Stronghold is one of a series of real-time strategy games. The game was released back in 2001. Despite its age, there are still quite a lot of fans in the game to this day.

If you have problems launching the game, the following steps will help you:

After installing the game, restart your computer. For many, this step is enough.

• if the game doesn't start
• check the drivers for your video card. If there are newer versions, we update them.
• Since the game is quite old, it may help to run it in Windows XP compatibility mode. We do it this way: RMB on the game shortcut, and then select properties. Next, go to the compatibility tab and check the box. — try turning off the Internet when starting the game.
• There were many different patches for the game. Download and install some of them. It is after updating the game that everything can work.
• download the game from a trusted source, without any mods. It's best to download a clean game.
• During installation, try disabling your antivirus so that it does not block any game files.

What to do if nothing helps?

You need to do some work on your system. We suggest doing this using two useful programs.

1. Update drivers with Driver Booster. This is really cool software that often helps. Updating old drivers to new ones is one of the key requirements for the normal functioning of games and programs on a computer.

You might think that Windows always alerts users when new updates are available. That's right, it shows alerts, but only for updates for Windows and the video card. But besides this, there are many more drivers that need to be updated regularly.

2. PC repair with Reimage Repair. Run this program to analyze your system for errors (and there will be 100% of them). You will then be asked to cure them, either individually or all at once.

If you are faced with the fact that Stronghold: Crusader Extreme slows down, crashes, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme does not start, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme does not install, controls do not work in Stronghold: Crusader Extreme, there is no sound, errors pop up, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme does not saves work - we offer you the most common ways to solve these problems.

First, check whether your PC's specifications meet the minimum system requirements:

• OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Processor: Pentium III 1 GHz
• Memory: 256 MB
• Video: 4 MB
• Free hard disk space: 1.1 GB
• DirectX 8.1;

Be sure to update your video card drivers and other software

Before you remember the worst words and express them towards the developers, do not forget to go to the official website of the manufacturer of your video card and download the latest drivers. Often, drivers specially optimized for them are prepared for the release of games. You can also try installing a later version of drivers if the problem is not solved by installing the current version.

It is important to remember that you should only download the final versions of video cards - try not to use beta versions, as they may have a large number of unfound and unfixed errors.

Do not forget that for stable operation of games, installation of the latest version of DirectX is often required, which can always be downloaded from the official Microsoft website.

Stronghold: Crusader Extreme won't launch

Many problems with launching games occur due to incorrect installation. Check if there were any errors during installation, try uninstalling the game and running the installer again, after disabling the antivirus - often files necessary for the game to work are deleted by mistake. It is also important to remember that the path to the folder with the installed game should not contain Cyrillic characters - use only Latin letters and numbers for directory names.

It also doesn’t hurt to check if there is enough space on the HDD for installation. You can try to run the game as Administrator in compatibility mode for different versions of Windows.

Stronghold: Crusader Extreme slows down. Low FPS. Lags. Friezes. Freezes

First, install the latest drivers for your video card; this can significantly increase the FPS in the game. Also check your computer's load in the task manager (opened by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESCAPE). If before starting the game you see that some process is consuming too many resources, turn off its program or simply end this process from the task manager.

Next, go to the graphics settings in the game. First of all, turn off anti-aliasing and try lowering the post-processing settings. Many of them consume a lot of resources and disabling them will significantly improve performance without significantly affecting the picture quality.

Stronghold: Crusader Extreme crashes to desktop

If Stronghold: Crusader Extreme often crashes on your desktop slot, try to start solving the problem by reducing the quality of the graphics. It is possible that your computer simply does not have enough performance and the game cannot run correctly. It's also worth checking for updates - most modern games have a system for automatically installing new patches. Check if this option is disabled in the settings.

Black screen in Stronghold: Crusader Extreme

More often than not, the problem with a black screen is an issue with the GPU. Check if your video card meets the minimum requirements and install the latest drivers. Sometimes a black screen is a result of insufficient CPU performance.

If everything is fine with the hardware and it meets the minimum requirements, try switching to another window (ALT+TAB), and then returning to the game window.

