Each time I try to launch the game it freezes - sometimes right at the beginning, sometimes as late as the briefing screen. In a dozen of launch, I could never get on the actual gamescreen.

I'm playing on Windows 7 64 bits. Zeus worked with this configuration , Pharaoh doesn't..

Have you tried running it in administrator mode? Or using different compatibility settings? It should work.

Well, I tried all the compatibility modes, and the game is configured to be used in the administrator mode since the first launch. Freeze. Tried 256 colours mode only and all the other tabs: freeze too.

If anybody happened to make this game work under Windows 7 64bits, I would love to know how to do the same.
Perhaps I should ask the game to only use one core, but I don't remember how to do that. Help Anyone?

Edit: Well, I can't try the "one core" method: acces denied. Can't change process' priority either.

With the game configured as "compability mode for Windows XP + service pack2", I actually happened to play half a minute before the freeze.

I tried the widescreen patch: Well, the game runs fine for like 5 minutes and then BAM. Freeze again.

You can always try to write to GOG support...

Guess I'll have to do that, because I tried all their thing -older version of DirectX, reinstalling the game, etc- and it didn't get any better.

Hm, It seems to be bounded to a graphic card.

I tried it on 2 computers:
1. notebook (W7 64bit, 1440x900, Intel HD Graphics) - Running as an administrator started the game but it tended to crash after 30 - 60 mins.
2. PC (W7 64bit, ATI HD 6870 , Catalyst 12.3,1920x1080) - Admin mode, it doesn't crash so far, played 2+ hours.

Approaching GOG support would be probably best. I can try to help with bug details.

Ok, OP, are you playing with GOG's download or from the CD. I had that problem with my CD but I don't have it (yet *knock on wood*) since I bought it on GOG.

before, the only thing that let me play for any decent amount of time was leaving the game on the lowest resolution.
good luck.

I'm playing with GOG's download, of course. The one I paid 10 bucks for, and that was supposed to run under Windows 7 64bits. Well, look like it doesn't.

have you tried turning off your anti virus? another person on this board had their AV cause pharaoh to freeze

I tried that, yes. Guess what? It didn't work.

try using the actual application rather then the short cut. when my cd install froze without loading, after shutting the program down via task manager process screen, it would load, and not freeze via opening it there.

otherwise you could try running under earlier compatibility modes, and don't change the resolution. on my cd install that made it crash faster.

also if you don't mind me asking this, did you change the download directory or did you install it into the default file path?

I do not know if this will help, but here goes. The attached file here is how I have set my Pharaoh shortcut, and also in my Anti Virus settings I have added it to the exclusion list of folders not to be scaned by it. And so far I have gotten it to run quite nicely. So give it a shot mayby it'll work if not *shrugs* Then I am outa ideas.

From the reviews section:

"In reference to the earlier review about not being able to run this game on Windows 7 64, I used to have the same problem with several games I bought on GOG.com (they would not run). I discovered that turning down the resolution solved the problem. Windows 7 defaults at 1920 x 1080, but changing it to 1600 x 900 solved the problem and my games run with now problems (I didn't even have to use compatability mode).
As for the game itself, Pharoah was one of my all-time favorites and I've been waiting a long time to see it released on GOG. Caesar III was decent enough, but i like the additional features such as monuments and roadblocks (and the overall "feel" of the environment)."

@maydap
I've been using the actuel application for quite a while now (just to try all the compatibility modes). Well, no succes so far.
Earlier compatibility modes are actually more stable, but the game's still freezing, no matter what the resolution is.
I changed the directory, yes, but the last subfolder is still "Pharaoh".

@Daohor
Tried your settings: instafreeze. Tried the exclusion list too, to no avail, wich isn't much of a surprise since none of my hundreds of games have been bothered by my antivirus so far.

@tfishell
My screen doesn't allow a greater resolution than 1600x900. So I guess the problem's not here.

Well, I happened to solve the problem in a most peculiar way.

I told myself: "Hey, this game uses the same engine as Zeus and Poseidon, wich works perfectly fine under Windows 7, right?"

So I got into the Zeus directory, and copied the mss32.dll file into the pharaoh directory.

And now it works perfectly fine. Hey. Sometimes I amaze myself.

I'd like to thank the GOG team who didn't even bother to answer my question on the support page. I can't believe I'm actually fixing my games myself because GOG simply couldn't do with Pharaoh what they succesfully did with Zeus. If someone encounters the same problem as myself, looks like his only option will be... to go and buy Zeus on GOG.com just to get mss32.dll. Guess that's just very good marketing.