Game acts as if it's a fresh install every time I open it, Add-on menu empty.

TybaltKaine

My spouse has been having an issue with ESO. We have identical computers, with identical installs and I do not have this issue at all.

When she opens the game it treats her as if it is the first time she has ever opened ESO every single time since the last update. Has to select server, agree to all the legal stuff, the whole nine. To top it off, when she goes to check her add ons, the menu shows that she has none installed, when they are present in her folder on her system.

We launch through steam and have the game set up to run off of our E drive, as it is the larger drive. There is also a copy on the C drive under documents (which is probably due to Windows 10 nonsense and being a cloud based OS to some extent).

We use the same install pathways (I actually installed the game on both systems identically) and yes, they are individual purchases through steam, not some weird double installed single copy or any other pirated nonsense.

I want to state again that we have nearly identical installs, save for some add on choices. Our file paths are identical. I can't for the life of me figure out why she has to jump through these hoops every time she boots up her game and I don't.

Tommy_The_Gun

I know it may be a dead-end solution, but I remember very similar issue being caused by the use of non-English alphabet letters being used in the eso settings path - mainly windows user name folder. If for example your user name folder contains any letters like: ă, ö, ę etc - then the game won't be able to "see" files in documents folder. For example, if your user name in Windows is "Björn", the eso settings are saved in:

C:\users\Björn\Documents\Elder Scrolls Online.

In my case, after random update, eso started to use public user folder instead of my Windows user folder.

Since it sounds like some kind of file permission problem, then I would try to see if you can make a screenshot and where it is being saved to.

Fastest way to see where ESO stores settings is to boot the game, login and do a screenshot. You should see a message in the corner of the screen where it was saved to. If it can make a screenshot, then it should be fine. But what you may try to do is to rename entire settings folder in Documents (for example Elder Scrolls Online to Elder Scrolls Online old), and allow the game to re-create entire folder and all the settings. This will result in all settings going back to default but should also clear up any file permissions problems.

TybaltKaine

Hrm, I was gonna write this off as a non starter, but now that I've done it and I see the way the screenshots are being saved, there may be something here.

It's coming up as unicode(? dunno what to call it honestly) for the title of the screenshots, but the destination folder is fine.

In effect it is going [][][].[][]/users/screenshots

(just as an example)

It's naming the screenshots a series of boxes but saving to the proper folder, if that makes sense.

EDIT: Would this explain the wild Elder Scrolls Online folder I was seeing pop up in her E drive after every launch? I assumed it was due to minion being pointed to the e drive for the backup vs the C drive (as mine is) and that her version of minion was making a new folder at each launch, but it sounds more like the game itself was making the new folder on launch and not using the older ones at all to detect for settings.

Extra info: The wild eso folder in the E drive only contained the live folder and only the add ons sub folder. Nothing else was present, which is why I determined it was a minion setting issue and not a game issue.

nina_skydancer

TybaltKaine wrote: »

Hrm, I was gonna write this off as a non starter, but now that I've done it and I see the way the screenshots are being saved, there may be something here.

It's coming up as unicode(? dunno what to call it honestly) for the title of the screenshots, but the destination folder is fine.

In effect it is going [][][].[][]/users/screenshots

(just as an example)

It's naming the screenshots a series of boxes but saving to the proper folder, if that makes sense.

EDIT: Would this explain the wild Elder Scrolls Online folder I was seeing pop up in her E drive after every launch? I assumed it was due to minion being pointed to the e drive for the backup vs the C drive (as mine is) and that her version of minion was making a new folder at each launch, but it sounds more like the game itself was making the new folder on launch and not using the older ones at all to detect for settings.

Extra info: The wild eso folder in the E drive only contained the live folder and only the add ons sub folder. Nothing else was present, which is why I determined it was a minion setting issue and not a game issue.

Have you solved this problem. Mine is doing the same thing but i still cant get it to work

TybaltKaine

I have not solved this issue yet. I'm guessing it's some sort of new rare bug. The only thing I haven't done is a fresh install, and that will be the next step.

nina_skydancer

yeah... I started that this morning.

good luck

TybaltKaine

Update:

A fresh install did not resolve this issue, which leads me to believe it is somehow connected to the latest patch. I have done all that I can on my end, including deleting all addons, removing the game and all its folders from the system and reinstalling via steam.