Stronghold: Crusader Extreme is not installed. Installation stuck

First of all, check if you have enough HDD space for installation. Remember that for the installation program to work correctly, the stated amount of space is required, plus 1-2 gigabytes of free space on the system disk. In general, remember the rule - there should always be at least 2 gigabytes of free space on the system disk for temporary files. Otherwise, both games and programs may not work correctly or may refuse to start at all.

Installation problems can also occur due to a lack of Internet connection or unstable operation. Also, do not forget to pause the antivirus while installing the game - sometimes it interferes with the correct copying of files or deletes them by mistake, considering them viruses.

Saves not working in Stronghold: Crusader Extreme

By analogy with the previous solution, check the availability of free space on the HDD - both on the one where the game is installed and on the system drive. Often save files are stored in a documents folder, which is located separately from the game itself.

Controls not working in Stronghold: Crusader Extreme

Sometimes game controls do not work due to multiple input devices being connected at the same time. Try disabling the gamepad or, if for some reason you have two keyboards or mice connected, leave only one pair of devices. If your gamepad does not work, then remember that games are officially supported only by controllers defined as Xbox joysticks. If your controller is detected differently, try using programs that emulate Xbox joysticks (for example, x360ce).

Sound does not work in Stronghold: Crusader Extreme

Check if the sound works in other programs. After this, check whether the sound is turned off in the game settings and whether the sound playback device to which your speakers or headset is connected is selected there. Next, while the game is running, open the mixer and check if the sound there is muted.

If you are using an external sound card, check for new drivers on the manufacturer's website.

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Sometimes errors appear during startup. It’s unpleasant, but the game you installed may not launch, crashing, freezing, showing a black screen and displaying errors in windows. Therefore, quite logical questions arise: “What to do?”, “Why is this happening?” and “How to solve the problem?” We tried to collect all the necessary information with instructions, tips, various programs and libraries that are designed to help solve the most common errors related to .

Required software for Stronghold Crusader 2

We strongly recommend checking out links to various useful programs. For what? A huge number of errors and problems in Stronghold Crusader 2 are associated with uninstalled/not updated drivers and the lack of necessary libraries.

Low FPS, Stronghold Crusader 2 slows down, freezes or lags

Modern games are extremely resource-intensive, so even if you have a modern computer, it is still better to disable unnecessary/unnecessary background processes (to increase processor power) and use the methods described below to help get rid of lags and slowdowns.

• Launch the task manager and in processes find the line with the name of the game (Stronghold Crusader 2). Right-click on it and select from the menu "Priorities", then set the value "High". Now all that remains is to restart the game.

Remove everything unnecessary from startup. To do this, in the same task manager you need to go to the tab, where you need to disable unnecessary processes when the system starts. It’s better not to touch unfamiliar applications unless you know what they are responsible for, otherwise you risk ruining the system’s startup.

We also recommend that in the settings related to energy consumption, set "Maximum performance". The same applies to the video card: you need to set maximum performance in the GPU settings (this can be done in "Managing 3D Settings"), and in texture filtering select the parameter "Quality" .

If your Nvidia video card is no older than the GTX 10 series of GPUs, then it is quite possible to increase the frame rate by speeding up the work with the video card. To implement your plan, you again need to open "Control Panel" Video cards, go to the already familiar tab "Manage 3D Settings" and select the game in the list of programs, then find "Vertical sync pulse" and click on it to set the parameter in the menu "Fast" .

You should delete temporary folders, unnecessary files and cache. On the Internet you can find a bunch of different programs that help you do this. We recommend using BleachBit or CCleaner for this.

Defragment or optimize your hard drive. To do this, go to “Hard disk properties” tab “Tools” “Defragmentation” or “Optimization”. In addition, you can also check/clean the disk there, which helps in some cases.

Ultimately, go for a simple design so that your computer is not burdened with resource-intensive effects. For example, you can safely disable built-in debuggers, search indexing, and much more.

Stronghold Crusader 2 crashes at random or on startup

Below are some simple ways to solve the problem, but you need to understand that crashes can be associated with both game errors and errors related to something specific on the computer. Therefore, some cases of crashes are individual, which means that if no solution to the problem has helped, you should write about it in the comments and, perhaps, we will help you solve the problem.

