NOTE TO MODERATORS: Just in case it is not obvious, this is not a method of bypassing copy restriction whatsoever. Except for the Oblivion.EXE and a few tiny support files, the utility indicated does not produce a valid unpack of the Shivering Isles DVD. This is merely a method of applying the new Beta patch without having to do two full reinstalls.
The problem: There are two versions of patched Oblivion.exe: 1.2.0201 (which is on the Shivering Isles DVD) and 1.2.0214 (from the downloadable v1.2 release patch, not the new Beta patch.) Unfortunately, the new Beta patch does not recognize 1.2.0214, and the Shivering Isles InstallShield will not overwrite it when Shivering Isles is installed because it is a higher version. Therefore, if you installed the v1.2 patch before installing Shivering Isles, when you try to install the new Beta patch you will get the dreaded "Old file not found" error. You will then have to completely reinstall Oblivion from its original DVD, and then completely reinstall Shivering Isles from its original DVD, and then perhaps douse the flames leaping from your DVD-ROM drive.
The workaround:
1) Download and install
Universal Extractor 1.5.
2) Create a folder somewhere on your hard drive for the unpacked files.
3) Insert the Shivering Isles DVD (preferably with the Shift key held down until it spins up so it doesn't Autoplay and try to install again.)
4) Launch Universal Extractor 1.5.
5) For the "Archive/Installer to extract" browse to data1.cab on the Shivering Isles DVD on your DVD drive. For the Target directory, browse to the folder you created.
6) Click OK and a *partial* (as noted above) extraction will be done. Due to the copy-restriction on the installer, only Oblivion.exe and a few small support files will be extracted properly. The Oblivion.esm file will be present but only half the size it should be and none of the BSA's are unpacked.
7) After the extraction completes, anything else in the new folder other than Oblivion.exe may be deleted.
8) Rename your original Oblivion.exe in your Oblivion folder (ie to Oblivion.exe.bak) and copy the extracted one there.
9) Launch the Beta patch and it should successfully patch Oblivion.exe.
10) Enjoy Shivering Isles.
I hope that this proves helpful.
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