Known video issues in Rise of Nations

This article describes the known video-related issues that you may experience when you play Rise of Nations. The article is divided into general video issues and issues that occur only on specific video hardware.

General video issues

The following are general video-related issues that do not apply to specific audio hardware.

Mouse pointer flickers

When you try to play Rise of Nations, the mouse pointer may flicker. To resolve this issue, add the -nohwcursor parameter to a Rise of Nations shortcut. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the desktop, right-click Rise of Nations, and then click Properties.
2. In the Target box, locate the last letter of the existing text in the box, press SPACE BAR, and then type -nohwcursor.
   
   For example, "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Rise of Nations\rise.exe" -nohwcursor
3. Click OK.
4. Start Rise of Nations from the shortcut that you just edited.

Specific error messages and how to resolve them

"Video card driver" error message

When you start Rise of Nations, you may receive one of the following error messages: To resolve this issue, contact your video card hardware manufacturer to obtain and install the latest version of the driver for your video card. For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your video card, see the "References" section of this article.

"Video card is not recommended" error message

When you start Rise of Nations, you may receive the following error message: To work around this issue, click No and continue. However, graphical glitches or other problems may result. To resolve this issue, you must purchase and install a video card that is supported by Rise of Nations. If you need help with purchasing or installing a video card, contact your computer manufacturer.

"Video card is not supported" error message

When you start Rise of Nations, you may receive the following error message: To resolve this issue, you must purchase and install a video card that is supported by Rise of Nations. If you need help with purchasing or installing a video card, contact your computer manufacturer.

Note If you do not want to obtain and install a video card that is supported by Rise of Nations, you can return it for a refund. For information about the Microsoft Satisfaction Guarantee, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

"Graphics services failed to initialize" or "Rise of Nations cannot run with the monitor display mode set to 256 colors" error message

When you try to start Rise of Nations, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following: To resolve this issue, use one or more of the following methods in the order that they appear in.

Method 1: Verify that your video hardware meets or exceeds the system requirements of Rise of Nations

Use the DirectX Diagnostics Tool (Dxdiag) to verify that your video hardware meets or exceeds the system requirements for Rise of Nations. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
3. On the Display tab, verify that the Approx. Total Memory is 16.0 Megabytes (MB) or more.

The video card must have 16.0 MB for Rise of Nations to function correctly. If it does not, upgrade your video hardware.

Note Because of video memory that may be in use when you run the DirectX Diagnostics Tool, this value may be a little lower than the actual total. If this does not resolve this issue, go to the next method.

For more information about the minimum system requirements for Rise of Nations, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Click the Play button to view this streaming media demonstration.

Method 2: Download and install the most recent drivers for your video card

Contact the manufacturer of your video card for information about how to download and install the most recent drivers for your video card. Contact information may be located in the "References" section of this article. If this does not resolve this issue, go to the next method.

Method 3: Install the latest VIA chipset drivers

If you are using a motherboard with a VIA Technologies chipset, you may be able to resolve this issue by installing the most recent drivers for the chipset.

Method 4: Enable Direct3D

To enable Direct3D, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool dialog box, click the Display tab or the Display 1 tab.
3. Click Enable next to Direct3D Acceleration, and then click Exit.

Click the Play button to view this streaming media demonstration.
If this does not resolve this issue, go to the next method.

Method 5: Update DirectX

To obtain the most current version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hardware-specific video issues

ATI

• ATI Rage 128
  When you try to play Rise of Nations by using video cards that are based on this chipset, in-game buildings may appear with solid white textures. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers from the manufacturer.
  
