Help with MTW on Win 7 64 bit Series 6 laptop

I installed Sepheus' ddraw_fix... to try to solve the resolution/graphics issues involved which stop the game from running on the newer faster machines and with more advanced graphics cards.

After installing MTW 1.1 on my series 6 Win 7 64 bit laptop I installed the ddraw_fix... and it ran! YES! I got all the way to choosing a faction after tweaking the audio, video, game and performance options in the Options Menu. So, everything graphically is running fine, and now I am ready to load my faction, the map, and play a continuous campaign game.

When I tried to then load my faction ("Easy", "Late Period"), the menu screen popped up instead, all wavy and weird, with dozens of mouse pointers stacking across my lower screen. I tried three times and the same or something similar happened after tweaking the resolution and colors in "Properties" for my start icon. My compatibility setting is "Windows XP 3rd iteration or whatever technospeak they call it."

Is anyone out there able to help me understand and hopefully fix this problem?

(And what does "CDT" which I have seen in other MTW posts mean? Does it refer to the same or related graphics issues?

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Originally Posted by MarshaldeSaxe

(And what does "CDT" which I have seen in other MTW posts mean? Does it refer to the same or related graphics issues?

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Sorry, but this is the only bit I can help with: CTD - crash to desktop.

I've tried getting MTW to work on my Win7 32-bit machine, but with limited success. Add in the 64-bit, I have no clues....

I can only offer that I picked up the Steam version dirt cheap on sale and it runs fine on my old Win 7 64-bit Dell XPS laptop. I was playing it last week without problems, without needing to tweak any compatibility settings in Windows.

Quite some time ago I tried my original CD-based version with all the patches and fixes listed here, and still had problems with it, similar to what you describe. I never did resolve them (until I picked up the version on Steam).

I have been trading emails with Sega in the UK. They have someone looking into the problem. I am awaiting a response to the latest response I gave them yesterday, which was what happened before and after I disabled then re-enabled my Nividia card. The game simply keeps returning to the main menu and the bottom of that screen display is shaded and may or may not have the mouse pointer on it replicating repeatedy. I do not expect an answer which will fix the problem. I think they will not respond until the 7 day period is up and they pronounce it "solved," or they may simply say, "Sorry, we cannot resolve your issue."

I believe I will have to see what Steam can do for me, because nobody is willing to hack the game file(s) which are causing this issue. Maybe it cannot be solved unless the game is re-programmed by the company which owns it now.

A company which bought the Talonsoft war game series, (Waterloo, Prelude to Waterloo, Age of Sail, etc...), re-programmed the games and offered them for sale again on their website. The guy who re-programmed the games is an original programmer. They run fine on my newer Win 7 64 bit laptops. So, re-progamming can be done and MTW and other TW games could run on the newer machines if the company thought they could make enough money re-selling the newer versions.

I've been hit with the same problem mentioned above, the incompatibility of Windows 7 with MTW.

I have an older laptop which I figured would be easier to run MTW on but no, the CTD is not helping at all.
@MarshaldeSaxe, any word from SEGA?

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Originally Posted by Xantan

I've been hit with the same problem mentioned above, the incompatibility of Windows 7 with MTW.

I have an older laptop which I figured would be easier to run MTW on but no, the CTD is not helping at all.
@MarshaldeSaxe, any word from SEGA?

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Sega has been helping me and I must say the tech who contacts me with possible solutions has been patient and kind. Her name is Anna.
Sega has sent me some possible actions I took with graphics adjustments but so far, up to today, they have not solved the problem.

The next step they want me to take is to install another monitor on the Win 7 laptop I am using. I did that, but I could not see my mouse pointer nor any icons on either monitor, so they asked me to refer to a link on the web about installing another monitor on a Win7 machine.
I have not yet accessed that link, but I have a few more days to do it and get back to Sega before the 7 day response or be blown off occurs.

NOTE: I am intrigued that Medieval Total War was purchased on Steam and it ran. My question is: did you have to download Steam, and then how long both Steam and the game took to download?

I tried to download a free game a few weeks ago and it said it would take 5 hours.

Hi Marshal,

I installed MTW at a friend's house about a week ago, it took around 20 mins with very fast internet. It's a small size program in the end so it will download very quickly with good internet.

Would you happen to have any idea why a comment said that the Steam download version ran fine on his/her newer computer yet the original MTW 1.1 Cd would not? What could be different to make the Steam download version run but the original CD not run?

I am really curious because I don't want to go through the effort of renting (you don't actually "own" what you pay for on Steam, you get the use of it) the game and then find out it doesn't run.

By the way, a Sega technician has been helping me for about a week suggesting various fixes and experiments, though so far they have not worked. She says she still has some other ideas to try, so lets see what happens.

Technically, you don't own the box version of MTW either, since it grants you a licence not full ownership. The difference is that the CD stays with you so I guess that's still some form of ownership.

Steam versions are slightly different, yes, to make them compatible with the platform and they have some built in bug fixes about compatibility. Making it run with Windows 10 for example since the original one isn't that happy to do so.

I can't remember but Medieval Total War had a CD Key, correct? You can add the game to steam with the cd key and then download it. That's how I got Medieval2 DE on Steam.

I couldn't see my response to Csargo so I am posting it again. How does adding a game to steam work? I have no idea how to do what you are suggesting. Could you please be more specific, like possibly with an itemized list of things I must do to accomplish that?

