>> age-of-mythology/age-of-mythology-initialization-failed

Age of Mythology initialization failed

If you have set your resolution to be larger than what your monitor can support you might encounter the Age of Mythology Initialization Failed error. This error has also been known to be caused by out of date directX or video card drivers. The message you’ll get is:

Initialization Failed

Unfortunately if your resolution is too big for your screen you can no longer start the game to change the resolution back. There’s a workaround to this though:

Right click on your Age of Mythology shortcut and select properties.
Add the xres=640 option. Under the shortcut tab of your properties menu, in the target field add a space and then the following option after the location of the .exe file:
xres=640
E.g. “C:\Program Files\Age of Mythology\aomx.exe” xres=640. This option will force your game to run with the lowest supported resolution: 640 x 480.
Start the game from this shortcut.
Change your resolution in game and remove xres=640 from your shortcut. If you don’t remove the xres=640 option it will continue to override your ingame resolution. After you’ve removed this option and changed your in game resolution, try restarting the game again and see if you’re still experiencing the Age of Mythology initialization failed error.

Occasionally this error has been seen to be caused by other issues as well. If you find that the above fix didn’t solve the Age of Mythology initialization failed error try checking the official Microsoft Support Ticket for more information. If you’re still having issues or have found a better solution please it the comments below.

Posted in Age of Mythology | 78 Comments

perfect

Glad to hear it :)

Hello… plz helo me, i have age of mythology extended edition tale of the dragon and when going to sangle player > random map and wanna start to play it throw me out from the game(also in lan or multiplayer)

Perfect it worked :)

Oh GOD! Fu*k Microsoft support, this site rulez!

There’s no ‘target location’ when I go into Properties. There’s a ‘Location’ but I can’t edit it. D:

Once you’ve opened the shortcut properties, you have to go to the Shortcut tab in the properties window to change the Target:

YOU ARE AWESOME
IT FIXED IT

FIXED. THANKS!!

Awesome, thanks for the help!! :D

i does not work how do i fix it

I need more details than that to help you. What kind of error message are you seeing, what operating system are you on, what have you tried so far? Have you looked at the Microsoft Support Ticket for the game? This issue is in rare cases caused by something other than a screen resolution issue.

so i did the xres=640 but the program still will not start up and i still get the Initialization failed popup

When i try and edit it i get “the folder ‘”C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology”xres=640’ specified in the Start In box is not valid. Make sure that the folder exists and that the path is correct.” Help D:

You’ve almost got it. You’re missing a space between the path and the option. In your case, it would be:
”C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology” xres=640

Please help me !
I make what you said and the error still appeared …
When i put rez. 640 at the shortcut and i start the game it don’t play in 640 rez..

Can you paste your error message here as well as the path your put in the target field of your shortcut? It will help determine what the issue is. If you’re seeing this error it’s because Windows doesn’t like the file path you gave.

One thing you could try is removing the double quotes AKA “” from this path. If you copied the the path from the web the double quotes you got could be special characters that won’t be parsed properly by Windows. Try something like this in your target field instead:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology xres=640

Hope that fixes it!

Help me please!
I do what you wrote, but it keeps saying “Initialization failed”
However when I tried to write in the target field and pressed OK, it displayed this message: “The name “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology Gold Edition\aom.exe”xres=640 specified in the “Target” field isn’t valid. Verify if the name and way are well written.”

My PC is in Portuguese and I tried to translate the message.

You’re getting this error because you don’t have a space between the path to your exe and the xres option. Try something like this instead:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology Gold Edition\aom.exe" xres=640
If that doesn’t work, try taking out the quotes (“”) as well.

Tried everything still same error, can you upload a video to make it clearer

There are a few videos on youtube already (not mine). Try this one http://youtu.be/Kh47I7zh2do?t=4m1s. All you’re doing here is adding xres=640 in your target field in the shortcut tab of your AOM shortcut. This forces the game to run in a small resolution.

