Age of Empires 4 – solving technical problems

Crashes on old processors, errors with Windows system files, graphical artifacts, low FPS and more

More than ten years later, Age of Empires 4 finally came out. According to the first reviews, the new large-scale strategy has absorbed all the best from the previous parts, including the popular medieval setting. Unfortunately, the launch of the new product was not without technical problems. In this guide, we have collected solutions for all common bugs.

Table of Contents

What computer do you need for Age of Empires 4 (system requirements)

The game can load up to 8 processor threads. Therefore, it does not hurt Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 cannot be considered redundant. In addition, for a stable 60 FPS at maximum settings, even at 1080p, a video card of the level of GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 590 is required.

As for the official system requirements, they, as usual, are designed only for a resolution of 1080p (1920×1080). We reviewed the game benchmarks and added recommendations for playing in 2K (2560×1440) and 4K (3840×2160).

Official minimum system requirements (1080p @ 60 FPS, low preset):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 (64-bit only!).
Processor: Intel Core i5-6300U / Ryzen 5 2400G.
Video card: Intel HD Graphics 520 / AMD Radeon Vega 11.
RAM: 8 gigabytes.

Official Recommended System Requirements (1440p @ 60 FPS, high preset):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 x64.
Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon RX 570.
RAM: 16 gigabytes.

Tests of the game on the most popular video card among Steam users

Computer for gaming at 1440p @ 30 FPS (according to tests):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 x64.
Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3400.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / Radeon RX 580.
RAM: 16 gigabytes.

Computer for gaming at 1440p @ 60 FPS (according to tests):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 x64.
Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 / Radeon RX 5700.
RAM: 16 gigabytes.

4K @ 30 FPS PC (tested):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 x64.
Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2080 / Radeon RX 5700 XT.
RAM: 16 gigabytes.

4K @ 60 FPS PC (Tested):

Operating system: Windows 10/11 x64.
Processor: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti / Radeon RX 6700 XT.
RAM: 16 gigabytes.

Age of Empires 4 won’t start on Windows 7

The game is not designed to run on Microsoft operating systems older than Windows 10. In addition, a 64-bit version of the OS is required.

The game crashes without error

The game requires a relatively modern processor with support for AVX instructions, as well as a video card with support for DirectX 12. But perhaps later there will be a patch that fixes this problem, as happened with most games with similar requirements.

And if your hardware is not too outdated, then try to check the integrity of the game files on Steam:

start Steam;
go to the “Library” section;
right- click on the name of the game ( Age of Empires 4) in the list on the left and open the properties;
in the “Local files” tab, click “Check the integrity of game files”;
wait for the process to complete.

Age of Empires 4 crashes with error 0x0c000142 / 0x0c000005

Run Windows System File Checker. To do this, press the Windows key + R key combination , and then in the window that opens, enter “sfc / scannow” (without quotes). After completing the check, restart your computer.

Error 0xc000007b in Age of Empires 4

Reinstall or update NVIDIA drivers. It is advisable to do a clean install to reset unsuccessful settings.

MSMSVCR120.dll and MSMSVCR140.dll error when starting the game

Install RuntimePack . This is a complete set of all the libraries you need to run games.

Out of memory error in Age of Empires 4

Your PC is out of RAM. The best solution is to increase the amount of RAM to at least 8 gigabytes. Increasing the paging file probably won’t help. Also, be sure to close your browser before launching any game. Especially if it has a large number of open tabs.

Resolution does not change

This error can occur if screen scaling is enabled on Windows. You can compensate for this as follows:

Find the exefile in the game folder.
Go to properties and go to the “Compatibility” tab.
Click the Change High DPI Settings button.
In the option “Override the scaling mode …” select “Application”.

Game is not saved

Check if there are any Russian letters in the path to the exefile . You can quickly find the file through the “Search” in the explorer.
Disable your antivirus or add exeto the list of exclusions.

Age of Empires 4 slows down / lags / optimization problems / graphical artifacts

Check your PC meets the system requirements

Cm. See the chapter “What computer do you need for Age of Empires 4” above.

Update your graphics card drivers

Visit the video card manufacturer’s website:

NVIDIA GeForce :The site will select the appropriate drivers itself. Just hit Search and then Download Now. After the download is complete, run the downloaded file and follow the instructions of the installer.
AMD Radeon :Scroll down to Search for your product and select your graphics card under Graphics. Click the “Submit” button. On the page that opens, click LMB on your version of Windows and click “Download”. When the download is complete, run the downloaded file and follow the instructions of the installer.
Important:Be sure to restart your computer after updating your drivers.

Enable high performance for your graphics card

For NVIDIA GeForce owners:

Open NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking on the desktop.
Select Manage 3D Settings from the list on the left.
Switch to the “Program Settings” tab in the main part of the screen and select Age of Empires 4from the drop-down list under item “1. Select a program to configure “(if the game is not in the list, then add the corresponding button next to it).
In the list below, find the Power Management Mode function and switch it to Maximum Performance Mode preferred.

For AMD Radeon and AMD processor owners:

Open Radeon Settings by right-clicking on the desktop.
Go to the “System” section.
In the “Switchable Graphics” category, set the “Maximum Performance” graphics card as the main one.
Click “Accept”.

How to adjust graphics in Age of Empires 4 / how to increase the frame rate

Optimal settings for a weak PC , close to the minimum system requirements:

Windowed mode: full screen.
Resolution: Native screen resolution (most commonly 1920×1080).
Screen resolution in the game: 100.
Animation quality: low.
Lighting quality: low.
Detail of textures: low.
Geometry Detail: Low.
Anti-aliasing: disable.
Physics: low.
Vertical sync: disable.
Frame ratelimiting: unlimited.
Movie quality: 1080p.

Sound issues in Age of Empires 4

Run the “Troubleshooting Sound” by clicking RMB on the volume icon in the lower right corner of the desktop. Follow the instructions of the program.

Game freezes / DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error / black screen

Perhaps the problem is overheating of the video card. Check to see if the fans of her cooling system are blocked by adjacent wires. If everything is in order with this, then try resetting the overclocking: go to the MSI Afterburner application and press the Reset button (if such a program is not installed, then the video card most likely did not overclock).