Tes4Mod:Uninstalling, Moving and Installing Oblivion

The following are instructions for a clean uninstallation of Oblivion.  This is for those uninstalling the game completely or moving the game to a new location.

Uninstalling Oblivion
Due to some bugs in Oblivion's setup and the fact that setup.exe does not uninstall all of the files that are generated as you play the game, uninstalling Oblivion can be a bit tedious.  Furthermore, with mods and utility configurations you may want to save, it can be hard to tell which files are necessary to save.  Below are uninstallation instructions for those uninstalling the game completely, moving a setup to a new location while maintaining mod and utility configurations and reinstalling Oblivion to the same location maintaining mod and utility configurations.

Complete Uninstallation
These instructions do not save any mods or utility configurations, only save files...

# Uninstall all mods installed with utilities (i.e., deactivate all OMODs, uninstall all packages in BAIN).
# Uninstall utilities.
# Reinstall Oblivion on top of the existing setup.
# Run Oblivion's setup from the Windows programs list (uninstalling the files belonging to the vanilla game).
#:''Note: This does not touch the folder in   because those files are generated as you launch and play the game, even the initial copy of most of those are not created during Oblivion's installation.
# If you would like to keep your save files, move your Saves folder ( ) to another location.
# Delete your   folder.
# Delete your Oblivion install folder (the one that contains the Data folder.)

Moving Oblivion
If you are moving Oblivion to another computer, whenever there is a step to move something "to another location" move it to your flash drive or whatever device you are using to transport the files.''

# (OBMM) OBMM users (reinstalling to a different location) can save OBMM's state by (Import/Export) exporting the active OMOD list and moving the OMOD directory (default: ) outside of the Oblivion install folder (i.e., to the Desktop) temporarily, until OBMM is reinstalled.
# (Bash and BAIN) See the backup instructions in Wrye Bash's ReadMe.  (Click the help icon in the lower-right corner of Bash's toolbar.) You will be moving the   folder and a configuration files which can be exported, possibly along with a few other configurable files.
# Uninstall all mods installed with utilities (i.e., deactivate all OMODs, uninstall all packages in BAIN).
# Uninstall utilities.
# If nothing is wrong with your setup, and simply want to move the modified setup, it is perfectly fine to copy the old Data folder on top of the new one after reinstalling.  Therefore, after clearing utilities' files out of the Data folder, you can move the Data folder to another location.
# If you have repacked any of the original BSA files, move those outside of the Oblivion folder.
# If you want your OBSE extensions (which are usually installed manually) move the   folder to another location.
# Reinstall Oblivion on top of the existing setup.
# Run Oblivion's setup from the Windows programs list.
# If you would like to keep your save files, move your Saves folder ( ) to another location.
# If you would like to keep your Oblivion.ini, move it to another location.
# (Pluggy) Some mods that use Pluggy create text files during gameplay (i.e., Kyoma's Journal Mod); therefore, if you want to save those files, move the   to another location.
# Delete your   folder.
# Delete your Oblivion install folder (the one that contains the Data folder.)

Reinstalling Oblivion

If you are moving Oblivion to a different location see Moving Oblivion.

Reinstalling to the Same Location
This basically presumes that you think there is something faulty with the existing setup; therefore, the steps cleanly uninstall the game, but you can save any configuration files you want.

# If you think there might be mod-related problem with your setup, uninstall all mods installed with utilities (i.e., deactivate all OMODs, uninstall all packages in BAIN).
# If nothing is wrong with your setup, and simply want to reinstall, it is perfectly fine to copy the old Data folder on top of the new one after reinstalling.  If that is the case, move the Data folder to another location temporarily.
# If you have repacked any of the original BSA files, move those outside of the Oblivion folder.
# If you want your OBSE extensions (which are usually installed manually) move the   folder to another location.
# Reinstall Oblivion on top of the existing setup.
# Run Oblivion's setup from the Windows programs list.
# If you would like to keep your save files, move your Saves folder ( ) to another location.
# If you would like to keep your Oblivion.ini, move it to another location.
# (Pluggy) Some mods that use Pluggy create text files during gameplay (i.e., Kyoma's Journal Mod); therefore, if you want to save those files, move the   to another location.
# Delete your   folder.
# Delete your Oblivion install folder (the one that contains the Data folder.)

Installing Oblivion
The following are instructions for a clean installation of Oblivion.

Oblivion's installation installs files to two directories: the first specified by the install path and the second in the Documents folder. Vista and Windows 7 users with User Account Control (UAC) active (default) should install the game outside of the default location,  , to avoid conflicts. If you are not sure whether or not your system meets the minimum requirements, see System Requirements.

Installation Steps
# Make sure you are running with administrator privleges.
# Run Oblivion's setup. Windows 7 and Vista users should choose an install directory outside of the program files folder, for example:  
# Even if you have GOTY!! install the latest official patch for Oblivion (not SI) of the appropriate language.
#:''Notes: 1) The SI v1.2.0416 patch does not patch the original textures BSA or OblivionLauncher.exe. Only use the v1.2.0416 patch for Oblivion. 2) If you have trouble installing the official patch, read the Unofficial Technical FAQ's patches section.''
#(SI) Run SI's setup.
# If you backed up your saves, move your saves back into My Games\Oblivion.
# Install DirectX 9.0c, if you have not already done so.
#:Notes: Although Vista and Windows 7 come with a later version of DirectX, some or all of the DirectX 9.0c components are not included.
#(Recommended) Update your graphics drivers.
#*NVIDIA Driver Downloads
#*ATI Driver Downloads
#(Recommended) Defrag your hard drive.

See Also
Reverting to Vanilla Oblivion

External Links
5. Uninstallation issues - BethSoft Forums Unofficial technical FAQ