AoE2 - will it work with Win 7 32-bit? - Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History

***panther3485*** · #1 15 Jul 12, 11:36

An enduring favourite game in our family is Age of Empires 2, Age of Kings/Conquerors. After new PC builds in my household using Windows 7 64-bit, we have been unable to get this game to work on the new systems. We have an older, 'spare' PC we leave for guests with Windows XP installed. AoE2 works fine on that, of course.

Question: Will it work on Win 7 32-bit? In other words, is it just the 64-bit version that AoE2 doesn't like? Or will it not work with any version of Windows 7?

Mackie · #2 15 Jul 12, 13:58

I can't say for sure, but I expect that so much has changed between XP and 7 that you'll probably run into issues trying with 32 bit.

I found an extensive guide for getting it to run here on Windows 7 64 bit, if you want to try it.

***panther3485*** · #3 19 Jul 12, 11:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mackie

I can't say for sure, but I expect that so much has changed between XP and 7 that you'll probably run into issues trying with 32 bit.

I found an extensive guide for getting it to run here on Windows 7 64 bit, if you want to try it.

Thanks Mackie, I might just give that a try.

Arthwys · #4 20 Jul 12, 11:08

Mackie's info is correct. Compatibility mode will fix the issue for you.

***panther3485*** · #5 20 Jul 12, 13:07

It took a bit more than just compatibiity mode but after a couple of hours of messing around, I had AoE2/Conquerors working at 1920x1200 with no sound or colour problems.

Mackie has already got the +1 from me, which is the very least he deserves.

calger14 · #6 21 Jul 12, 11:14

I run it fine on my 64 bit laptop. It still has a very large online community as it is one of the best PC games ever

ForIAmSparticus · #7 08 Dec 12, 18:28

If you run AOE2 in compatibility mode it should work fine, I've had issues with this myself

***panther3485*** · #8 09 Dec 12, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForIAmSparticus

If you run AOE2 in compatibility mode it should work fine, I've had issues with this myself

Thanks Ryan. In my case, no go because I tried compatibility mode and it didn't help. However, I have found a fix and I now have it working perfectly on Win 7 64-bit.

Greybriar · #9 10 Dec 12, 09:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by panther3485

....I have found a fix and I now have it working perfectly on Win 7 64-bit.

What was the fix?

***panther3485*** · #10 11 Dec 12, 04:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greybriar

What was the fix?

The main problem was corruption of the colour, with purple ocean, orange/red grass etc.

The 'fix' that worked for me, was to create a file that automatically closes Windows Explorer down just as you start the game, and re-opens Windows Explorer when you finish.

You can try this link, where the guy gives a step-by-step explanation of how to do it. He has a strong accent that I found a bit hard to follow, and it falters and jumps here and there; but by re-playing and pausing when necessary, I was able to get it right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49b9ySHG9Uw

If you have any difficulties, get back to me and I'll give you a step-by-step explanation right here.

ForIAmSparticus · #11 11 Dec 12, 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by panther3485

The main problem was corruption of the colour, with purple ocean, orange/red grass etc.

The 'fix' that worked for me, was to create a file that automatically closes Windows Explorer down just as you start the game, and re-opens Windows Explorer when you finish.

You can try this link, where the guy gives a step-by-step explanation of how to do it. He has a strong accent that I found a bit hard to follow, and it falters and jumps here and there; but by re-playing and pausing when necessary, I was able to get it right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49b9ySHG9Uw

If you have any difficulties, get back to me and I'll give you a step-by-step explanation right here.

oh yes I have heard of discoloration being a problem as well

skiplc · #12 11 Dec 12, 17:25

Old games in Win 7 64bit are a PITA and is exactly why I dual boot XP and Win 7. All my old games are on the XP partition and modern games (1 or 2) are on the Win 7 partition.

Easy to do if ya plan ahead a bit and build yur own machine. Not so easy if you buy a manufactured computer or laptop.

***panther3485*** · #13 11 Dec 12, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by skiplc

Old games in Win 7 64bit are a PITA and is exactly why I dual boot XP and Win 7. All my old games are on the XP partition and modern games (1 or 2) are on the Win 7 partition.

Easy to do if ya plan ahead a bit and build yur own machine. Not so easy if you buy a manufactured computer or laptop.

True enough, and I've been building my own for about the last 6 years. We have an older desktop PC in the house running XP, that we use as a 'spare' computer. The older games that Win 7 won't run easily are on that. Thing is, I wanted AoE2 to run on my latest rig because other family members or guests are often using the spare (which is why we have it

). I could have made my own a dual-boot I suppose but didn't think of it before starting and re-formatting would be too much bother now I've got all my other goodies on there. Most of the games and sims I want to run are newer ones so no issues there.

dongar1 · #14 28 Dec 12, 15:49

Hey all, to me AOE is Aces over Europe, and I think you are talking Age of Empires (unless I'm mistaken). Abbreviations may have more than one meaning... just sayin'.

***panther3485*** · #15 28 Dec 12, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by dongar1

Hey all, to me AOE is Aces over Europe, and I think you are talking Age of Empires (unless I'm mistaken). Abbreviations may have more than one meaning... just sayin'.

Yes indeed, we are talking about Age of Empires (Age of Empires II in this case).