Age of Empires II: Game Slows Down or Runs Irregularly (247732)

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one or both of the following methods (as appropriate to your situation).

Method 1: Install the Latest Age of Empires II: Age of Kings Update

Obtain and install the latest Age of Empires II: Age of Kings update. The latest update, Microsoft Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 2.0a Update, includes performance enhancements to make the game run faster. To download the Update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note If this issue continues to occur after you install the update, follow the steps in Method 2.

Method 2: Remove, and then Reinstall Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

Remove Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, clean-boot the computer, empty the contents of the Temp folder, check your hard disk for errors, defragment the hard disk, and then reinstall Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

1. Remove Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings from the computer. To do so, follow these steps:
   1. Quit all programs that are running on your computer.
   2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
   4. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Age of Empires II, and then click Add/Remove or Change/Remove.
   5. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to remove Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings from the computer.
2. Restart your computer by using a clean boot procedure.
   
   When you start Microsoft Windows, typically there are a number of programs that start automatically and run in the background that may interfere with the game. These programs may include antivirus and system utility programs. When you perform a clean boot, you prevent these programs from starting automatically.
   
   You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
   
   To restart your computer by using a clean boot procedure, follow these steps if you are using Microsoft Windows XP:
   
   Note You may experience a temporary loss of some services functionality when you follow these steps. Restoring the settings restores the functionality, but the original error message or behavior may return as a result.
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
   3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup.
   4. Under Selective Startup, click to clear the following check boxes:
      • Process SYSTEM.INI File
      • Process WIN.INI File
      • Load Startup Items
   5. On the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
   6. Click OK, and then click Restart.
   Click the Play button to view this streaming media demonstration.
   
   
   For additional information about how to perform a clean boot in Windows, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   331796 Games: How to Perform a Clean Boot to Prevent Background Programs from Interfering with Play

3. Empty the contents of the Windows Temp folder. Use the following method that is appropriate for your operating system.

   Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows 2000

   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type %temp%, and then click OK.
   3. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
   4. On the File menu, click Delete.
   5. Click Yes when you receive the following message:

      Are you sure you want to send these items to the Recycle Bin?

   Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98

   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type temp, and then click OK.
   3. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
   4. On the File menu, click Delete.
   5. Click Yes when you receive the following message:

      Are you sure you want to send these items to the Recycle Bin?

4. Check your hard disk for errors. Use the following method that is appropriate for your operating system.

   Windows XP or Windows 2000

   1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
   2. Right-click the hard disk that you want to check (for example, (C:), and then click Properties.
   3. Click the Tools tab, and then under Error-checking, click Check Now.
   4. Click to select the Automatically fix file system errors and the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check boxes, and then click Start.

   Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Windows 98

   1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.
   2. Under Select the drive(s) you want to check for errors, click the drive that you want to check, for example, (C:). (Select the drive where the game is installed.)
   3. Click to select the Automatically fix errors check box, click Standard, and then click Start.
5. Defragment the hard disk. To do so, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
   2. Click the drive that you want to defragment, and then click Defragment.
6. Reinstall Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.

Method 3: How to Improve Game Performance

If these steps do not resolve the issue, continue to troubleshoot the issue. The following article will help you improve the game performance.