Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system.

mkeller · 12-14-2008, 12:28 AM

Hello,

I'm trying to get Age of Empires 2 to work on my new laptop. Whenever and however I start it (yes, I've tried all the compatibility settings, etc.), the little loading screen comes up, and then a message box with the message:

Could not initialize graphics system. Make sure that your video
card and driver are compatible with DirectDraw.

My laptop is a MSI GX610-TK53-2G Diamond, running Windows Vista with an ATI Radeon HD2600 graphics card. And yes, it supports DirectDraw - modern games work just fine. I'm thinking it's something else, that Age of Empires doesn't understand properly.

Would any of you know what? And how to make it run? Thanks for your help!

Tiber Septim · 12-14-2008, 01:27 AM

Try adding the -nostartup parameter to the end of the shortcut. This will stop the opening video from being played.
Also, make sure that the game is set to run in 256 colors.
Try turning your resolution down to 800x600 before running the game.

**RockmasteR** · 12-14-2008, 05:49 AM

Age of empires 2 is a pretty old game, so maybe the HD 2600 is too new to run the game. Is there an integrated Graphics in the laptop? cause if there is it maybe be able to solve the problem.

mkeller · 12-22-2008, 01:06 PM

Tiber Septum: tried all that, but no luck.

And unfortunately, RockmasteR, there isn't an integrated card. At least as far as I know.

Could there be some other way of making it work? I read here that it can be caused by five-digit driver version numbers, at least on nVidia cards, and can be fixed by using DirectX Tweaker. Anyone know if such is the case with ATI cards?

Tiber Septim · 12-22-2008, 05:50 PM

I don't think it's a driver problem, I literally just installed the game five minutes ago and it worked perfectly. I'm using the 180.84 drivers.

Okay, after much searching, few possible solutions.
1. Download the 2.0a patch here.
2.Compatibility mode to Win XP/sp2
Disable Visual theme
Disable Desktop Composition
Run as administrator

If that doesn't work then Right-Click Desktop > Customize > Whatever it is to get into display properties (been a while since I've used Vista) > Advanced > Adapter > Properties. Then at the bottom of that screen choose 'Do not use this device - Disable'.
It may ask you to restart your PC.
Then try running the game. To play other games you may want to re-enable your graphics card.

12-14-2008, 12:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
mkeller Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 19 OS: Windows XP, Vista, Linux Mint	Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system. Hello, I'm trying to get Age of Empires 2 to work on my new laptop. Whenever and however I start it (yes, I've tried all the compatibility settings, etc.), the little loading screen comes up, and then a message box with the message: Could not initialize graphics system. Make sure that your video card and driver are compatible with DirectDraw. My laptop is a MSI GX610-TK53-2G Diamond, running Windows Vista with an ATI Radeon HD2600 graphics card. And yes, it supports DirectDraw - modern games work just fine. I'm thinking it's something else, that Age of Empires doesn't understand properly. Would any of you know what? And how to make it run? Thanks for your help!

12-14-2008, 01:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,866 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Re: Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system. Try adding the -nostartup parameter to the end of the shortcut. This will stop the opening video from being played. Also, make sure that the game is set to run in 256 colors. Try turning your resolution down to 800x600 before running the game. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness. Last edited by Tiber Septim; 12-14-2008 at 01:29 AM.

12-14-2008, 05:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,157 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system. Age of empires 2 is a pretty old game, so maybe the HD 2600 is too new to run the game. Is there an integrated Graphics in the laptop? cause if there is it maybe be able to solve the problem. __________________ CPUz GPUz Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers System Information for Windows (SIW) Revo Uninstaller RivaTuner ATITOOL Directx 9.0C !!Please don't PM me for Tech Support!!

12-22-2008, 01:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
mkeller Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 19 OS: Windows XP, Vista, Linux Mint	Re: Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system. Tiber Septum: tried all that, but no luck. And unfortunately, RockmasteR, there isn't an integrated card. At least as far as I know. Could there be some other way of making it work? I read here that it can be caused by five-digit driver version numbers, at least on nVidia cards, and can be fixed by using DirectX Tweaker. Anyone know if such is the case with ATI cards?

12-22-2008, 05:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,866 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Re: Age of Empires 2: Could not initialize graphics system. I don't think it's a driver problem, I literally just installed the game five minutes ago and it worked perfectly. I'm using the 180.84 drivers. Okay, after much searching, few possible solutions. 1. Download the 2.0a patch here. 2.Compatibility mode to Win XP/sp2 Disable Visual theme Disable Desktop Composition Run as administrator If that doesn't work then Right-Click Desktop > Customize > Whatever it is to get into display properties (been a while since I've used Vista) > Advanced > Adapter > Properties. Then at the bottom of that screen choose 'Do not use this device - Disable'. It may ask you to restart your PC. Then try running the game. To play other games you may want to re-enable your graphics card. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.