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\aomx.exe” xres=640
I typed this in, and it doesnt work. It does start in 640 x 400 resolution, but when i have chenged the resolution in the game, removes the “xres=640” and restarts it the “initialization failed” message pops up again

You’re getting the error because the resolution is too large. Try first setting it to 640×480 through the game options and using that. If it works try larger and larger resolutions until you get the error.

hello, i’m from Korea where the English language isn’t mother language. so… can i request you : to make this resolution with “picture enclosed”

Sorry I don’t think I understand :( Do you mean you want a screenshot of the properties menu where you set the xres?

If you like, send me your comment in Korean, and I can ask on of my friends to translate.

Hiya! I have put this into the Target: “C:\Program Files\Age of Mythology Extended Edition\aomx.exe” xres=640

And it’s still coming up with the error? I am running it on Windows Vista, and the screen starts off small but then the error comes up straight away and closes the programme.

Is it just my version of windows that i#m running?

This post was for the original Age of Mythology. Extended edition is slightly different with different options and different requirements. From a quick read through this post you could try adding the following after your target instead (640 is apparently too small for AOMEE):
+window xres=1280 yres=1024

Keep in mind, you must have a DirectX 10 supported video card for AOMEE to work. I would install the latest DirectX and video card drivers as often the cause of the error seems to be a corrupted driver.

One final thing to try would be to add this option as well to your shortcut:
+forceD3D9

Let me know if any of that works

Thank you alot man, God bless you! That helped me… Wasnt able to play for a month, all official steam forums stayed quiet.

For those who are asking about Initialization error which is on going on Age of Mythology Extended Edition, there is a solution for them, I found after a very hard struggle to play this great game.

First of all you have to install the game and install the game update from
http://gamesresources.forumfree.it/?t=68769374.

This is an Italian website, So you should first translate it throw google or other search engines.

Download and Install only Update. (Nothing Else)

After installing update, Copy crack contents from the “Crack” directory given in the update folder.

After on download and install Visual C++ 2012 and Visual C++ 2013 (Because I have download and install both one) From given links.

2012 : http://www.microsoft.com/en-pk/download/details.aspx?id=30679
2013 : http://www.microsoft.com/en-pk/download/details.aspx?id=40784

After Installing Visual C++, Right click on game shortcut on the desktop and click on properties.

Select Compatibility From the upper menu and check the “Run this program as an administrator” and click on apply.

Here all done now. You can play this game now. These are the steps, which work for me. If your game not works you can check another box from the properties of shortcut “Run in 640X480”.Now you should pray for your luck. I can only ask about telling you this tutorial. Good luck.

Good luck. Good luck all the gamers.

Regards,
Rahmat Ali. (A proudly Pakistani.)

HI,

Your post help me with error but cant put 32bits in game just can put 16bits… HOw i can run game in 32 with 1366×788?

i this Target: D:\Jogos\AOM\aom.exe +window xres=1366 yres=768 +forceD3D9

if u can help me i´ll be great! :)

Good post!

Are you sure +forceD3D9 is the way to enable 32 bit resolution? If the 32 bit resolutions are not available its more likely that the game cannot recognize your video card and automatically allows you only a very small pool of low settings. You should be able to hack around this by following the steps on this post: http://www.thegameengine.org/age-of-mythology/age-of-mythology-square-fog-of-war-and-water-glitch/

Let me know if that works for you!

i already solve problem… i download and install Age of Methology extended edidtion :D

Everything wroks now… Thanks anyaway :)

Haha sounds good, enjoy :)

FIXED !!! VALEU MANO, FUNCIONOU :D !!!! THANKS FOR THE HELP :D

Wow, this worked for me! Thank you!!

Wonderful man, it worked, was desperate for a long time now.

