Windows 7: Age of Empires Compatability Issue - Graphics system

Hey, i've come across Age of Empires 2 and AoC expansion and want to play them, however get a grahpics system error.

"Could not initialize graphics system. Make sure that your video card and driver are compatible with DirectDraw"

My specs are:
Dell Inspiron 545
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit,
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @2.50GHz
Memory: 6.00GB
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4350

Steps I've Taken already:
- I've tried to right click the shortcut and change the compatability to XP server pack 2, run as administrator, updated my graphics card drivers and downloaded the latest directX 11 from the Microsoft Website.

I have no further ideas left, can anybody help?

Many Thanks

I realise that this is an ancient thread but I had this problem last night so thought I'd share what fixed it:

I had the above issue with AOEII:Age Of Kings. My brief spec is Windows 7 Ultimate (SP1 32bit) and an nVidia 8600 GT graphics card. I did the following (make sure you reboot after each install):

Make sure you're running the latest AOEII:AOK patch (2.0a):

Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - DirectX End-User Runtime

Download and install latest DirectX:

Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - Age of Empires II Update v2.0a

Download and install latest nVidia driver suite. I let the software autodetect my card and reset all of my settings to default. I also installed the full software suite:

Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers

Finally, right click the AOE shortcut and click properties. Click on the compatability tab and select the following:

- Run this program in compatabilty mode - Pick Windows XP Service Pack 2 (!!NOT 3!!)
- Disable Visual Themes
- Disable Desktop Composition
- Run this program as an Administrator

One of the above options may work on it's own but that's what I had to do to get it running and I tested it after each step.

Good luck!