[kafka]

When I play Age of Empires I or II I get flashing coloured lines across the screen and after a short time the AOE screen disappears and is replaced by a black rectangle in the top left of the screen. I can return to the game by clicking the Windows button on the screen but the problem returns very quickly. I have run Smart Defrag, Glary Registry Repair, Advanced System Care, Glary Utilities and Windows Defragmenter and found that the problem is fixed for a period of time which varies from an hour to a week. This morning I have been running each of the aforementioned programs and checking AOE as each completes. So far I've had no luck, though Windows Defragmenter is still going.

This problem has only arisen in the last couple of months. Could it be that DirectX 11 has been installed by Windows Update and is not fully compatible with the rather old AOE? Should I uninstall DirectX 11 and install DirectX 10?

[Ian]

Hi kafka, which OS are you using?

First of all, I'd update your graphics drivers to the latest version to see if that solves the problem .

If it's Vista or Windows 7, can you try running the game in compatibility mode for XP (right click on the icon, then go to properties). Also tick the box to run as an administrator, and perhaps disable visual themes if it still persists.

[muckshifter]

This may give you an idea ...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907881

... I know it mentions AoE III

HTH

[kafka]

my OS is Vista Business. I have started the game in XP compatibility mode and so far the problem hasn't returned. I hope this isn't simply a coincidence.

[Ian]

Fingers crossed . If that fails to do the trick, the link that Mucks posted is full of ideas which will still apply .

[kafka]

While AOE was running successfully in XP compatibility mode yesterday, this morning the problem has returned. Running as Administrator makes no difference. Sometimes while the game is loading I get the message "Could not initialize graphics system. Make sure that your Video card and driver are compatible with DirectDrawer". This message does not always appear.

Although this problem occurs while playing AOE, I notice that, as I type this post. the screen is flickering as it does when I'm playing the game. Perhaps my problem is not related to Age of Empires? Could my video card be loose?

[Ian]

What sort of flickering do you get? If you wiggle the cable does it cause the flickering to happen?

There's no harm in reseating your graphics card, so it's worth a shot. It does seem strange that this is happening, and flickering may or may not be a driver issue. Which graphics card do you have?

[kafka]

Since my last post I have tried uninstalling DirectX 11 and installing DirectX 10. I deleted the relevant line in the registry then restarted the computer. I don't know what happened to The DirectX 10 I installed but dxdiag shows that I once again have DirectX 11. Since I did that the problem has disappeared. It may return and, if so, I will do another post. Incidentally, I am told that I have an integrated video card (whatever that may be)

[Ian]

Lets hope that does the trick then An integrated video card is one that is built in to the motherboard and not usually upgradable (or even removable).

If you let me know the model of your PC or laptop, I should be able to find the latest drivers for you .

[floppybootstomp]

Generally speaking a latest version of Direct X cannot be uninstalled and an older one installed.

It can be done but it's quite a complicated operation, it cannot be done simply by using uninstall function within Windows.

Still, glad things is running ok now.