How to reduce crashing using FO3Edit

Creating a Merged Patch and then running Master Update using FO3Edit is a process that preferably all should learn to do, as it can seriously reduce the frequency of crashes and eliminate some crashes altogether. It will increase stability for all mods, not just FOOK2. It will almost definately be needed once people start running lots of overhaul mods when FOOK2 comes out of beta, so its a good idea to learn the process now.

Okay, first up you'll need FO3Edit, which is what this whole process is based on.

Presuming you've manage to install FO3Edit correctly, launch FOMM and check all the mods you want to merge (IE, the mods you want to use), then close it.

Open up FO3Edit and all the mods you just ticked should all be ticked in the list, too. If they're not, either go back into FOMM and retick them, or just tick them in FO3Edit, then click OK. Then the box on the right will start processing a whole list of names, numbers and whatnot. Wait until the box on the right says 'Background Loader: finished', and all your mods' names should appear in the box on the left. If you find reports of errors in the loader list, either resolve them or remove the mod at fault from your mod list. Errors now will potentially cause big problems later.

Once you've checked everything is hunky-dory, and 'Background Loader: finished' has appeared, is time to create our merged patch. To create said patch, right click anywhere on the box on the left (where your mods are) and select 'create merged patch' near the bottom of the list. Give it a name, and click OK.

Once the box on the right has finished whirring and purring, either press Ctrl+S or try and close FO3Edit to be prompted with a Save Changed Files box. Make sure your new Merged Patch is ticked, and press OK.

Next, re-launch FOMM, and tick your Merged Patch, which should be last in your load order. Very last. I dont care what anyone says in their mod descriptions, load your Merged Patch last.

Last step is to run Master Update. To do this, we need to rename your FO3Edit. Not the shortcut, the .exe itself. Rename it to FO3MasterUpdate. FO3Edit, being a clever little program, will recognise its new role in modding society, and should load a little differently. If it's actually running in the right mode, it's name at the top should be changed to FO3MasterUpdate. Suprise suprise.

Once again, on loading MasterUpdate there should be some whirring and purring, and eventually the box will say '--= All Done =--'. If it doesn't, you're probably running in the wrong mode. Once thats done, close MasterUpdate to save the changes, and launch FOSE (providing you have it, which you should, otherwise normal FO3). Tada! Your game should now run much smoother.

Now, if you want to reverse the Master Update process (the Merged Patch is easy, just untick it in your load order), which you need to do if you want to edit/work on one of the mods that were Master Updated, all you need to do is rename FO3Edit/FO3MasterUpdate to FO3MasterRestore and run the program again. Note you can actually create the copies of the .exe, named FO3Edit FO3MasterUpdate and FO3MasterRestore for ease of use.

For further reading, I highly recommend Miax's Tome of FO3Edit, although thats probably more interesting to modders than mod-users.

Here is an image of somebodies merged patch which I found on the internet.

I just finished reading through your FO3Edit Guide and have done it before when I had my old PC. Also I had a lot of mods that were given to me that were converted to Fomm files and at that time the person that was helping me out with installing everything, but I was still getting CTD, now it could have been that my old PC was just not up to the task of all the mods and the heavy load that the game put on the system. Either way the person that for the most part set everything up with the mods and gave instructions on the activation order as well as the load order, just poofed away. Anyway, I was looking through the Fookunity forums as I was looking for any updates to Fook2 and found one post by someone that stated that when they did the FO3Masterupdate they were getting CTD, but when it was removed the CTD stopped, now could this be due to the fact of the amount of mods installed? All the different Mods? And or the system configuration? or a combination of everything.