ShowRaceMenu Precache Killer

skyrim — Mods & Enhancements

This mod eliminates the infamous freeze and CTD that occurs when opening the RaceMenu (showracemenu) with large modded hair/eye/beard mods (e.g., KS Hairdos, ApachiiSkyHair). It stops the game from precaching all character assets at once, which normally causes a 10-30 second hang or a hard crash, especially on 4K textures. Instead, it loads assets on-demand as you switch tabs, making character editing nearly instantaneous and stable.

Syntax

Patches

Example

Downloads: 5,781,524

💡 Notes

By kapaer

🎯 Tips & Tricks

Install with RaceMenu, not ShowRaceMenu Alternative

This mod is designed for RaceMenu (the MCM-based editor). If you use ShowRaceMenu Alternative (the old vanilla UI), it won't work. Install it AFTER RaceMenu.esp and before any hair mods in your load order, but it has no ESP—just a SKSE plugin, so place it in the SKSE/Plugins folder manually or via mod manager. Ensure you have the latest SKSE64 2.0.20+ for Skyrim SE.

Disable the precache timer via INI for ultra-heavy modlists

Open Data/SKSE/Plugins/PrecacheKiller.ini (create if missing). Set 'bDisablePrecache=1' to fully disable precaching, which prevents any stutter when opening the menu. For 4K textures on a low-VRAM GPU, also add 'iMaxPrecacheFaces=0' to skip face gen entirely—this stops the CTD but may show placeholder hair until you switch tabs.

Use with High Poly Head for zero lag

If you use High Poly Head (HpH) with its 100+ sliders, this mod is mandatory. Set 'bPrecacheAllHeadParts=0' in the same INI to avoid loading every HpH morph at once. Then, in RaceMenu, go to the 'Sliders' tab and click 'Reset' to load only the current slider set—this cuts menu open time from 15s to under 1s.

🔧 Troubleshooting

CTD when opening showracemenu with RaceMenu + KS Hairdos + ApachiiSkyHair (all 4K)

This is a VRAM overflow. Install Precache Killer and set 'bDisablePrecache=1' in its INI. Additionally, in your load order, place this mod's plugin (it has none) but ensure you have the 'RaceMenu - Precache Killer' patch from the mod page's optional files, which fixes a conflict with RaceMenu's own precache script. If still crashing, reduce hair texture resolution to 2K using Cathedral Asset Optimizer.

Hair mods show as bald until you click each hair style

This is a known side effect of full precache disabling. To fix, open the INI and set 'bDisablePrecache=0' but 'iMaxPrecacheFaces=1000'—this precaches only the first 1000 face parts, which covers most hair mods. If you have more than 1000, increase the number. This keeps the menu fast while showing all hair previews.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

Installing this mod with an outdated SKSE version—if you're on Skyrim 1.5.97 and use SKSE 2.0.19, the plugin won't load and you'll get a silent CTD on showracemenu. Always match SKSE to your game version.
Assuming it fixes all CTDs—if you have a corrupted save or missing master files, this mod won't help. It only addresses precache-related crashes, not conflicts from mods like RaceMenu's 'CharGen' morphs conflicting with ECE.

👍 Pros

207,001 endorsements

👎 Cons

Requires correct game version

← Back to all skyrim Mods & Enhancements