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Age of Mythology: You receive the "Initialization Failed" error message after the introductory video clip when you try to start Age of Mythology

Article ID: 811553 - View products that this article applies to.

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to start Microsoft Age of Mythology, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Initialization Failed.

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CAUSE

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

Your video card does not meet the minimum system requirements of Age of Mythology.
Your video card is incompatible with Age of Mythology.
Your version of DirectX is corrupted or out of date.
You have multiple video adapters installed on your computer.
The Screen Size (resolution) setting is too high for your video adapter.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order presented.

Method 1: Verify That Your Video Adapter Meets the Minimum System Requirements

Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag in the Open box, and then click OK.
In the DirectX Diagnostic dialog box, click the Display or Display 1 tab.
In the Device pane, note the value that is next to Approx. Total Memory, and then click Exit.
If you have less than 16 megabytes (MB) of video memory installed on your video adapter, install additional video memory on your video adapter, or install a video adapter that has more video memory.

For more information about the minimum system requirements for Age of Mythology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

331403

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331403/ )

Age of Mythology: Minimum system requirements

Method 2: Verify That Your Video Adapter Is Compatible with Age of Mythology

For more information about known video issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

331147

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331147/ )

Age of Mythology: Known video issues

Method 3: Lower the Graphic Setting in Safe Mode

Start Age of Mythology in Safe mode, and then change the Screen Size setting in the game. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then point to All Programs.
Point to Microsoft Games, point to Age of Mythology, point to Diagnostics, and then click Age of Mythology - Safe video.
When the game starts, click Options on the startup menu.
In the Screen Size list, click 640x480x16, and then click OK.
On the startup menu, click Exit.
Start the game as you do normally.

Method 4: Update Your Video Driver

Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter for information about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. You may also visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site to see if applicable driver updates are available:

http://update.microsoft.com

(http://update.microsoft.com)

For information about how to contact the manufactory, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us

(http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us)

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
To identify the name and manufacturer of your video adapter, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag in the Open box, and then click OK.
Click the Display tab.
Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
Click Exit.

Method 5: Download and Install DirectX

To download the latest version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx

(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx)

Method 6: Remove Multiple Adapters

Note This method applies only to Microsoft Windows 98-based computers.

To remove multiple adapters, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag -ghost in the Open box, and then click OK.
Click the More Help tab, and then click Inactive.
Click the item on the left, and then click Backup.
Repeat step 3 until each of the items have been removed from the Inactive pane.
Click Exit.

Method 7: Remove and Reinstall the Game

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Add/Remove Programs. On Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, click the Install/Uninstall tab.
In the list of installed programs, double-click the Microsoft game that you want to remove, and then click Uninstall or Change/Remove.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the removal process.
Insert the game CD-ROM into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the installation process.

If Setup does not start automatically, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type drive:\setup.exe in the Open box, where drive is the drive letter of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
Click OK.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the installation process.

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REFERENCES

For more information about video card troubleshooting, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

263039

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263039/ )

Games: How to troubleshoot display issues

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

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