  The game may unexpectedly quit or you receive the followin error message:
  Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library Runtime Error! Program....Program files\Microsoft Games\Rise Of Nations\Nations.exe (space) Abnormal program termination
  To resolve this issue, install the Rise of Nations Update. To install the Rise of Nations Update, see the References section.
• Radeon 7500
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations, ground colors may appear smeared or stretched, and the ground may appear black. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following ATI Web site:
  http://www.amd.com/

  (http://www.amd.com/)
• Radeon 9700
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations, the mouse pointer may not be visible. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following ATI Web site:
  http://www.amd.com/

  (http://www.amd.com/)
• Radeon 9700
  When you try to use this video card with Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition or Microsoft Windows XP to play Rise of Nations, you may experience graphical corruption. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers. To do so, visit the following ATI Web site:
  http://www.amd.com/

  (http://www.amd.com/)
• Radeon 9700
  When you try to use this video card with the 9062 version driver with Windows Millennium Edition, or Microsoft Windows 98, Rise of Nations may not start. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers. To do so, visit the following ATI Web site:
  http://www.amd.com/

  (http://www.amd.com/)

Intel

• Intel 740, 810, and 815 Chipsets
  Issue 1: When you try to start Rise of Nations on these chipsets, a black screen may appear, and the game may stop responding. There is no known resolution for this issue.
  
  Issue 2: After the game plays the introductory movie, you may receive a Microsoft Error Reporting dialog box with the following details:
  ModName: d3dgl.dll Offset: 000122c6.
  This behavior may occur if your display adapter does not have sufficient memory to run the game. To resolve this issue, you must purchase and install a video adapter that is supported by Rise of Nations. If you need help with purchasing or installing a new video adapter, contact the manufacturer of your computer.
• Intel 845 Chipset
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations, and you try to create a merchant character, the game may stop responding. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for your video card.
  
  When you start Rise of Nations, you may receive the following error message:
  This video card driver is not supported for use with Rise of Nations. Please download the latest drivers from your manufacturer's website.
  To resolve this issue, download and install the latest video card drivers. To download the latest drivers, visit the following Intel Web site:
  http://www.intel.com

  (http://www.intel.com)
  To locate the drivers support site, visit the following Intel Web site:
  http://downloadcenter.intel.com

  (http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx?lang=eng)
  Select your Operating System, and then click Go. Download the latest drivers that are available on the site.

NVIDIA

• SUS v-3800 Ultra
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card, the game may not start. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following ASUS Web site:
  http://www.asus.com

  (http://www.asus.com)
• Creative Annihilator Pro
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations, the mouse pointer may flicker and you may see minor corruption of the game graphics. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers from the chipset manufacturer.
• Diamond Viper V550
  When you try to create a merchant character in Rise of Nations, the game may stop responding. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card.
• Guillemot Maxi Gamer Cougar When you try to start Rise of Nations on a system by using this video card, you may receive a graphical initialization error. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent driver for this video card. To do so, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:
  http://www.nvidia.com

  (http://www.nvidia.com)
• LeadTek GeForce3 Ti 200
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations, a nuclear explosion may appear as only as a white circle. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following Leadtek Web site:
  http://www.leadtek.com

  (http://www.leadtek.com)
• STB Velocity 4400
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card, graphical anomalies may occur with the in-game tree shadows. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent NVIDIA drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:
  http://www.nvidia.com

  (http://www.nvidia.com)
• TNT, TNT2, and VantaThe game may unexpectedly quit and display a "Visual C++ Runtime Error!" message. To work around this issue, set your display's color quality in Windows to 32 bit, and then in the game:
  1. Click Options and Profiles.
  2. On the Graphics tab, for Resolution, select a 32-bit setting (for example, 1024 x 768 x 32).
  3. Click Change to Resolution, and then click OK.
  To resolve this issue, install the Rise of Nations Update. See the References section of this article for instructions.
• NVIDIA GeForce
  When you try to use GeForce drivers to play Rise of Nations, the game performance may decrease the first time the game is started after the computer has been restarted. To resolve this issue, quit the game by pressing ALT+F4, and then restart the game. After you restart one time, the game should perform as usual until the next time that you restart the computer.
• NVIDIA (GeForce 3, 4)
  When you try to use these video cards to play Rise of Nations, nuclear explosions may appear unavailable (dimmed), and the boat reflections may not appear. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:
  http://www.nvidia.com

