Oblivion Won't Run

[Peregrin]

Whenever I try to start Oblivion, it crashes to my desktop right before the load screen finishes.
I also used to get ads when I first started Oblivion, now it just throws me instantly into the load screen.


I've tried setting myself as an administrator, set the compatibility mode to XP, installed Oblivion's latest patch and the newest drivers for my graphics card.

Specs:
OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz
RAM: 4GB
Graphics Card: SLI Dual GeForce 8500GT 512Mb PCI Express 16X

Thanks in advance.

[Eezak]

I've only played Oblivion a couple of sessions and it's been awhile since the last time so I can't remember....is there a configuration utility that you can run before starting up the game itself? If so, check the game's readme file for recommendations about tweaking the game's settings. If there isn't a settings/configuration utility included with the game then look for help in the readme (or on the Bethesda website) with editing the Oblivion configuration file.

It seems to me I had a similar problem when I first installed Oblivion, but I can't recall now what I did to get the game running. Check through the readme carefully and look at the user forums for the game on the Bethesda or Oblivion website.

[Eezak]

One other thought...sometimes the latest graphics drivers aren't always the most stable. You may want to uninstall those and try some newer than the one's you replaced, but not the "latest and greatest."

How about your sound card drivers? Have you updated those? (Like your graphics drivers, you don't necessarily want the very latest sound card drivers either, but look to see if there's a more recent download available than what you have currently installed). Have you updated your DirectX installation too?

Is Oblivion compatible with the version of Vista you have? I note you're running 64 bit Vista. Does it say on the Obliv box that it will work on 64 bit Vista?

Compatibility mode works with some games, but not all. I think it's even likely to be more problematic if you're running a 64 bit version of Vista with 64 bit drivers.