86.cab 
  Aug2009_d3dx10_42_x86.cab
  Aug2009_d3dx9_42_x86.cab
  DSETUP.dll             
  dsetup32.dll           
  dxdllreg_x86.cab       
  DXSETUP.exe             
  dxupdate.cab

I then ran DXSETUP.exe, after which I stopped and restarted the GFWL Client, logged in to GFWL, and then started the Fallout 3 game after searching for the link using the Start menu: "Fallout 3 - Game of the Year Edition".
It seems to work OK now, though I have only now started playing it.
I suspect it will have been worth all the trouble, but I thought I'd post my notes about it here, in case they might be of help/use to others with similar Fallout 3 problems under Win10.

[Deozaan]

Related: Windows 10 won't run games with commonly hated DRM platforms

[p3lb0x]

Fallout 3 is a pretty good game, it suffers the same fate as most Bethesda games though, the main story is shoddy and the game is buggy in general. But let yourself cut loose and just wander and there's a good chance you will wander into some interesting content. Just my two cents. Also, for the love of god, be sure to invest into a build (A good tip is to invest into a single weapon skill, a utility skill like lockpicking, science or speech and some more general purpose skills like medicine, sneak or repair). Don't try to be good at everything, you will end up not being able to do anything.

[IainB]

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[IainB]

Just a note to say that on an HP Pavilion 15 laptop with an i7 processor, Fallout 3 GOTYE for a while now has no longer worked properly under Win10-64 Pro after the Anniversary update, and still doesn't after subsequent updates.
It still works on the Samsung-S3 laptop though.   

On the HP Pavilion 15 laptop, the symptoms are, whether the game is launched:

• (a) via the link for the Steam GOTYE launch icon, or
• (b) directly via the Game Launcher icon,

- though the usual warning about "This app might not work correctly ... under this version of Windows...", everything seems to work just fine, even after a "continue" from last game saved or a specific saved game is selected from the menu.
What happens then is that the game starts to load and one or two statistics reports (number of things killed, etc.) are displayed about the loading game, then the game crashes with a nondescript Windows apology being displayed. This is consistently repeatable.

I checked that the files listed above for C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE\Redist\DirectX were all present and correct, and ran DXSETUP.exe - which completed OK - but it seemed to make no difference, and still the game crashed exactly as described (as above in this comment).

It also seems to make no difference whether one enables the Intel Integrated Graphics processor or the NVIDIA Geoforce GPU.

Fallout New Vegas seems to work fine with no probs though.

Stumped. Very frustrating.

[Shades]

Get a tool like 'Process Monitor' (part of the Sysinternals Suite) or 'Dependency Walker' to keep track of what your system is doing when you try to start Fallout 3. Both tools are freely available and both can be used as a portable tool. These will give you a lot more insight about which files are opened by the fallout launcher and where things go wrong.

At least I get the impression from your error description that the fallout launcher gets "confused" on Windows 10 about where to look for files it requires to start the game.

[IainB]

@Shades: No, the location of the correct saved game files does not seem to be a problem. The game seems to know where the saved game files are OK (they also show in its menu as well, to prove it) and then, when you start it to play a new game or a saved game file that you point it at:

• (a) sometimes it fails before it gets anywhere after that, crashing for no apparent reason.
• (b) sometimes it starts loading the saved game file that you point it at, and it puts out the usual sort of stats about that player/game file to pass the time as it is loading that game file, then it crashes, for no apparent reason.

I haven't figured out how to repeatedly force (a) or (b).

But you might have made a useful point - I hadn't thought of using an analysis tool as you suggest. Thanks.

[IainB]

I sat down today (Good Friday) determined to have a crack at solving the "brick wall" problem of the unworkable Fallout 3 in Windows 10, post the Anniversary Update. I did some more searching, and nobody seemed to have a solution, but then I saw some clues - interesting reference to the NVSE (New Vegas Script Extender) and its potential relevance to helping fix the crashing and quality problems in Fallout 3 and other Bethesda games.
I am very pleased to say that I have now identified, implemented and tested the FIX to this problem.

My notes about this are below - from my OneNoter Notebook. They are largely self-explanatory and posted for posterity and for other Fallout 3 gamers who may have been equally frustrated by this brick wall.
Hats off to the developers of FOSE and NVSE (see below).
The image below has a spoiler below it, containing the text (links etc.) in the image.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

2017-04-14 2157hrs: Found the key to the solution to FIX Fallout 3 perpetually crashing on game start, under Win10 - use FOSE with the NVSE plugin NVAC .dll plugin.

NB:
• FOSE = Fallout Script Extender: http://fose.silverlock.org/
The Fallout Script Extender, or FOSE for short, is a modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Fallout 3. It does so without modifying the Fallout3.exe or the G.E.C.K. files on disk, so there are no permanent side effects.(Source: fose_readme.txt)I already had FOSE installed in:C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty
• NVSE = New Vegas Script Extender: http://nvse.silverlock.org/
The New Vegas Script Extender, or NVSE for short, is a modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Fallout: NV. It does so without modifying the executable files on disk, so there are no permanent side effects.(Source: nvse_readme.txt)I installed NVSE today in:C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas
• NVAC = New Vegas Anti-Crash (a Plugin for NVSE) http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/53635/
Those with Windows 10 Anniversary Update and certain Nvidia Drivers may experience the game not load for them. You can use NVAC (New Vegas Anti Crash) in most cases to fix this issue. Although this mod is listed as for New Vegas, it will work with Fallout 3. You can get it here - http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/53635/
(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/FalloutMods/wiki/fixguide)
1. NVAC 7.5.0.0 fixes the Windows 10 Anniversary Update + up-to-date Nvidia / AMD video driver crashes / issues for the following:
        • Fallout New Vegas
        • Fallout New Vegas No Gore (German)
        • Fallout 3
        • Fallout 3 No Gore (German)
        • Oblivion
        • GECK (New Vegas)
        • GECK (Fallout 3)
        • Construction Set (Oblivion)