To reiterate, the issue is that the game acts as if it is a new install every time it is launched. I have the game installed on my E drive and not the C drive, while windows makes a copy of some files on my C drive. This does not cause issues on my computer but does on my spouse's and we have identical systems, the install paths are identical (barring the name of the documents folder which does not contain any accents or non qwerty standard characters) and everything is installed via steam on both systems.

This issue began after the last patch, and I cannot determine the source of the problem despite all my searching.

I'm asking @ZOS_Kevin to please push this to the team in case it is a rarer bug that hasn't reached them yet, as it seems I am not the only one experiencing it, but it does seem very rare.

TybaltKaine

Full details in summary:

Game acting as a fresh install on every launch
Windows 10
Game installed and launched via Steam
fully patched to update 36
windows cloud syncing disabled
addons disabled and uninstalled
game installed on E drive with copy of live folder generated by system in documents folder on C drive
only effects one system while the other identically installed system does not have the issue
game purchased though steam and not pirated or duplicated in anyway.

nina_skydancer

my experience is the virtually identical as TybaltKain with following exceptions

game was purchased via The ESO store and is launched via the game Launcher.

I do not use steam.

nina_skydancer

going to move things around and try reinstalling on my c drive.

seems it only happening to those of us installing on a secondary drive. will let you know if this works

TybaltKaine

I'm thinking it has something to do with the user settings not being properly read by the game. My wife's settings match mine (I did not touch them in any way) which is telling me that the checks it goes through internally are done but not being read as recognized.

There is a series of lines in the user settings document that tell the game if it has gone through first time set up (I've removed the variables as I don't want people reading this and tinkering with their settings to bypass anything)

SET ViewedAddOnEULAVersion ""
SET AcceptedAddOnEULAVersion ""
SET AcceptedNDAVersion ""
SET AcceptedCodeOfConductVersion ""
SET AcceptedPrivacyPolicyVersion ""
SET AcceptedTOSVersion ""
SET AcceptedEULAVersion "

The variables match between our documents, but she is still getting the first time set up prompts when the game loads up (to clarify this is not in the launcher, it is when the game itself is open and actively playing).

I've got to think that it is something internal and can't be fixed on our end.

My set up is identical to my wife's but she cannot run the game without going through the process, while mine launches with zero issues at all.

I really hope someone is looking into this, and it isn't just the two of us shouting into the void at each other.

nina_skydancer

me too

cause it is a bit annoying

TybaltKaine

I'm just going to assume that this issue is going ignored and will likely not be adressed at any point and chalked up to user error or the game being installed on a secondary drive (sorry my primary drive is only big enough for my OS and not the ever expanding size of games).

I'll hope for a fix when the big patch drops that is supposed to fix things, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Hope you have better luck on your end @nina_skydancer.

nina_skydancer

yeah

you too

i'm gonna see if i can squezze some more space on my c drive and try that again

very annoying

take care

TybaltKaine

So...it fixed itself?

I have no idea what went wrong or how it fixed itself, but my spouse logged in and everything was normal. We had stopped bothering to tinker with things two days ago.

Sorry I can't offer any insights as to fixing this.

nina_skydancer

congratulations i'm still trying to reinstall but windows decided to update in the middle of the install so...yeah

glad y'all got your sorted.

nina_skydancer

sooooo... i finally got the game installed on my c drive after literally moving everything possible to my d drive. and even after all of that it is still doing the same thing.

thats the end of my rope

i guess i will just leave it alone and see if it fixes itself like yours did. if it doesnt zos can kiss my sub goodbye cause i ain't payin for a broken game

later

TybaltKaine

I hate to tell you, it broke itself again after a windows update. It worked fine for a single afternoon and went right back to doing the same thing. It's gotta be something to do with syncing with Windows somehow. Since that is a built in function of Windows 10 and beyond I'm guessing it will persist for people.

The reality is something in the update doesn't play well with Windows, and while it isn't a widespread issue now, it will be if it isn't found out and fixed.

