Fallout 3 [PC] - The Waters of Life - bug

[Cr1chton]

I am replaying Fallout 3. I happen to be in the mood for post-apocalyptic nostalgia.

During The Waters of Life mission, which is notorious for being buggy, I encounter a problem that causes the game to crash to desktop [Fallout 3 has stopped working]. I have googled the issue, but people seem to have a problem that is only similar to mine.

The crash occurs either when I try to save at any point between entering the pipes and completing the mission, or at the very end of the mission, upon trying to leave the sewers to get topside.

I have the GOTY edition with only a few mods installed: Fellout, NMC's texture pack, EWE, Better Headshots, and Rivet City Crash Fix. I think those are all of them. And I don't think the mods have anything to do with the crashes anyway.

Does anyone have an idea what might be causing this? It is frustrating as hell because I want to progress the game, but it won't let me finish the mission! Furthermore, I can't save at at any point past entering the pipes, so I can't even experiment with means of getting past the bug without replaying the whole mission over and over again!

Please... I have a lot of work on my hands; I have gotten quite interested in this game after a period of being rather unenthusiastic about gaming in general, and I find myself looking forward to playing it. I really wish I could continue playing soon.


Thanks in advance,
Cr1chton