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Age of Mythology: Known Sound Issues

Article ID: 331150 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q331150

SUMMARY

This article describes known sound-related issues that you may experience when you play Microsoft Age of Mythology. This article lists general issues first, and then it lists issues that have only been known to occur if you use specific types of sound hardware.

MORE INFORMATION

The following are general sound-related issues that you may experience when you start or play Age of Mythology.

General Sound Issues

When you play Age of Mythology, the sound may skip or stutter. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest sound drivers for your sound card. For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your sound card, see the "References" section of this article.

Determine the Version Number of Your Sound Driver and Card Model

To determine the version number of the sound driver and the sound card model that is installed in your computer, use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool:

Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
Click the Sound tab.
Under Device, note the model of your sound card that is listed on the Name line.
Under Drivers, note the version number that is listed on the Version line.
Note the version numbers for all the sound cards that are installed on your computer, and then click Exit.

For additional information about the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

190900

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/190900/ )

DirectX: Description of the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

For additional information about how to troubleshoot sound-related issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

812394

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/812394/ )

How to Troubleshoot Sound-Related Issues

Specific Sound Issues

When you start Age of Mythology you may recieve the following error message:

Warning: Failed to Initialize Sound Hardware, the game will proceed with sound disabled.

This issue may occur if your sound card does not support hardware buffering. To resolve this issue, upgrade your sound card that supports hardware buffering.

ESS Canyon and Yamaha

Age of Mythology does not support the ESS Canyon 3d2 sound card with Yamaha drivers.

Creative SBLive! Creative LiveWare

If you play Age of Mythology while you run other programs, the screen may flicker. To resolve this issue, quit any program that you do not need before you start Age of Mythology.

This issue occurs most frequently with the Creative SBLive! sound card with the Creative LiveWire 2.0 and 2.1 driver sets.

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

The game might shut down. To resolve this issue, reduce sound acceleration to none. To reduce the Hardware Sound Acceleration level, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, and type dxdiag in the Open box.
Click the Sound tab
Move the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider all the way to the left (to the No acceleration setting).
Click Exit.
If you are prompted to restart the computer, clickYes.

Note The Santa Cruz sound card drivers may not fully support Direct Sound acceleration.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

303110

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303110/ )

Game Error: You Receive a "Fatal Exception OE" Error Message or the Game Stops Responding

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REFERENCES

For information about how to contact your sound card manufacturer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors

(http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors)

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.
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 see if applicable driver updates are available, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

(http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)

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