Age of Empires II does not work with Vista or Windows 7

Anonymous
2009-11-24T16:43:16+00:00

I have been unable to get Age of Empires II to work on my laptop - first with Vista and now with Windows 7.

It installs OK and when you go to launch it the small graphic launch box comes up, then the screen goes phsychedelic before reverting back to normal and nothing more happens.

It is a Compaq Presario with a Mobile Intel R45 chipset.

Any advice?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Gaming

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Anonymous
2009-12-02T14:15:24+00:00

RusFry,

    If you were not able to get the game to run in this same PC with Vista or Windows 7, then it appears that there is a hardware conflict with this game.  I see that this game was for older systems and only supports 800x600 graphics.  You may want to turn your desktop resolution down to 800x600 with 256 colors, then launch the game.  If this doesn't help then you may want to install DirectX 9 and see if that helps.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-01-17T21:14:28+00:00

    The problem is an issue with a security update to a graphics driver, as described here:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3086255

    It can be solved by:

    1) go to the Start menu, and run "cmd." 

    1. Type "sc config secdrv start= demand" as described in the article.
    2. Type "sc start secdrv" also as described in the article.

    4) Run empires2.exe from the directory where you installed it.

    1. Play the game! (although colors will still be off)
    2. After you are finished, don't forget to type "sc stop secdrv", which, after all, Microsoft disabled for security reasons.

    This worked for me, hope it works for you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2009-12-30T12:54:29+00:00

    I got the same problem on vista everytime I run it this massage appear

    empires2.exe is not a valid win32 application

    and I've tried everything .

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  3. Anonymous
    2009-11-25T04:57:58+00:00

    Hi  RusFry,

    There are two things you can try:

    • Check the minimum requirements of the game, and then make sure that your system meets those requirements. If your computer meets the minimum requirements, follow this link for more details on Troublshooting  performance issues: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Fixing-game-performance-problems
    • Open Performance Information and Tools to help you understand your computer's capability, identify any issues that need your attention, and provide the steps you can take to address performance-related issues.

    ·                                         Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking

    System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.

         Additional Information:

         Most games written for earlier versions of Windows also work in this version of Windows, but some older games might run     

         poorly or not at all. If an older game doesn't run correctly, use the Program Compatibility Wizard, which will simulate an 

         earlier version of Windows.

    • Open the Program Compatibility Wizard by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Use an older program with this version of Windows.

            Follow this vista link which also supports Windows7 for more details:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Make-older-programs-run-in-this-version-of-Windows

    All the best

    Regards

    Bharath

    Microsoft  Support

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  4. Anonymous
    2009-12-09T14:31:13+00:00

    Mike,

    Thanks, tried that but sadly no luck.

    Regards

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