Windows 10: Old game installs but will not launch?

I recently bought a new laptop with Windows 11 installed. I have an old game that I installed with a external disk drive, Aoe3. When I first installed it it installed perfectly fine and the game launched. In the meantime I ordered the expansions. Before they arrived my computer automatically updated a couple of times. When I tried to install the expansions they "installed" perfectly fine and we're added to the programs on my computer. However, no shortcut was created like normal and neither expansion launched. I uninstalled everything and reinstalled age of Empires 3 and it also does the same

:)

 

Launching games

Hi Wesley,

Windows 10 is gamer-friendly by design. If an issue like being unable to launch a game happens, it can be caused by outdated display driver or other factors that cause conflict when launching the app. For us to better assist you, we'd like to ask for additional
information. Please answer the following:

• What build and version of Windows 10 are you using?
• Are you getting an error message when launching the game?
• Have you made any changes to the settings or installed updates prior to this issue?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• What specific games are you having issues with?

We will wait for your response.

 

Unable to launch installed games on windows 10

Hi,

We really appreciate your effort for trying all possible troubleshooting steps.

We need few information for better understanding,

• • • • • 
          What is the make and model of your computer?
          
        • 
          When you launch other games are they working fine?
          
        • 
          Are you facing any other performance issue on your device?
          
        • 
          Did you made any recent changes prior to the issue?
          
        • 
          Did you install the game from Windows store or any other online website or DVD?
          
          
          

We request you to install and update all the drivers on your computer,

Redirecting

If the issue still persists we suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the game and check,

1. On the Start menu, select Settings.

2. Select System > Apps & features.

3. Select the program, then select Uninstall.

4. Follow the directions on the screen.

Re-install the game and check if it helps.

If that issue still persist, the issue could be due to the game is not compatible with Windows 10. We request you to contact the game developer.


Hope this information helps. Get back to us if you have any more queries on windows.

Thank you.

 

Wanting to run old games

Hi Jameson,

Welcome to Microsoft Community. Your interest in Windows 10 is much appreciated.

I would suggest you to refer the below link and check the compatibility of the game with Windows 10.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home

You may also try installing the game in compatibility mode.
Follow these steps to install the game software in compatibility mode and check if that helps.

• • • • 
        Right-click on the game setup file and click on
        ‘properties’.
        
      • 
        Click on the ‘compatibility’ tab and check the box
        ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for’ and select Windows 8 operating system from the drop down menu and proceed with the installation. Once this is done, restart the computer and check if the issue persists.
        

If the issue still persists, I would suggest you to get in touch with the game manufacturer if it’s specific to that particular game.

Keep us posted if you face any issues on windows in future. We will be glad to help you.