Hello, i'm trying to run Might and Magic 9 on windows 11 and i've tried all the usual fixes, my main issue is i got it to run once on the base install but now it just crashes to desktop upon launch and i don't quite know what's causing it

Please, state what usual fixes you tried.

You may want to try using dgVoodoo2 as a graphics API wrapper, if you haven't already.

Installation instructions:
- Download the latest release from here and extract the archive;
- Enter the MS\x86 directory and then copy the D3D8.dll, D3DImm.dll and DDraw.dll files;
- Paste these files into the game installation folder (where the game executable is);
- (OPTIONAL) Run the included dgVoodooCpl program in order to configure the wrapper's settings.

i found out what the issue was, it was my headphones of all things

Can confirm - Arctis 7 headphones. I unplugged the little wireless puck thing and it stopped the CTD on boot (Win 10)

I suggest you play MM1 all the way to MM8 and then MMX first before you even consider playing 9