I'm using Vista and I meet all the requirements. But when I load the game the screen goes black, it makes a noise like the opening movie is about to play. Then it boots me to the desktop. No error messages or warnings. Is anyone else having this trouble? Is there a solution for it?
I would love to play it since it's the only KQ game I haven't played. I tried getting it to run on my old machine when it was first released but 95 was the victor in that battle.
I tried the starttxt.txt method but it didn't help:
KING'S QUEST
MASK of ETERNITY
Install
Play
Sierra Utilities
Cancel

Have you tried the usual compatibility things like running it under winxp compatibility or disabling visual themes and desktop composition?

Yep, also tried 256 Color mode. Not really sure what the deal is. I'm thinking maybe the videos aren't compatible with resolution settings on my video card. I seem to remember having this trouble with another oldie but it was a different video card. Was the game setup to make use of DirectX or does it still use Glide? Is there a way to alter the settings?
My card is a Radeon HD 4850.

That worked! I searched for a couple hours on the net and couldn't really find anything. Thank you so much. While I had the game running I gave the zackensack 3DFX wrappers a go to see what would happen. It worked but the game was very choppy when other characters are on screen. Would you happen to know of any good wrappers? The only one I've found that's almost glichless is zachensack.

Glad the fix worked for you as well.
Only Glide wrappers I've ever used are Zeckensack's and dgVoodoo. None of those seem to work very well with this game though. dgVoodoo has a lot of options one can fiddle with, might give it a try later on if time permits. Wil add to this post if I find anything interesting.

Yes, thanks again. I'm really getting into the game. It's very different from the others but it still has that Sierra curiosity to it.
Please keep me informed if you figure out something. I'll try messing around with dgVoodoo too. I'd love to play the game in D3D or Glide. Thanks.

IS THERE A PATCH AVAILABLE FOR KQ78? GAME lOCKS UP AT THE WIND MILL EXIT.

There's already been a topic about this posted

Where is that topic as that is the exact problem I have...

Try switching to 1st person view after you get the axe. Then after you walk outside and are challenged to a battle, you can switch back to 3rd person view (to switch between 1st and 3rd person, hit F2).

If that doesn't work, try going into your graphic options and turning everything off. Like dynamic lighting, shadows, etc. Sometimes that helps.

I have this problem under Windows 7. I have edited the options.cs file, but this hasn't helped. Is there anything else I csn try?

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, was trying to figure out what was wrong, tried a few things things and this worked!

I had the same problem. This solved it. Thank you so much!

See my post of how to fix KQ8 crashes http://www.gog.com/forum/kings_quest_series/kings_quest_8_mask_of_eternity_crashes_resolution