• First of all, try the simplest option - restart Stronghold Crusader 2, but with administrator rights.

You should definitely check if Stronghold Crusader 2 has any conflicts with other applications on your computer. For example, many players often swear at a utility called MSI AfterBurner, therefore, if you use this or any other similar one, disable it and try to start the game again.

It is quite possible that the game refuses to work adequately due to Windows Defender(aka "Defender") or due to antivirus. So you should go to options and add .exe file running Stronghold Crusader 2 as an exception, or immediately disabling the antivirus along with Defender (they could also delete some vital file for the game that needs to be restored).

DLL file is missing or DLL error

First, we should explain how errors related to DLL files occur in general: during startup, Stronghold Crusader 2 accesses certain DLL files, and if the game cannot find them, then it instantly crashes with an error. Moreover, the errors can be very different, depending on the lost file, but any of them will have the prefix "DLL" .

To solve the problem, you need to find and return the missing DLL library to the folder. And the easiest way to do this is to use the DLL-fixer program specially created for such cases - it will scan your system and help you find the missing library. Of course, not every DLL error can be solved this way, so below we suggest that you familiarize yourself with more specific cases.

Error d3dx9_43.dll, xinput1_2.dll, x3daudio1_7.dll, xrsound.dll, etc.

All errors whose names can be seen "d3dx" , "xinput" , "dxgi" , "d3dcompiler" And "x3daudio" are treated in the same way - use the web installer for DirectX executable libraries.

Error MSVCR120.dll, VCRUNTIME140.dll, runtime-x32.dll, etc.

Errors with the title "MSVCR" or "RUNTIME" are treated by installing Microsoft Visual C++ libraries (you can find out which library is needed in the system requirements).

Getting rid of the error MSVCR140.dll / msvcr120.dll / MSVCR110.dll and other DLLs once and for all

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Common network errors

Can't see friends / friends not showing up in Stronghold Crusader 2

An unpleasant misunderstanding, and in some cases even a bug or error (in such cases, none of the methods below will help, since the problem is related to the servers). It is curious that many players encounter this, and it does not matter which launcher they play in. We noted for a reason that this is a “misunderstanding”, since, as a rule, the problem is solved in the simple ways described below:

• Make sure that you and your friends are going to play in the same game region, and that the launcher is set to the same loading region.

If the method described above did not help, then it’s time to clear the cache and run a file integrity check.

The most radical way to solve the problem is to completely reinstall the launcher. At the same time, be sure to delete all files associated with the launcher so that nothing remains on the computer.

Specifically for Steam, there is another extremely simple way to solve the problem: choose any section you like "Library" or "Community", then go to the open tab in "Steam" "View" "Friends" "Games" "Help". And then in the section with friends, in the drop-down menu, check the box next to the item "Online"(or rearrange the status, but return to where you are online).

The server creator needs to open ports in the firewall

Many problems in online games are due to the fact that the ports are closed. There's not a single living soul, your friend can't see the game (or vice versa) and you're having connection problems? Now is the time to open ports in the firewall, but before doing so, you should understand how “it” works. The fact is that programs and computer games that use the Internet require not only trouble-free access to the network to work, but also open ports. This is especially important if you want to play some online games.

Often the ports on the computer are closed, so they should be opened. In addition, before setting up, you need to find out the port numbers, and to do this, you first need to find out the IP address of the router.

• Open a command line window (open with the command "cmd" in Start).
• Register the command "ipconfig"(without quotes).
• The IP address will appear in the line "Main gate" .

• Open the command line using the command "cmd" in Pusk.
• Re-enter the command "ipconfig" without quotes.
• Run the command "netstat -a", after which a complete list with port numbers will be displayed.