EDIT: I'm assuming it's security related, since Windows pushed a security update and it broke again. This isn't unheard of, as Windows 7 essentially has to disable security features for users to play ESO as it stands. I'm guessing something in the games files is clashing with something that Windows is identifying as a threat.

nina_skydancer

don't you just love being patient zero.

ZOS_Bill

@TybaltKaine

If you've not done so yet, please go ahead and open a ticket with our customer support team.

nina_skydancer

@TybaltKaine

more digging. the elderscroll online folder that is supposed to be in documents keeps getting changed to read only . which is why eso can't add the proper settings


unfortunately turning off ready only seems to not be working

TybaltKaine

So, we got the solution, but I'll run down the steps from the E-mail here in case anyone else has similar issues in the future.

These were the first steps:

If you are experiencing an issue where your settings are not saving after you exit the game, perform the following steps:
1. Navigate to C:\Users\user.name\Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live.
2. Right-click on your UserSettings.txt file and select Properties.
3. Ensure that it is not set to read only. If the Read Only option is checked, uncheck it.
If the box is unchecked and the issue persists, delete your usersettings.txt file and restart the game.

That didn't help, so we had to get a little more into the weeds to pin it down.

I see you are having trouble with changes to the settings not saving correctly and being reset when you next start the game. Can you check the built in Windows Antivirus and remove any existing file exceptions for the game files from the programs exclusion list? After they have been removed, you will need to go back in and re-add them back as fresh exceptions.

You can review the directions how to add file exceptions on Microsoft's website located here .

The application files that may require exceptions are:
• Bethesda.net_launcher: C:\Program Files (x86)\ZenimaxOnline\Launcher
• ESO64.exe: C:\Program Files (x86)\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game\client\eso64.exe
• Steam.exe: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe

Some antivirus programs require entire folders to be selected instead of a single file.When this is the case, the file paths below are what players should use. If required by the anti-virus program, include all subfolders since every file is critical to run the game.
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\

Can you try a Clean Boot and fully disable all of the 3rd party non Microsoft Programs except for the Steam client services that start and run when the computer is powered on to ensure none of them are causing a conflict while running the game?

Customers who are troubleshooting issues with running the game and who would like to perform a clean boot of their PCs should follow the instructions on the Microsoft web site: How to perform a clean boot in Windows.

Please note that before closing the MSConfig tool, you may need to click on the "Startup" tab and disable startup programs, depending on which version of Windows you are using.

Please be aware that many anti-virus software packages will not be disabled by the clean boot and may still be active and blocking the game

We still advise customers to turn off anti-virus software manually after the clean boot in order to make sure that it is not the source of the issue with running the game. Customers should remember to turn their anti-virus software back on as soon as they have finished troubleshooting.

After the fresh exceptions are added and the programs disabled from the startup list, please restart the computer before testing the game.
If the settings are still not saving, can you try creating a new Windows user profile and ensure it has administrator privileges. Then switch to the newly created profile and test the game. This is checking for any corrupted data or conflicts with the configuration or security settings.

To create the new Windows 10 user profile, follow these steps:

1. Select the Start button, and then select Settings.
2. Select Accounts, then Other users.
3. Under Other users, select Add someone else to this PC.
4. At the bottom of the page, select I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
5. At the bottom of the next page, select Add a user without a Microsoft account.
6. Enter a name for the new account. If you want this person to sign in with a password, enter and verify the password, add a password hint, and then select Next.
7. Select Finish.

You can view these instructions here.

What ended up working was the exceptions in the anti-virus software. Windows was spazzing out over ESO, which is what I sort of figured was happening since it started with a Windows and ESO update.

So, yeah, hopefully these steps help anyone else who is having this issue and you don't have to go digging through all of your files and uninstalling and reinstalling to fix it.

Thanks to the team at ZOS for getting back to my wife quickly once the second ticket was escalated. I assume it just got lost somewhere in all the other bugs since the first bug ticket never got any traction.

nina_skydancer

thanks will try this tonight after work... maybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train...

nina_skydancer

Success! Looks like that fixed it. thanks @TybaltKaine and the guys at zos

ZOS_Bill

Thank you for sharing the troubleshooting that was able to help resolve this install issue!