  (http://www.nvidia.com)
• NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
  When you try to use this video card with the retail drivers to play Rise of Nations on a Windows XP-based computer, the pointer may respond slowly and jump to unexpected areas of the game window. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent NVIDIA drivers. To do so, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:
  http://www.nvidia.com

  (http://www.nvidia.com)
• NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
  When you try to use this video card with the retail drivers to play Rise of Nations on a Windows XP-based computer, water textures may not blend smoothly. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent NVIDIA drivers. To do so, visit the following NVIDIA Web site: http://www.nvidia.com
  (http://www.nvidia.com)
• NVIDIA GeForce 256
  When you try to use this video card to play Rise of Nations in 32-bit mode, the mouse pointer may flash. To resolve this issue, start Rise of Nations in 16-bit mode. To change from 32-bit to 16-bit mode click Options & Profiles on the main menu, click the Graphics tab, and then click one of the 16-bit resolutions.

Other

• 3dfx Voodoo 3 3000
  Rise of Nations may not start on computers that are using this video card, regardless of the operating system. After the program starts, the screen may briefly flash black, and then the game may stop responding. There is no known resolution for this issue.
• 3dfx Voodoo 5 (AGP Series)
  When you try to use this video card on a Windows 98 Second Edition-based computer to play Rise of Nations, various graphical anomalies may occur on the water images on the in-game map. There is no known resolution for this issue.
• 3dfx Voodoo 5 (AGP Series)
  When you try to play Rise of Nations on a 32-bit Windows 98 Second Edition-based computer with this video card, user-interface elements may not appear or may be corrupted, this may prevent you from playing the game. To resolve this issue, start Rise of Nations in 16-bit mode. To do so, on the main menu, click Options & Profiles, click the Graphics tab, and then click one of the 16-bit resolutions.
• Diamond Monster Fusion
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card, the game may not start may not start. The game window may briefly flash black, and then stop responding. There is no known resolution for this issue.
• Hercules 3D prophet 4500 (PowerVR Kyro 11)
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card at 32-bit resolution on a computer with a Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system, the mouse pointer may flicker during the game. To resolve this issue, start Rise of Nations in 16-bit mode. To change from 32-bit to 16-bit mode, click Options & Profiles on the main menu, click the Graphics tab, and then click one of the 16-bit resolutions.
• Matrox Millennium G-400
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card, buildings may be covered with solid white patches instead of color graphics, and some button text may not appear. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. To do so, visit the following Matrox Web site:
  http://www.matrox.com

  (http://www.matrox.com)
• Matrox Millennium G-550
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card at 32-bit resolution, the mouse pointer may flash during the game. To resolve this issue, update to the most recent drivers. To do so, visit the following Matrox Web site:
  http://www.matrox.com

  (http://www.matrox.com)
  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.
• S3 Graphics SuperSavage/IX
  The game may unexpectedly quit and display a "Visual C++ Runtime Error!" message. To work around this issue, set your display's color quality in Windows to 16 bit, and then follow these steps:
  1. Click Options and Profiles.
  2. On the Graphics tab, for Resolution, select a 16-bit setting--for example, 1024 x 768 x 16.
  3. Click Change to Resolution, and then click OK.
  To resolve this issue, install the Rise of Nations Update. See the "References" section of this article for instructions.
• SiS 315
  When you try to play Rise of Nations with this video card, shore effects may appear blocky on the in-game map. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for your video card.
• ST KYRO
  When you try to use a video card based on this chipset, the graphics may be so corrupted that the game is not functional. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers from the manufacturer.

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

To obtain the most recent Rise of Nations Update, use the following option:  

• Use the Check for Updates button:
  1. Start Rise of Nations.
  2. Click Check for Updates.
  3. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to update Rise of Nations.

For information about your video hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site: To see if applicable driver updates are available, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site: Click the Play button to view this streaming media demonstration.
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.