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Icharus, nothing changed in terms of hardware, I tried drivers from 2009 and 2010, but the game still doesn't launch. I also updated the motherboard drivers, but it didn't help. Today, I tried running the game on another computer, and it works perfectly, even without compatibility mode. That computer has Windows 7 Ultimate, while I have Windows 7 Ultimate.

The bug just won't go away; it's rare and annoying. As for Heroes 7, it's the ultimate version in the Russian edition. Perhaps it's not the Russian version of Heroes 7, but rather a version with a Russian language pack installed? Otherwise, only in the beta versions of the Russian Heroes 7 was "ultimate" not translated as "maximum." What is the bitness and build number of your Windows? You can find this in the system information or by running the command "winver."

Icharus, yesterday I reinstalled Windows, installed the original Windows 7 Professional, and I had a Red & Black 7 Maximum build from Putnik. And then I had a thought - my SP1 wasn't updated on that Windows, maybe it was because of the build, I don't know))) could that be causing problems? Maybe that update contains some files that the game needs? Well, I installed the original build, let's see what happens))) Thank you so much again for your help))):smile36:

Added after 5 hours 45 minutes
In general, Service Pack 1 was updated, but the game still doesn't launch(((((((((( I'm already having nightmares about it)))))))
Windows version 6.1 (build 7601), 32-bit, Windows 7 Professional

Added after 3 minutes
maybe there's a way to find out which processes or programs launch the game? maybe something is disabled on my computer?

Zirael, no exotic processes are required to launch the game; everything is standard, and even SP1 is not essential, although it won't hurt to have it. For a fresh Windows 7 installation, simply install DirectX 9 (it's also a good idea to check for updates by downloading and running dxwebsetup; I provided the link somewhere earlier), which is not included by default.
However, I still suspect that the problem lies with the video driver or something related. The driver for the Radeon ATI 1xxx series of graphics cards only partially supports the additional features of Windows 7. Is this driver installed? ATI Catalyst 10.2 (02/24/2010).
Another option is to check the compatibility properties of the game's shortcut and enable the following options: disable visual themes, disable desktop composition, and disable display scaling.

Icharus, I did everything))) I installed dxwebsetup and reinstalled the DX9 drivers. I adjusted all the compatibility settings - it still doesn't work((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Added 7 hours 38 minutes later
Icharus, I installed XP mode)))) I thought I could run Heroes there)))) I didn't know that the video adapter is disabled there))) But the point is that they started to launch, i.e., the screen with the picture appeared, and an error message popped up. So, does that mean they can actually run on my computer? since they launched there?

Ideally, Heroes 5 should run on Windows 7 and 8 without any issues, at least that's how it works for me with Tribes of the East 3.1; it runs without any compatibility modes, only with the d3d9 fix, otherwise the textures will be blurry. As for the virtual XP mode available in Windows 7, the video driver operates in a primitive mode, without 3D acceleration, so it's not suitable for games. The error in this mode is likely due to the limited capabilities of the virtual machine and is not related to an error in Windows 7 itself. I'm quite sure that the hardware isn't the issue here, and on the same computer, if you install XP, the game will run. However, the problem lies in getting it to launch in Windows 7. You can also try running dxdiag through the Start menu, then save the report file (save all information) and attach it to a message here. It might shed some light on the issue, but I'm already doubtful after so many attempts.

Icharus, thanks again!

I had another thought, though I don't know if it will help. After I installed that Ultimate Windows version, my D drive disappeared. That is, in Disk Management, it was listed as "unallocated" or something like that. I had to save all the necessary files using R-studio, and they were duplicated or tripled during the saving process. At that time, I had Heroes installed on the D drive. Of course, I didn't save them because I can reinstall them. And after this problem (my Windows crashed, and I had to reinstall it, and after the installation, I found out that the D drive was gone), Heroes stopped launching. Maybe some files are corrupted somewhere, or something like that? What do you think, is that possible? Or is it not related?

Added 2 minutes later
Maybe that's why it launches in XP Mode, because there's a virtual drive, and nothing interferes with it?

Added 2 minutes later
Here are some possible explanations: faulty hardware, a bad Windows installation (because Service Pack 1 can't be installed), a worn-out drive with the game, a conflict between the OS and the copy protection system (although it should be deactivated in version 1.6), user error, etc. This is what I was told on another forum. I'm writing this with my clumsy user hands

The DxDiag report, as expected, shows no errors, everything is fine. As for the unallocated disk, it seems it was formatted as a dynamic disk at some point. After reinstalling Windows, such a disk will be lost; you can, of course, extract files from it using various methods, but not with standard Windows tools. It should be converted to a regular disk; this might be the cause of the problem with Heroes. You can check the disk type in the Control Panel > Administration > Computer Management > Disk Management. Here's an example of how to do it if you need the files. Alternatively, you can simply copy the necessary files somewhere and format it as a regular disk. As for the "clumsy hands" comment, I doubt it. You were essentially doing everything correctly and thinking in the right direction – drivers, etc., even getting to the virtual XP, the logic was correct. It's just that you encountered a very obscure bug.

here's what I have.

Based on the screenshot, everything looks normal; there are no dynamic disks. To verify that the issue isn't related to the disk, you could try installing Heroes on a different partition or physical disk, if you haven't already done so.

yes, I already tried, but they still don't launch.

I'm running out of ideas. Maybe some kind of virus has attached itself; I should probably check with drweb cureit or something similar. Although, here, for example, someone thought a virus was preventing the game from launching, with the same eventID 1000 error, but it turned out to be the settings in the Catalyst control panel... maybe I should look in that direction and play around with the 3D profile settings.

thank you, I'll try)))

Added 1 minute ago
at least that person got the intro to play, but mine doesn't even get that far((

Added 2 minutes ago
by the way, your ideas are great)) you've helped me a lot:smile36:

Added 11 hours 32 minutes ago
dr. Web didn't find anything, I dug around in the Catalyst 3D graphics settings, tried different things - the result is still the same(((((((((

Hello everyone, I have a problem: the game sometimes crashes, and my saves and autosaves get corrupted. Is there a solution to this problem?