• Be sure to make sure that you have Windows Administrator rights.
• You need to go to the firewall settings: Start Control Panel Firewall. You can also use the keyboard shortcut "Win+R", then enter the command in the window "firewall.cpl"(this method is better in that it is relevant for any version of Windows OS, so if there is no button "Start", use it).
• Go to the tab “Additional parameters” In the left column, select “Rules for eligible connections” In the right column, select “Create a rule” .
• In the window that opens, you should select the rule where it says "For the port", press "Further" .
• In the next window you need to decide on the protocol: 1 – "TCP" , 2 – "UPD". Select an item in the field below "Specific local ports" and enter your ports. If suddenly there are several ports, then you need to list them either using a comma, or indicating the range of these ports using a dash. Press "Further" .
• Now the little things: select “Allow connection” “Next” select connection profiles, “Next” specify a name for the newly created rule and if you want, you can add a description. All you have to do is save all the changes and you're done.

DirectX error in Stronghold Crusader 2

Errors related to DirectX can occur specifically when launching Stronghold Crusader 2. Don't be surprised if one game works fine, while another throws an error. There are usually quite a lot of such errors, so we have collected the most common ones among users. So if you suddenly have a message "DirectX Runtime Error" , "DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_RESET" , "DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG" or "DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED", use the instructions below to resolve these errors.

• The first thing you need to do is install a “clean” version of your video card driver (that is, don’t immediately rush to install the same GeForce Experience, nothing extra from AMD and audio).

If you have a second monitor, try turning it off, and also turn off G-Sync and any other types of additional/auxiliary devices.

Use System File Checker to repair damaged or missing system files.

If you are using a video card from Nvidia, then try turning on "Debug mode" in the video card control panel.

Often the cause of the error is an overheated video card, so we recommend using the FurMark program to check its functionality. If this turns out to be true, then you should lower the frequency of the video card.

If you suddenly encounter other errors, then we recommend reinstalling DirectX, but before that it’s better to delete the old version just in case (be sure to delete all files in the folder before reinstalling, starting with "d3dx9_24.dll" and ending "d3dx9_43.dll").

Error 0xc000007b in Stronghold Crusader 2

At worst error 0xc000007b or "This application was unable to start correctly" is associated with damaged OS system files, or, at best, with Nvidia video card drivers.

Common ways to solve the problem:

• The most obvious and easiest way to deal with the error is to reinstall the drivers for the video card, and then run the game as an administrator.

Next, try updating or installing .Net Framework, DirectX and Visual C++.

Alternatively, use the command line (“Start” “Run”), where you need to enter the command “sfc /scannow” (the system will scan everything and, if possible, try to replace damaged files if cached copies exist).

And finally, you should try to remove software that conflicts with the video driver. Typically, such unnecessary software includes programs that improve graphics.

The second method is the free Dependency Walker 64bit program:

• After installing Dependency Walker 64bit, run the utility and go to the following address: “View” “Full Patch” “.exe file of the problematic game”(in some cases, after this a window with errors appears, but you should not pay attention to it, just close the window). Switch to section "Module", scroll to the end of the error, look at the values ​​in the columns.

The CPU column includes all DLLs, all of which must be 64-bit for the video game. Therefore, if you notice a DLL file with x86 architecture in the red column of the CPU column, then this means that it is because of this file that error 0xc000007b occurs.

Once the problematic file is found, all that remains is to go to the official website dll-files.com and download the 64-bit version of the DLL file there. Find, download, place it in a folder "C:\Windows\system32" and to the root folder of Stronghold Crusader 2, after which you check the functionality.

"Out of memory" error

An error occurs due to insufficient memory for almost a dozen reasons. Of course, the most common are either a lack of hardware RAM or a small page file size. In the latter case, even if you configured nothing, everything could easily be ruined by third-party software or by simply disabling the paging file.

• You need to try increasing the swap file ( “Start” “System Settings” in the line at the top enter “Performance” select “Customize presentation and system performance” “Advanced” “Change” uncheck the “Automatically select...” function select the size).

It is possible that a certain program, or even several, causes a memory leak or a virus. To check and possibly solve the problem, open the task manager, after which you need to sort everything by memory consumption.

Sound in Stronghold Crusader 2 is missing or disappears in cutscenes

Most often, the problem is related to the high sound resolution in the Windows settings, namely, the bit rate and sampling rate. Therefore, there is only one way to get rid of the problem - lower this resolution.

• In the tray, right-click on the speaker icon;
• In the menu that opens, select the item "Sounds" ;
• Next you need to select a device (it can be either speakers or headphones) and click on "Properties" ;
• Go to next tab "Additionally" ;
• Find the menu called "Default Format" to set a value, but it must be lower than the current one;
• Click "Apply", open Stronghold Crusader 2 and check the result of the work done.

The problem associated with the lack of sound in screensavers cannot be solved using the first method, so do the following:

• Again in the tray RMB on the speaker icon;
• In the menu, find a function called "Spatial Sound" to disable;
• All that remains is to restart Stronghold Crusader 2 and check the result.

And most importantly, do not forget to determine where exactly the sound is missing - everywhere on the computer or only in the game. There are other unlikely, but quite possible reasons for the lack of sound: the sound card is too old and therefore does not support DirectX; incorrect settings; incorrectly installed drivers for the sound card or some specific error in the operating system. In such cases, be sure to write in the comments, and we will try to help correct the errors!

Black screen appears in Stronghold Crusader 2

The appearance of a black screen is often associated with a conflict between video drivers and software. And least of all with certain files of Stronghold Crusader 2. However, there are quite a few other reasons associated with the appearance of the “black screen of death”.

The first step when a problem occurs is to update the video driver. Many people neglect this completely, but we strongly recommend doing this, because for many modern games important updates are released that help launch a particular game.

• Are the drivers installed/updated, but Stronghold Crusader 2 still refuses to work properly? Then you need to check the software to see if the necessary libraries are installed at all? First of all, check the availability of libraries Microsoft Visual C++ And .Net Framework, as well as the presence of “fresh” DirectX .

If none of the above has given the desired result, then it’s time to resort to a radical way to solve the problem: launch Stronghold Crusader 2 and when a black screen appears, press the “Alt+Enter” key combination so that the game switches to windowed mode. This way, perhaps, the main menu of the game will open and it will be possible to determine whether the problem is in the game or not. If you managed to switch to windowed mode, then go to the game settings of Stronghold Crusader 2 and change the resolution (often it turns out that a mismatch between the resolution of the game and the desktop leads to a conflict, which causes a black screen to appear).

This error can also be caused by various video capture programs and other applications related to video effects. And the reason is simple - conflicts arise.

And finally, the problem most likely can be related to the technical component of the hardware. The video adapter can overheat, as well as the bridges on the motherboard, which entails reduced power consumption of the video card. We will not go into detailed technical details, so we simply recommend that you clean your machine of dust and also change the thermal paste!

Color screen appears

The appearance of a colorful screen is often due to the fact that two video cards are used at once. If the motherboard has a built-in graphics processor, but you play on a discrete one, the game will run on the built-in one anyway. This is why “color” problems arise, since the monitor is connected by default to a discrete video card.

No less often, a color screen appears if there are problems with image output. This can be caused by a variety of reasons, but there are two most common: 1 – the drivers are outdated; 2 – your video card is not supported. Therefore, we recommend updating the drivers first.

Image flickering in Stronghold Crusader 2

Typically, the problem is associated with an overheated video card. The first thing you should do is check the wires, in case they blocked the cooling system fans, but if they are in perfect order, then it’s time to reset the overclocking of the video card: you need to enter the application MSI Afterburner(or similar) and click on "Reset" .

Mouse, keyboard or controller doesn't work

Most often, if such problems arise, it is strictly on the player’s side. When connecting a new device, the OS immediately tries to install the necessary driver package, but the problem is that it is standard, which means it will not be compatible with every device, so check the availability of the necessary drivers. Additionally, viruses may affect the controls, so be sure to check your system.

And finally, as an option, you should try to remove all USB devices registered by the computer. You cannot touch only the software that is associated with the main devices (gamepad, keyboard, mouse, wireless adapter), then be sure to restart the computer. It is quite possible that a conflict has occurred and because of this the control does not work.

If you are faced with the fact that Stronghold Crusader 2 slows down, crashes, Stronghold Crusader 2 does not start, Stronghold Crusader 2 does not install, controls do not work in Stronghold Crusader 2, there is no sound, errors pop up, saves do not work in Stronghold Crusader 2 - we offer you the most common ways to solve these problems.

