Lord of the Rings Online incompatible

LOTRO has nothing to do with a web browser, so resetting IE or managing IE add-ons or tinkering with IE settings will do nothing to solve this problem.  The problem stems from a .NET framework incompatibility that arose when Microsoft updated Windows 8 to 8.1.  There may be more to it than that, but that is where the problem starts.

Up until a week ago, Windows 8 ran Lord of the Rings Online. Now it says it is an incompatible program and will not launch the game. I undid all the updates, but it still will not run. I am beyond frustrated and just want to play the game I bought the laptop to play. 

I, too, was frustrated.  But I found a solution - and it isnt intuitive.

First, go to the directory LOTRO is installed to.  Search for .config.  You should see two files.  Edit each one, and where you see 'required version' and 'supported version', change the number to 4.0.  What this does is take care of your .Net 1.1 problem.

This step should let the launcher run.  Now - the problem I had was that the launcher would just hang and crash here.  Did the usual turn off firewall/virus protection, turn off ad blockers, renamed old user preferences to regenerate them, even a clean install.  Nothing seemed to work.  The issue is that you'll need to agree to two new EULAs, and for whatever reason, the updates that come with the new launcher are crashing the program.

The solution that worked for me:  in windows, create a new/different local account.  Log in to this new account and launch the game.  While I did initially get an error message here, the new launcher downloaded, the updates downloaded, I signed into my Turbine account as normal, and the game started.

Once you have done this, exit the game.  Log out of your 'new' Windows account, and log in to your machine as normal.  Head to Users/your account/documents/Lord of the Rings Online, and delete  your user preferences.  Launch the game.  You'll probably have to agree to the EULAs again, but it should launch just fine.

One last thing - if you get a black screen that doesnt go away when you run the game, its sometimes associated with DX11.  Choose DX9, and you should be off and running.

I have the same issue.  I believe it stems from a .NET compatibility issue.  So far, I haven't seen anything that suggests a work-around.

For me, though - I had intended to buy a Surface Pro 2, and had hoped to be able to play LOTRO on it.  That purchase gets put on hold until this gets fixed.

LotRO has its own client. It is not being played within the browser.

Thank you,

Erez

Hi Davis,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community Forums.

I can imagine the inconvenience you have experienced.

From the description I understand that you are facing an issue with playing online The Lord of the Rings game.

It could be due to the compatibility issue. I would suggest you to follow the steps and check if it helps.

To assist you better I would appreciate if you could answer the following question:

1)      Which browser are you using to play The Lord of the Rings game?

2)      If you are using the Internet Explorer browser to play The Lord of the Rings game then, are you using the Modern User Interface Internet Explorer or the desktop Internet Explorer browser?

Follow the steps and check,

Check the compatibility of game with windows 8

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/win8/CompatCenter/ProductViewerWithDefaultFilters?TempOsid=win8&Locale=en-us&TextSearch=Lord%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRings%2BOnline&Type=Both&CurrentPage=0&TotalPages=1&ShowCriteria=0&SortCriteria=Relevance&Compatibility=Unknown&LastRequested=14

Method 1: Some of the games that require Java add-ons, issues can be resolved by updating the add-ons to the latest version

http://www.java.com/en/download/help/windows\_manual\_download.xml

Method 2: Some of the games that require Adobe Shockwave Player add-ons, issues can be resolved by updating the add-ons to the latest version

http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/otherversions/

Method 3: If you are using Internet Explorer browser, make sure that the necessary Add-ons are enabled in Internet Explorer

Manage add-ons in Internet Explorer

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/manage-add-ons#ie=ie-10

Method 4: Still if you are not able to play The Lord of the Rings game, I would suggest you to reset the Internet Explorer and check,

How to reset Internet Explorer settings

**http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737?wa=wsignin1.0**

Disclaimer: The Reset Internet Explorer Settings feature might reset security settings or privacy settings that you added to the list of Trusted Sites. The Reset Internet Explorer Settings feature might also reset parental control settings. We recommend that you note these sites before you use the Reset Internet Explorer Settings feature.

I would also suggest you to contact The Lord of the Rings Support:

http://www.lotro.com/support/

This information should help you. If you need further assistance regarding playing game issues, please let us know we will be happy to help