Skyrim FAQ

So I got Skyrim for the PC, it looks great but I was having some performance issues, small bugs etc. I think I've got them mostly worked out now and thought I'd pass on what I learned.

-Issues with keybindings:
I had the problem that every time I changed controls in Skyrim, it only worked for that instance of the game (i.e. as long as I didn't quit out) Every time I started Skyrim I had to change the controls again. I found out that this was actually due to the OEM on my PC. Basically Skyrim did not have permissions to create/edit text files in the folder it was installed in. Running it as administrator fixes this.

Spoiler: How do I run as administrator?

In Windows 7 you can right-click on the file and click "Run as Administrator, but this is annoying to do every time, especially if you use the quick launch. A better way is to right-click the program and go to Properties. Then you click on the compatibility tab and check the "Run this program as an administrator" box near the bottom. You'll get prompted every time you open the game, but I find it easier.

-Mouse is a bit laggy:
I thought my computer was just unable to run Skyrim properly, but I later found that mouse acceleration is on by default. You can turn this off by making a simple change to SkyrimPrefs.ini
Warning: Back up any ini file before changing it, just in case. This CAN mess up your game if you type something wrong.
SkyrimPrefs.ini should be in mydocuments/mygames/Skyrim
If it's not there, SkyrimPrefs.ini should either be in;
a) your Steam Directory -> steamapps -> common -> skyrim -> Skyrim
-or-
b) your installation directory ->The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim -> Skyrim
-Open the file with notepad or another text editor, then scroll down to where it says [Controls] and find "bMouseAcceleration=1"
-Change to "bMouseAcceleration=0"
-Save and exit notepad.

Spoiler: Troubleshooting

Where's my installation directory?
Your installation directory is usually defaulted to either "C:\Program Files\..." or C:\Program Files (x86)\..."

It won't let me save changes?
Notepad (or whatever text editor you're using) probably doesn't have permissions to write in that folder. Try running Notepad as an administrator and opening the file then.

-There's a weird static noise when NPCs are talking
This wasn't an issue for me, but a friend of mine had it so I thought I'd put it up;
1. Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Sound
2. In the Playback tab, right click on Speakers (or whatever has a green tick next to it), then click Properties
3. In the advanced tab on this new window, select 24 bit, 44100Hz (Studio Quality) in the drop down menu

-After playing for a few hours the game slows way down
Again, I thought this was because my machine wasn't powerful enough. Turns out the default limit on the amount of RAM that Skyrim uses is 2GB. If you have more than that, like me you might want to change it. To change this, you need to edit SkyrimPrefs.ini.
Warning: Back up any ini file before changing it, just in case. This CAN mess up your game if you type something wrong.

SkyrimPrefs.ini should be in mydocuments/mygames/Skyrim
If it's not there, SkyrimPrefs.ini should either be in;
a) your Steam Directory -> steamapps -> common -> skyrim -> Skyrim
-or-
b) your installation directory ->The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim -> Skyrim
-Open the file with notepad or another text editor, then scroll down to where it says [Papyrus] and add in or edit it so it looks like this:

Code:

[Papyrus]
iMinMemoryPageSize=100000
iMaxMemoryPageSize=5000000
iMaxAllocatedMemoryBytes=1800000000

- I set iMaxAllocatedMemoryBytes to 3000000000 (8GB RAM)
-Enemies keep sneaking up on me
This might just be because you suck, but because this game is poorly ported from the console version, the Field of View is set low for playing on a TV. To change this we have to edit another ini file!
Warning: Back up any ini file before changing it, just in case. This CAN mess up your game if you type something wrong.
Go to your My Documents -> My Games -> Skyrim -> skyrim
Open the file with Notepad or another text editor, then scroll down to where it says [General]
At the bottom of this section, add fdefaultfov=XX (where XX is the FOV value you want to change to)
I would change it to 90 or 100, whichever you prefer. It's defaulted somewhere between 60 and 75.
Save your changes and boot up Skyrim.

-Main Quest Bug - A Cornered Rat

Spoiler

So I finally find Esbern and he has no voice and won't open the door! Typical Bethesda! Anyway, here's how to fix it:

1. Download BSA unpacker, which can be found here.
2. Use it to open(Make sure you right click the file and select 'Run as Administrator') the file named "Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa" in the Skyrim Data folder. If a window appears saying "This BSA archive has an unknown version number. Attempt to open anyway?", click "Yes".
3. Click on "Extract all" and choose the Skyrim Data folder as the destination.

This places Esbern's missing voice and subtitles, and he will open the door the first time you met him, and didn't give me any more trouble from then on.

Spoiler: default location of Skyrim Data Folder

"C:\Program Files\The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim\Data"
-or-
"Crogram Files (x86)\The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim\Data"

I'll add any more fixes as I find them, but I think most of my problems were solved by these tweaks. If anyone else has any fixes they want to add, feel free. I did not come up with these fixes myself, I basically stole most of them from the 2 webpages below. Thanks for reading, hope this helps!

Spoiler

http://www.gamefront.com/how-to-improve-skyrim-with-ini-file-tweaks/
http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1256595-consolidated-potential-fix-thread-co-authordesi/

 

Skyrim is the first game that didn't give me a headache playing at 75 FOV

 

Usually I do, but I was worried about my specs running Skyrim (needlessly as it turned out). It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out it needed admin privileges. :/