It doesn’t work, I don’t believe it has to do anything with screen resolution but DirectX… I use Windows XP x64 1024×600 with DirectX 9.0c (latest supported version for XP)

i did everything you said, but it still says that i have the error

hi there i have tried every thing but i keep getting the error

it did not work when i typed xres=640 but when i typed xres=800yres=600 it worked!!!.
maybe because I a running windows 8 or something

now lets all play togever

download game ranger at gameranger.com and play online with me. run it on the age of thyology titans version

it worked,thank u very much

thanks frend

I didnt manage to make it work on AOM Extended Edition :/
Already tried everything you said on comments:
+window xres=1280 yres=1024 +forceD3D9

I have a 1920×1080 screen size…
I think it might mbe my onboard cheap gfx card. But I played AOM Titants normally…

screenshot (in portuguese):
http://i.imgur.com/Ri4KFhc.png

really good site, you help people a lot :)

PLZ Help me. I have Aom Extended Edition.There was a problem before that it used to always ask dll files.So i downloaded and put the files in the folder.Now it tells intialization fail.So i typed xres=640.But still it didnot help me. :(

This may be late to post here but none of this fixed the error. This worked for me: xres=800 +noIntroCinematics

thanks buddy, it worked for me :)

Hi, I’m new here. I recently found my copy of AOM Gold edition, and tried to install it. It installs correctly, but before it even gets to the opening cinematic, it closes and I get an Initialization error message that goes away immediately. I have tried every solution I could find online, plus a few of my own. None of them seem to work. This fix got the closest, and the game at least shows up for about half a second, but it still won’t work.

I have an HP Pavilion g7, 6gb RAM, AMD A8-4500M APU with Radeon HD graphics (1.90 GHz). I’m on 32 bit Windows 7 Professional SP1. Does anyone know any other fixes, or is my computer incompatible?

I have tried the above fix, starting with safe video/sound, starting on lowest possible resolution, lowering my computer’s resolution, starting in all compatibility modes, and uninstalling/reinstalling AOM several times.

Try starting it via something like this:

aom.exe xres=1024 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

That solution gets farther than any others, but still won’t work. I’m thinking the disks may just be faulty. Just to be sure, do I put all of that after everything that is in quotes under the target in properties?

Yeah an example would be something like this in your target field:

C:\Program Files\Age of Mythology\aom.exe xres=1024 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

That disables a lot of graphical features in case there’s a compatibility issue with your gfx card. If that doesn’t work try checking this link for a list of known AOM issues: http://aom.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=12,26961,,20&st=recent

For example on my PC my resolution was very high (HD) so the game refused to start with the same error.

I used the following command to run AOM in windowed mode:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\aom.exe” +noIntroCinematics +window

And if that doesn’t work, use the following command to run AOM in safe mode:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\aom.exe” xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

Hey! So I tried every solution on this page. I have zBook and running WIndows 7. According to the specifications, my computer should run this game just fine. In fact, when I installed it one year ago, it worked. But now, every time I try to run it, the menu appears, and when I click play, it sometimes says launching Age of Mythology: The Titans, but then it disappears and nothing happens. No error message, nothing. Anyone knows what to do?

Help! I have tried every solution on here and it is still not working. Age of mythology works fine but when I launch Age of Mythology the Titans Expansion it gives me this initialization error message. Im pretty sure the screen resolution or size is not the problem because Age of Mythology works fine. Any Ideas?

hi, can you please help me. i did the xres=640 thing and i was able to make it passed the cinematics but after loading, all i get is a black screen. i hope someone can help me with this. i’ve been trying to make this game work for a very long time.

Try this full set of options all at once: xres=1024 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

I have the same problem, but when I try this options, there still occurs an error ”Intialization failed”. Do you know what to do?

Sorry for the late reply,

Did you try to add those options in the comment above yours?

I play Age of Mythology regularly on my computer. However, after getting a new adapter so I could play online, I downloaded the new Windows 10 system and all of a sudden my game keeps getting the ‘initialization failed’ message. I tried the method listed above, but it is not working. Please help!

Never mind, just tried one of the solutions you gave to someone else in the comments and it worked! Thanks, your awesome!

I’m glad it worked for you! Just out of curiosity which additional solution worked?

Im trying to install AoM Titans. I followed every step, but when i try to run it, a windows message pops up: “Windows has stopped working”
I dont know what to do. I’ve downloaded the app that downloads the DLLs (aio210) and i tried your tutorial, but nothing works.

