Reviving an old character

[Enkidu]

I'm trying to resurrect an old Oblivion character on a new computer running windows 7, and am having some installation issues. I am hoping to find guidance here.

I was able to install my old game on my new machine, but had issues with the official add-ons, which I had downloaded from Bethesda’s site long ago, so I’m looking for options as I would like to keep the official add-ons. Given all the different versions of the game out there it’s a bit confusing.

So the steam version includes the game, patches, and the official add-ons. Are my old saved games compatible? Do I need to be logged into Steam to play what is a stand-alone game?

Purchasing the Knights of the Nine retail disc is an option. But I’m wondering if I’ll have similar issues installing this package on windows 7 as I had with the downloads from Bethesda.

The anthology package looks interesting, but it’s expensive and it seems that Steam is mixed up in that package as well.

Suggestions, comments, or guidance will be much appreciated.

[Crawldragon]

The Steam version of the game is not a stand-alone game. It is a Steam game. If you're going to buy that one then I wouldn't suggest buying disc versions of the expansion packs. I don't think they're compatible with the Steam version of Oblivion, and besides if you purchase them on Steam they'll be backed up on the Steam cloud anyway.

What issues did you have with the official add-ons? Were they just not backed up and you had to download them again?

[MetaCthulhu]

Here's the wiki's addons page, if that helps: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Official_Add-Ons

[Enkidu]

Here's the wiki's addons page, if that helps: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Official_Add-Ons

That's actually the page where I got most of my information, and while it's good information I was still left with questions.

The Steam version of the game is not a stand-alone game. It is a Steam game. If you're going to buy that one then I wouldn't suggest buying disc versions of the expansion packs. I don't think they're compatible with the Steam version of Oblivion, and besides if you purchase them on Steam they'll be backed up on the Steam cloud anyway.

What issues did you have with the official add-ons? Were they just not backed up and you had to download them again?

I'm not that familiar with Steam. So if it's a Steam game, and everything is backed up on the Steam cloud, then I would no longer have access to my old saved games. That's my guess anyway.

I saved all my installation files from my original installation on XP. When I tried to install the official add-ons on Windows 7 I got the following message:

String IDS_NoWin64Support was found in string table

After searching online I decided that this problem was a bit beyond my abilities, and probably associated with Windows 7 64-bit architecture. The game installed just fine from my original disc, but the add-on installation files were downloaded long ago. I don't think those add-on files are available for download anymore.

I may look for the old knights of the nine retail disk, and just hope it will install correctly on windows 7. This disc should contain the add-on files I am looking for. The add-on installation files that I downloaded long ago would not install, but the actually game from a 2006 installation disc did install. We will see...

I went to amazon and read the comments about the Anthology software package. There seem to be good comments from knowledgeable people, unfortunately some of the comments directly contradict each other. So it's not clear if you can install the game and the add-ons independently of Steam.

Thanks for the comments. Bethesda released so many different versions of the game, and the add-ons, that it's hard to keep track of everything. Throw in a newer operating system and it gets really messy.

[legoless]

Some of the older digitally purchased installers are notorious for their incompatibility problems. If they're not working, then you have the crappy versions. Personally I've never had that problem with the KotN retail disk installers so I imagine they should work on your current PC, but that disk is missing Fighter's Stronghold.

If you want the fully-patched game with every DLC, get Steam's Game of the Year Deluxe Edition. You'll need to be logged into Steam to run it (although offline mode should work, meaning you don't need to be constantly connected). Your old save files should be fully compatible, it's just an issue of finding which folder to drop them in. There isn't actually any other legal way to acquire Fighter's Stronghold without Steam, so I'm afraid the Deluxe Edition is the only definitive version still on the market at present.

Don't get the anthology, it's just the regular GotY (i.e. only two DLC are included). Edit: Disregard, the anthology seems to come with the Steam Deluxe edition.

[MetaCthulhu]

There isn't actually any other legal way to acquire Fighter's Stronghold without Steam, so I'm afraid the Deluxe Edition is the only definitive version still on the market at present.

That's not actually true. First-sale doctrine dictates that a person who bought Fighter's Stronghold can sell it to whomever they want. Sure you get a "used" copy, but it's still perfectly legal.

[legoless]

There isn't actually any other legal way to acquire Fighter's Stronghold without Steam, so I'm afraid the Deluxe Edition is the only definitive version still on the market at present.

That's not actually true. First-sale doctrine dictates that a person who bought Fighter's Stronghold can sell it to whomever they want. Sure you get a "used" copy, but it's still perfectly legal.

Maybe true in some jurisdictions, but there's no software license being exchanged here. Sending someone a copy of an installer .exe arguably amounts to illegal reproduction, so let's avoid that kind of discussion on the forums.

[Enkidu]

Thanks for the clarification Legoless. I'm actually more interested in the Thieves Den than the Fighter's Stronghold.

If the old Knights of the Nine disc gives me trouble I'll just go with the Steam version.

[MetaCthulhu]

Thanks for the clarification Legoless. I'm actually more interested in the Thieves Den than the Fighter's Stronghold.

If the old Knights of the Nine disc gives me trouble I'll just go with the Steam version.

I did some searching through the archives, and I found a similar issue with a solution. I don't know if this will help, I just thought you might like to know:

Hidden:

I believe I have found the problem. As I said earlier, the installation error happened with both Oblivion and Fallout 3, so I started delving through the Fallout 3 forums to see if anyone else had had this installation error with Fallout. Apparently, this installation error has to do with a slight hiccup that tends to happen when installing Windows 7. 7 creates an extensionless "Program" file on the hard drive that contains a few IRC files, but because of misnaming them, can't use them. This file does tend to mess with installations, though. I deleted the file, was able to install both Fallout 3 and Oblivion, and am enjoying these great games again, saved files and DLC intact. Thanks for your help. Now, off to finish Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles!

http://forums.uesp.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17506