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Age Of Empires 3 Color Scheme issue

Anonymous
2012-07-24T12:33:01+00:00

I recently re-purchased Age Of Empires III (Complete Collection) as I had lost the discs when moving house. I have a new gaming computer too, with Windows 7.

I installed AOE3 but am getting the message: "the color scheme has been changed to Windows 7 Basic..." message... then nothing, the game doesn't even start

It's very frustrating. What can I do? (Please don't reply if you don't actually know and you just want to copy and paste some standard answer )

Cheers!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Gaming

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Anonymous
2012-07-31T10:25:31+00:00

Here is what helped me:

Running AOE 3 under Windows 7/Vista in compatibility mode.

  1. Right-click the game's .exe file
    1. 64-bit location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires III
    2. 32-bit location: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires III
    3. Read this if you don't know which Vista\Win 7 OS you have.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Select the Compatibility tab.
  4. Check box next to Run this Program in compatibility mode for.
  5. Scroll the menu below this until you find Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
  6. Click Apply and then OK.

Here and here are pictures to go with the explanation above.

As far as I know, most versions of Windows 7 include a compatibility tab. However, if yours doesn't then try this.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/make-older-programs-run-in-this-version-of-windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-12-16T00:15:57+00:00

    Hi there,

    I've encountered the same problem for my brand new desktop PC (LENOVO intel core 5, 3.00GHZ, AMD card, windows 7). I've tried what you guys have been mentioning about runing it with compatibility mode Windows XP service pack 3, but still not working ("the color scheme has been changed to Windows 7 Basic..."still shows and nothing happens.

    Help will be much appreciated, thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-07-31T15:43:50+00:00

    Funny, I always get that message when starting the game too, yet it still works perfectly fine.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-07-31T07:16:01+00:00

    Thank you for your reply.

    MY Graphics Card is AMD Radeon HD 6900

    I tried the cmd commands as Administrator. The problem remained just the same.

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-07-25T03:52:48+00:00

    Hi,

    ·         Do you have a Graphics Card installed in the computer? If so, which Graphics Card do you have?

    Please try running the following commands and check if the issue occurs. You may restart the DWM (Desktop Window Manager) so that you get aero back on, not a permanent fix but useful if you just want aero back on.

    a.       Click the Start button, and type cmd in the Start Search box

    b.      Right-click cmd in the Programs list and select Run as Administrator

    if you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue

    c.       At the command prompt, type the following commands and press Enter after each one

    net stop "Desktop Window Manager Session Manager"

    net start "Desktop Window Manager Session Manager"

    You may also refer the following article for more information:

    Why are some visual elements being automatically turned off?

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Why-are-some-visual-elements-being-automatically-turned-off

    Let us know if this helps.

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