So frustrated :/

That doesn’t sound good at all. I’ve never heard of Windows crashing when the game runs.

I would HIGHLY caution against using automated DLL download software. It is extremely common that this kind of software is malware/bloatware crap that doesn’t even fix your problem. It is a frequent target of scams because “DLL download” is such a common search term and really confusing problem for most users so it’s an easy way to spread their malware.

If you get notified by the OS that you’re missing DLLs it can be tricky to find what you need. Search for the exact file along with the name of the program that’s trying to use it, try to avoid downloading any kind of auto-fixer/cleaner program. A single DLL can come in dozens of different versions and some may not even work for the program that is requesting them.

Which DLL file were you missing?

I would also uninstall the DLL app and AoM Titans and reinstall everything.

Best of luck

thank you..

Hi, I have been having this issue with The Titans for over 2 years now. Believe me I have tried so many ways to solve this issue from changing my screen resolution, giving myself ownership privilidges, starting the “safe video”, watching videos, and even reinstalling the game but nothing seems to help. What can I do to play this game?

I am trying to play the Titans expansion BTW

What screen resolution change did you try? xres=640 should cover even the smallest of screens.

If that’s not working it might be some kind of video card incompatibility. There’s a super low setting mode you can try by adding all of these to your target path xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2 Your target field should look like this when trying it out:
“C:\Program Files\Age of Mythology\aomx.exe” xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

If that doesn’t work either, consider following the steps for the square water fix as it will overwrite the default video card configuration the game is using and might fix whatever graphical config is blocking your startup http://www.thegameengine.org/age-of-mythology/age-of-mythology-square-fog-of-war-and-water-glitch/.

Hey there, please help me. I am a big fan of AoM series and have been playing them for years on my PC. I recently upgraded to the latest windows 10 and it even got the anniversary update. So i installed AoM Extended edition which I got thru torrent. It is the same pc I used to play before and it worked fine but now I get initialization error. I have tried the x res settings(ran as admin too) and everything that you said, please help I want to play it so bad.

other details:
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 14393) (14393.rs1_release.160915-0644)
Card name: Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family (Microsoft Corporation – WDDM 1.0)
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) GMA 3100
Display Memory: 256 MB
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.14.0010.2697 (English)
Driver Version: 8.15.10.2697
DDI Version: 9Ex
Feature Levels: 9_1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.0

Torrents can sometimes be buggy or not up the latest version. I believe there were some essential patches for titans (latest being 1.03) so make sure the version you have is up to date.

Also please try this more comprehensive list of startup parameters xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

thanks for the quick reply! however I think the reason why the “extended edition” of the game doesnt work for me is because it requires a video card that can support directx 10+, which unfortunately my video card doesn’t..so it cannot be played..however, I downloaded and install the original AoM (not the extended one) + the titans and now I am playing the game with no errors or anything, only difference is steam and some graphics update but the game is the same and that’s the only thing I care about and thank you very much, much appreciated. cheers buddy!

My bad I mixed your comment up with the someone elses. I didn’t realize you were referring to the extended edition.

I also wasn’t aware extended edition needed directx 10+, thanks for letting me know :)

I’m glad you’ve at least got the old game working again!

Don’t know if you’re still active on this thread but here goes:
I can’t get AOMT Gold to start on Windows 10. I have AOM EE, and it works fine, but I want to install my Gold edition also to play some old recorded games.
I read that I have to use the NO CD Crack, and with it I managed to get “Unable to get initial keys”. I tryed all 3 of the shortcut options with no effect.

I fixed it by overwriting aomx.exe with the fixed one found on google. Just search for aomx.exe fixed.

Its F work..great!! U r the best..thanx..

Thanks It works great

Hi I tried this and it didn’t work. Error message is “Initialization failed. Direct 3D initialization failed. Frequent cause is an old or corrupted driver. Please check the log file for more information.”

very good resolved my problem ty

Excellent! Thank you very much! Problem solved.

When i right click on the shortcut on my home screen, click properties, and then click on the shortcut tab, the “target:” is greyed out, i cant write in it? any thoughts why?

Age of Mythology initialization failed

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