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Originally Posted by MarshaldeSaxe

I couldn't see my response to Csargo so I am posting it again. How does adding a game to steam work? I have no idea how to do what you are suggesting. Could you please be more specific, like possibly with an itemized list of things I must do to accomplish that?

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https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...-WUSF-3601#how

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Originally Posted by Csargo

I can't remember but Medieval Total War had a CD Key, correct? You can add the game to steam with the cd key and then download it. That's how I got Medieval2 DE on Steam.

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M2TW worked, RTW worked, not sure if MTW & STW work for this. Can anyone chip in?

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Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

M2TW worked, RTW worked, not sure if MTW & STW work for this. Can anyone chip in?

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I just tried with M:TW this does not work, so that's a no go apparently. I have no idea why. It's possible the M:TW gold edition does, but I don't have that version of the game to try.

Speaking of MTW, it just occurred to me that the game will be... 20 years old... next year.

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Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

Speaking of MTW, it just occurred to me that the game will be... 20 years old... next year.

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Update to this problem:

Before the update, I was just playing the original MTW on my WinXP SP2 old Dell Dimension 3000 desktop. Works fine. When this machine dies, there goes MTW. One of the finest pc games around and still very playable after 20 years. I would also recommend Patrician III. I have Patrician IV and cannot figure out even the basic game controls because they changed the user interface. I am old and therefore have no patience with complexity and technique changes.

I have MTW2 on my Win 7 laptop, and the Kingdoms edition addon, and they both work fine. I use the built-in Intel graphics processor to run them. In fact, come to think of it, I never take any action to switch the Nividia graphics card on or off for any games, so I guess the built-in Intel card runs everything.

The Sega help desk technician who took over from Anna wasn't as engaging, and after trying yet another fix which failed, he said goodbye and goodluck after it failed. So, I am back to square one.

I will see if the game will run on my wife's Win 10 all in one, but I doubt it will. So, when the XP desktop dies, I will try to run it on her old XP desktop which doesn't have the extra juice mine does, and see what happens. I expect it will run. If not, I will try Steam, even though I will bite through my lip having to do so.

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Originally Posted by MarshaldeSaxe

I will see if the game will run on my wife's Win 10 all in one, but I doubt it will. So, when the XP desktop dies, I will try to run it on her old XP desktop which doesn't have the extra juice mine does, and see what happens. I expect it will run. If not, I will try Steam, even though I will bite through my lip having to do so.

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It's worth having a look to find a Dell refurbisher near you - I managed to find a replacement XP Desktop this way for not a lot (~£100 / $150) for a quad core 760 with 250GB HD. Runs MTW and RTW fine, and I can even play EB for the first time in years without horrible load times.... (and on the integrated graphics card, at that!)

I think Win 10 is a no-go except via Steam

macsen rufus, do you mean to imply that the Steam version of MTW will run on Windows10? (I mean the version of MTW sold on Steam.)

Yes, Steam version of MTW runs on Windows 10 but there are some issues - one which I am experiencing right now. I cannot play the game fullscreen!

I have the same problem with Patrician III, which runs widescreen on my Dell XP desktop with a 23 inch monitor but will not run widescreen on my Acer Win 7 laptop with 17 inch screen. Changing the display in the options to widescreen does nothing.

BUT! At least I know that MTW leased from Steam will run on a Win 10 machine, (probably but not possibly not certainly, since some machines will be configured differently by the manufacturers I am guessing.)

It works almost perfectly for me, on Windows 10, but keep in mind that it's not a fullscreen. I've tried various tactics but it won't work.

I think it might be a better idea for me to just find a cheap but powerful second hand computer built in like 2005, with Windows XP or Vista, that will run it perfectly.

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Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

It works almost perfectly for me, on Windows 10, but keep in mind that it's not a fullscreen. I've tried various tactics but it won't work.

I think it might be a better idea for me to just find a cheap but powerful second hand computer built in like 2005, with Windows XP or Vista, that will run it perfectly.

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I have my wife's old Dell Dimension desktop which does not have a Nividia graphics card but does run XP. I am going to set it up this coming week and install MTW on it to see it is runs.

Will advise.

If you can make it work, don't forget that components for old computers are cheap to source so you can do some good upgrades for the cost of maybe a full meal out in town.

I know it has been a year, and I apologize having been absent from the forum for so long.

I finally bit the bullet and bought MTW (which included Viking Invasion) on Steam a few weeks ago, and it runs fine on my ACER 2019 series 6 Windows 7 laptop, after I changed the graphics resolution to 1045 or whatever that is. It has a few units the original CD did not contain but the cheats work just fine.

I have also purchased NTW and ETW in a combined edition from Steam, but have not yet downloaded and played them. I am perplexed because I want to use the cheat mode and cheat codes when I play them, but Google links with the question only refer sites which discuss "cheat engines," and "mods," neither of which i comprehend nor have ever used. I wouldn't even know how to install them and if they would modify the games I purchased irrevocably. I am an old man, and have no idea what to do with a mod, nor have I ever modified the code of a game to change values.

I am no

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Originally Posted by MarshaldeSaxe

I know it has been a year, and I apologize having been absent from the forum for so long.

I finally bit the bullet and bought MTW (which included Viking Invasion) on Steam a few weeks ago, and it runs fine on my ACER 2019 series 6 Windows 7 laptop, after I changed the graphics resolution to 1045 or whatever that is. It has a few units the original CD did not contain but the cheats work just fine.

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Thanks for the update Marshal!

Not sure what you mean with the cheat codes, though. What do you want to achieve? Unlocking all factions or something else?