It should also be installable via mod manager for New Vegas, Fallout 3, and Skyrim; would like confirmation that installing it via NMM, etc. works correctly for all 3 games (I only did minimal testing). Oblivion users will need to install manually (in Data\OBSE\Plugins).

To clarify, if you're using NVAC 7.4.0.0 or older and New Vegas crashes when loading a game, and nvac.log contains 00B57AA9, you're affected by the Win10AU issue.

From <http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/53635/?tab=4&&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fnewvegas%2Fajax%2Fcomments%2F%3Fmod_id%3D53635%26page%3D1%26sort%3DDESC%26pid%3D0%26thread_id%3D1197661&pUp=1>;

• Refer also:
? HTML Scrapbook\How to install mods for Fallout 3 - Nexus Wiki.mhtml
? HTML Scrapbook\NVAC - New Vegas Anti Crash at Fallout New Vegas - mods and community.mhtml

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QUESTION - https://www.reddit.com/r/FalloutMods/wiki/fixguide
[Question] Downloaded NVAC, can't figure out what to do with it (self.Fallout)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/5a7ys4/question_downloaded_nvac_cant_figure_out_what_to/

submitted 5 months ago by jtierney50We rule
Sorry if this a noob question, but I'm not exactly a computer person. I tried to restart playing New Vegas yesterday, but after the intro cinematic, the game crashed. The same problem occurred after restarting Fallout 3, but because there is no intro cinematic, it crashed soon after I started a new game.
Anyway, I looked up solutions and downloaded NVAC. In the "read me" file, it tells me to put nvac.dll in my Data\NVSE\Plugins folder. However, I can find no such folder in the Data files for New Vegas. Am I supposed to create these folders? I tried copying the NVSE folder (which contained the Plugins folder, which contained nvac.dll) from the ZIP file to the New Vegas Data folder, but that didn't change anything.
Sorry if this a dumb question, but I have a seven hour train ride on Friday and I really would like to have something to do then.
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ALL 10 COMMENTS
SORTED BY: BEST
[–]Mys-Brotherhood 4 points 5 months ago
You'll need to download New Vegas Script Extender.
Here is a video on how to install it. The version numbers will be different, but the steps are exactly the same.
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[–]jtierney50We rule 1 point 5 months ago
Thank you, I installed NVSE but I still can't find the folder it says to put it in.
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[–]Mys-Brotherhood 2 points 5 months ago
You'll have to make them manually. In the Data folder for New Vegas make a folder called NVSE, open the folder you just made then make a new folder inside called plugins. Place the BETA VERSION of NVAC in the plugins folder. The file path will look like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas\Data\NVSE\plugins

You'll want to do the same for Fallout 3. You can go here for Fallout 3 Script Extender. You'll be making similar folders for this as well. The file path looks like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty\Data\fose\plugins
Place the nvac.dll in the plugins folder here as well.
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[–]jtierney50We rule 1 point 5 months ago
Hmm. Tried that, opened through NVSE, still doesn't work.
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[–]Mys-Brotherhood 1 point 5 months ago
Okay, what kind of graphics card do you have?
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[–]jtierney50We rule 1 point 5 months ago
Graphics card shouldn't matter, should it? I've played New Vegas before, in fact I've beaten the game, but now that I'm trying to restart it keeps crashing.
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[–]Mys-Brotherhood 1 point 5 months ago
The Windows 10 Anniversary update for AMD and Nvidia has been breaking Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
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[–]jtierney50We rule 1 point 5 months ago
Okay, I do have an NVidia card, but I've had Windows 10 since before I bought and played NV, so it shouldn't have anything to do with that, right?
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[–]Mys-Brotherhood 2 points 5 months ago
It was a driver update for the graphics card that came with the Windows 10 Anniversary update. Driver 372.+ has been breaking Fallout 3 and New Vegas. It's a problem that has been ongoing for quite some time now. Sometimes the only fix is rolling back to driver 368.81.
I have to leave now, but I'll leave you with these instructions:
You can go here for Nvidia's instructions on rolling back drivers via device manager. Just use the Windows 7 instructions for Windows 10.

If rolling back via device manager doesn't work, use the "Search NVIDIA" bar at the top right of that page to look for "368.81" - just read the descriptions. Windows 10 64bit should be the top one, though.
OR top left under the Nvidia logo, select "Drivers". You can manually search or have it auto detect your configuration.
Once you download the driver, install. I recommend selecting the box that says "clean install".
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[–]jtierney50We rule 1 point 5 months ago*
I don't think that's the problem. I went to the device manager and clicked on the Nvidia card, and it says that the most recent driver version was from August 1, which was before the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and in any case the "roll back drive" button is grayed out and unclickable.
EDIT: Never mind, that fixed it! Thanks for the help! <-- Interesting.

From <https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/5a7ys4/question_downloaded_nvac_cant_figure_out_what_to/>;
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