Sounds like a lot of users have had issues with RA2 on Windows 8.1 with some integrated Intel chipsets (4400). I'm one of those people. I've previously gotten it to work no problem on an 8.1 desktop machine with an nvidia card, and can get the game to run fine for a while (all the buttons are functional,, runs in high res, etc.). But when I'm in game, the .exe crashes. Also, I can't scroll to the right in game at all. Seems to crash when I scroll down, or to the bottom right hand corner? It's almost like my Windows taskbar tries to pop up in front of the game and causes it.
I've looked all over these forums and the net for this specific problem and can't find anything. If anyone's ever run into this, I'd appreciate the help.
For the record, these are the steps I've used to get the game to run as far as it does (and what worked on my other PC)
Snagged this from the Tiberian Sun section and updated for Yuris (haven't tried ra2 yet, but it seems to be working):
1. Copy the directory Red Alert 2 (Typically found in C:\Program Files (x86)) to somewhere outside of Program Files
2. Download the graphics patch from http://www.stuffhost.de/files/cnc/ and extract it into the directory that you just moved
3. Rename Yuri's Revenge to gamemd.exe, then run the patch to patch the game (likewise for ra2, rename to game.exe)
4. Download http://bitpatch.com/ddwrapper.html zip file and extract the files to the directory that you've patched the game in
5. Edit aqrit.cfg in notepad and change these two settings to 1 as in below:
NoVideoMemory = 1
forcedirectdrawemulation = 1
6. Create a shortcut to the game and move it to your desktop
7. Go to properties and in 'Target' add at the end after " add -win
example Target: "C:\Users\Roberto\Desktop\Red Alert 2\gamemd.exe" -win
note the space between gamemd.exe" and -win
8. In the same Properties Tab:
Compatibility : Win Xp Service pack 2 (Seems to be most stable)
Reduced colour mode : 16bit
Run as Administrator
9. (Optional) Edit .ini file to change the resolution
10. Play the game
Notes: I've noticed that once you've open it, you can't alt-tab out, it just seems to break Windows.
The screen will be very small until a game begins, around it will be black that will flicker back to your desktop when you move over it, do not click into that black or it'll break Windows
To exit the game, exit through the menu, not through Ctrl-Alt-Del
It seems to be working, but I haven't had the chance to play online, also after you patch the game I'm assuming you can name it back to Red Alert 2 or Yuri's Revenge
