As I am starting my endeavors as a modder, I think I finally got everything set up

In zeroeditor I imported the .ter from kashyyyk to use as a base to modify to my liking. After doing so, and deleting the foliage patterns and default spawns, I set up new spawns whilst making sure to follow instructions to the letter. After cleaning, munging, and importing to the game, I find there are no spawnpoints showing up. 

Anybody got some ideas or an "ask the noob these questions first" checklist?

I'm running windows 10 anniversary on at least one pc. Does anyone know if this os will put any of the mod tools on the fritz? Should I be running them in compatibility mode, or using some other means of making them compatible?

I'm mildly uncertain about whether I have everything set up right, I've followed all the tuts I can find around here on such things. (I don't know if things aren't working right, or if it merely is that I'm not attuned to the software)
EG: I followed led's tut on modding a stock world. Upon opening zeroeditor, I am greeted with a gray screen, no world to see. I can however load the tat003 map just fine.

I was curious as to what's the general limit I should stick to whilst modelling characters for SWBF1. The average seems to be ~1800, with the droideka topping off at ~2800. Does anybody know effects (if any) exceeding a 3k tri count would cause? EG: extreme difficulty munging, or slowing down the game itself, or just depending on the computer.

I suppose my main question is how many tris have you other modellers gotten away with?

In other news, once I've imported an msh, if i select something, xsi crashes. Any ideas there?

So I've done a few minutes worth of messing around and editing this thread accordingly, and narrowed it down to using the selection tool to make the blue box [of death]. I don't think I missed anything in all the setup threads and videos, but no doubt I did.

After scrolling around through tuts and other threads around here, I'm stuck! I've followed a tutorial, everything has worked, until it said install the file like a mod. Now, the file in question is a lightly modified rep.lvl file. I've been told to back the original up as well. What's that mean? are we talking I just replace the single file in one of the maps, or add in my fresh-munged map? I don't have anything other than that I've changed that file, and made a new project in bfbuilder.

I guess I've explained myself good enough, if not, I'll supply the info! Thanks in advance.

P.S.- Where can I find, or CAN I find, the user profile in the swbf game files, or change the profile name without having to reset all my controls?

A long time ago, I walked the aisles of a local Staples. I looked down- BEHOLD! Star Wars Battlefront I. Two bucks. And thus began my countless hours of blasting clankers, crushing rebellions, capturing command posts and everything else you can do, just about! Which is why I'm here today!

As you can see, I'm tab328 (aka Herb or just tab if you prefer). Star wars is one of my many interests, so the original battlefront was a natural choice for me (especially at that amazing price, what could go wrong!).

I've been dabbling in 3D modelling, CAD, and the like; making things in blender, freecad, and a handful of other software. I began to wonder if I could put my (what I dare call) skills to good use to enhance my experience with battlefront, so here I am! I'll be reading up on how to get started, what tools I need, etc., etc.

I've got an older PC, but it runs battlefront!
AMD A6 5400k dual core APU (HD 7540D internal gpu or whatever included)
6gb ddr3 ram
dvd thingy
1tb hard drive
windows 10 anniversary
and a funny noise (fixed with a mild thump to the front)