When you play Microsoft Age of Mythology, the game's performance may be slower than you expect.

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they appear.

Method 1: Verify the minimum system requirements

Make sure that your computer meets or exceeds the minimum video, processor, connection speed, and RAM requirements to play Age of Mythology.

For more information about the minimum system requirements for Age of Mythology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
You can use the DirectX 9.0 Diagnostic Tool (Dxdiag.exe) to look up your system information. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Click the System tab. Note the Processor and Memory.
3. Click the Display tab. In the Device section, note the name of the video card and its Approx. Total Memory.
4. Click Exit.

If your computer meets the game requirements, continue with the next method.

Method 2: Analyze and compare the computer that you are using to other computers

To analyze the gaming performance of your PC and to view the ranking of the system relative to other computers that are on the market, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about the Windows Game Advisor, visit the following Microsoft Web site: If your PC ranks low, you may be able to improve the performance of the game by using the methods that are listed in this article. However, you may have to update your PC's hardware for optimal performance. For information about how to update the computer's hardware, contact the manufacturer of the computer.

Method 3: Start a new game

To determine if the problem exists in the currently saved game file, save the current game, and then start a new game. If the issue does not reoccur, there is a problem with your saved game file. You can delete the saved game file or just not use it.

To delete the damaged file, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Run, and then type:
   drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\savegame
   
   where drive is the had disk where Age of Mythology is installed.
   A list of saved game files will appear.
2. Right-click the file that is causing the issue, and then click Delete.
   
   Click Yes to confirm.

If the issue occurred again in the new game, continue with the next method.

Method 4: Use low graphics mode (Multiplayer)

If this issue only occurs in a Single-player mode, continue with the next method.

If this issue is happening only in Multiplayer mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base to troubleshoot Multiplayer issues:

Method 5: Change game settings (Single player)

1. Start Age of Mythology.
2. On the Startup menu, click Options.
3. In the Screen Size drop-down box in the Options pane, click 800 x 600.
4. Click to clear the Music Volume check box.
5. Click to select the Low Graphics Detail check box, and then click OK.

If the issue continues to occur, continue with the next method.

Method 6: Use Age of Mythology shortcuts to diagnose the problem

When you install Age of Mythology, the Setup program creates several troubleshooting shortcuts that customize the Age of Mythology startup process. To access these shortcuts, click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Age of Mythology, and then click Diagnostics.

First start the game with Age of Mythology Safe Video shortcut. If the issue continues to occur, start the game with Age of Mythology No Sound.

• Age of Mythology Safe Video
  This shortcut will help you determine if there is an issue with your video adapter drivers. This shortcut starts Age of Mythology with the following parameters:
  xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2
• Age of Mythology No Sound
  This shortcut will help you determine if there is an issue with your sound card. This shortcut starts the game with no sound. This shortcut starts Age of Mythology with the following parameter:
  +nosound

If the shortcuts did not help you diagnose or resolve the issue, continue with the next method.

Method 7: Improve game performance

For more information about how to improve a game's performance, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: