Oh, Heuris -- you certainly do rock! That worked brilliantly! I wonder why it worked ok before and not now? I know I didn't do that last time. Ah, well -- one more of Microsoft's Mysteries!

Thank you!

"...one more of Microsoft's Mysteries!"

You are soooo right about that - and I'm glad it was one we were able to solve!

Always a pleasure, Princess!

I installed IndeoXP, the 111 patch, the microsoft update and i have SP2 i disabled the visual themes but it still crashing down at the starting. I haven't got any more ideas to launch this game.
Help me please!!!!

I am also having this problem. The fix mentioned above (disabling visual themes) works once or twice and then it just goes back to the way it was before (black screen shows up and then goes away). I found that a system restore to before I installed the game and then installing the game again and using the fix again gets me into the game once or twice more, but after that it stops working again. Doesn't seem like it'd be a codec problem since it does start up once or twice, but who knows...

I know this is probably a painful thing to have to do, but may I suggest trying to move your saved games out of realMYST's "sav" folder in Program Files/realMYST/sav (or wherever you installed it), and see if that fixes the problem? It's possible the saved games could be messing something up.

I am actually running off of a fresh install, so I didn't have any save files, but thanks for the suggestion. I did find the solution for myself at least (been putting it off because I have very low speed internet). I downloaded and installed the latest Omega drivers for my Radeon card and the game has not failed to start up since then (I was using the standard ATI drivers before). I am not sure if disabling visual themes is helping me out or not, I tried unchecking it and it still seemed to work, but I am going to keep it checked just to be safe. Here is the site for the Omega drivers, they tend to be more stable than the standard ATI or Nvidia drivers from what I have seen and heard.
http://www.omegadrivers.net/
Worked for me, might work for you, good luck.

I am having the same problem. I run realMYST.exe, the screen turns black as if it is going to load, then it just closes right away. I ran the updater, played with the setup settings, reinstalled several times and in different folders, and the same problem. I also tried installing the Indeo codec, Microsoft Update Q327979, disabling visual themes, and changing to 98 Compatibility mode, as mentioned. Below are my specs:

Windows XP SP2
Pentium 4 1.7GHz
512 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200, 64 MB, with the latest 81.98 driver
SB Live! Audio D800
DirectX9 (4.09.00.0904)

Any suggestions?

Hello ! Download and install the Omega Drivers, you'll find them at www.omegadrivers.net Then you will be able to play RealMYST withotu any problem.

I was having this problem and nothing was working including the tips on this thread. I found a solution that worked for me.

Go into the realmyst folder which is under program files\mattell interactive\realmyst
Now right click realmyst.exe and go to properties. Click on the compatibility tab and under the run program as select windows 2000
click ok.

Now it should work.

And if that doesn't work I suggest posting a dxdiag. To make one, type "dxdiag" (wtihout quotes) into Run. When the program that appears is all done loading and stuff, click "Save all information" (again, no quotes). Save a text file to somewhere on your computer and copy and paste the contents into a post on these boards.

It's worked fine in the past but now that I have a new card it doesn't work .
I got a Radeon 9250 PCI and it closes no matter what. Though I did manage to get a window title bar a few times...

- Mike

Take a look at Uru: Installing Video Drivers With Win XP. The video driver recommendations (and especially the installation instructions) for Uru should work as well for Myst and realMyst.

So it's recommending I simply install a previous version of Catalyst then... hmm...

- Mike

And if you still have problems after installing a previous Catalyst version, try some video setting changes. Before changing anything, note what you started with, so that you can go back to those settings if desired. Right-click on a blank area of the Desktop, then:
-- a. Click on Properties in the resulting drop-down menu.
-- b. Click on Settings > Advanced > video card name. You should now be looking at the options or setup menu for your video chipset.
-- d. Mostly, you want to set 'off' as the default, or 'controlled by application'. If there's an Advanced selection button, click on it to see more menu choices. In particular, set:
----- 1. Anisotropic filtering (AF) and antialiasing (AA) 'off' or 'controlled by application'. If AF or AA optimization are choices, set them to 'off' or 'none'.
----- 2. Trilinear optimization to 'off', 'none', or 'controlled by application'.
----- 3. Vertical sync to 'controlled by application', or 'off' if it's initially set to 'controlled by application'.
----- 4. Image setting midway between 'performance' and 'quality'.
-- e. If you change any settings, don't forget to click on Apply or Save. Then exit to the Desktop.
-- f. Play realMyst.

It might be necessary to use Windows compatibility mode to run realMyst. See How to use the Program Compatibility Wizard in Windows XP for details. Try at least the Windows 95 and Windows 98/Me modes.

How do I find out if this new(old) version I got is 3.8? The link said 3.8 but all the version numbers say:
2D 6.14
Display Driver 8.121
Control Panel 6.14

The ATI website doesn't have anything earlier than the up to date catalyst, which even says on the page that it won't work with Radeo 9250, which is what I have.

Ugh this is soo frustrating! How long has this problem been around and Ubi doesn't seem to give a flying phoque about fixing it? I paid brand new for this game and now I am being denied permission to play it? >

*EDIT*
HOLY BUCK FUTTER! I installed the Omega Drivers, set Compatability mode OFF, and Checked 'Display Visual Themes' (wtf is that anyways?) and it bloody worked *slaps face*

- Mike

I did a little test. Used Google, typed in "ATI 3.8 and found this...click here

You really didn't need to Google!

In my post of Mon July 03 2006 16:15, above, I suggest taking a look at Uru: Installing Video Drivers With Win XP. Under Installing ATI Radeon Drivers:

"4. If you have an unsupported Radeon chipset and nothing else will help, you may be able to play Uru using the Omega driver, available here (click on •ATI Radeon at the top of the page). Use the above procedure to install this driver.

When you visit the Omega site for a driver, you should - without fail - carefully read:
-- RADEON OMEGA DRIVERS F.A.Q.
-- ATI OMEGA DRIVERS CONTROL PANEL HELP
-- RADEON OMEGA DRIVERS README (Driver Cleaner is available here.)

Do everything that you find on these pages that's appropriate for your situation!"

Under Installing NVIDIA Drivers, you'll see that Omega also has NVIDIA drivers!

That link for Indeo 5.2 is broken! Can you help me find another link! I love realMYST, but I don't want to pay for something that quickly! Thanks!

The link is broken because, as you've discovered, Indeo 5.2/Indeo XP is no longer free. So, it's illegal to download this codec without paying for it. And IMHO if you go to a warez site to do so, you fully deserve what you'll get!

Indeo 5.2 can be (legally) downloaded from Ligos Corporation for US $14.95.

I tried everything here, including the Omega Drivers. It still wont work, any clues as to why?