First, check whether your PC's specifications meet the minimum system requirements:

• OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8 (latest Service Pack)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz or equivalent
• Memory: 2 GB
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512 MB or AMD Radeon HD 2900XT 512 MB, or better
• HDD: 4 GB free space
• DirectX 9.0c

Be sure to update your video card drivers and other software

Before you remember the worst words and express them towards the developers, do not forget to go to the official website of the manufacturer of your video card and download the latest drivers. Often, drivers specially optimized for them are prepared for the release of games. You can also try installing a later version of drivers if the problem is not solved by installing the current version.

It is important to remember that you should only download the final versions of video cards - try not to use beta versions, as they may have a large number of unfound and unfixed errors.

Do not forget that for stable operation of games, installation of the latest version of DirectX is often required, which can always be downloaded from the official Microsoft website.

Stronghold Crusader 2 won't launch

Many problems with launching games occur due to incorrect installation. Check if there were any errors during installation, try uninstalling the game and running the installer again, after disabling the antivirus - often files necessary for the game to work are deleted by mistake. It is also important to remember that the path to the folder with the installed game should not contain Cyrillic characters - use only Latin letters and numbers for directory names.

It also doesn’t hurt to check if there is enough space on the HDD for installation. You can try to run the game as Administrator in compatibility mode for different versions of Windows.

Stronghold Crusader 2 is slow. Low FPS. Lags. Friezes. Freezes

First, install the latest drivers for your video card; this can significantly increase the FPS in the game. Also check your computer's load in the task manager (opened by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESCAPE). If before starting the game you see that some process is consuming too many resources, turn off its program or simply end this process from the task manager.

Next, go to the graphics settings in the game. First of all, turn off anti-aliasing and try lowering the post-processing settings. Many of them consume a lot of resources and disabling them will significantly improve performance without significantly affecting the picture quality.

Stronghold Crusader 2 crashes to desktop

If Stronghold Crusader 2 often crashes on your desktop slot, try to start solving the problem by reducing the quality of the graphics. It is possible that your computer simply does not have enough performance and the game cannot run correctly. It's also worth checking for updates - most modern games have a system for automatically installing new patches. Check if this option is disabled in the settings.

Black screen in Stronghold Crusader 2

More often than not, the problem with a black screen is an issue with the GPU. Check if your video card meets the minimum requirements and install the latest drivers. Sometimes a black screen is a result of insufficient CPU performance.

If everything is fine with the hardware and it meets the minimum requirements, try switching to another window (ALT+TAB), and then returning to the game window.

Stronghold Crusader 2 won't install. Installation stuck

First of all, check if you have enough HDD space for installation. Remember that for the installation program to work correctly, the stated amount of space is required, plus 1-2 gigabytes of free space on the system disk. In general, remember the rule - there should always be at least 2 gigabytes of free space on the system disk for temporary files. Otherwise, both games and programs may not work correctly or may refuse to start at all.

Installation problems can also occur due to a lack of Internet connection or unstable operation. Also, do not forget to pause the antivirus while installing the game - sometimes it interferes with the correct copying of files or deletes them by mistake, considering them viruses.

Saves not working in Stronghold Crusader 2

By analogy with the previous solution, check the availability of free space on the HDD - both on the one where the game is installed and on the system drive. Often save files are stored in a documents folder, which is located separately from the game itself.

Controls not working in Stronghold Crusader 2

Sometimes game controls do not work due to multiple input devices being connected at the same time. Try disabling the gamepad or, if for some reason you have two keyboards or mice connected, leave only one pair of devices. If your gamepad does not work, then remember that games are officially supported only by controllers defined as Xbox joysticks. If your controller is detected differently, try using programs that emulate Xbox joysticks (for example, x360ce).

Sound does not work in Stronghold Crusader 2

Check if the sound works in other programs. After this, check whether the sound is turned off in the game settings and whether the sound playback device to which your speakers or headset is connected is selected there. Next, while the game is running, open the mixer and check if the sound there is muted.

If you are using an external sound card, check for new drivers on the manufacturer's website.

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