Windows 7: Black screen when launching Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Got the game from GOG.com. Their forums are useless.


When I launch the game using the .exe, all I get is a black screen. I've read that the game has problems on newer systems. On all threads I've come across online, all supposed fixes don't seem to work on my end.


Here's where it gets interesting: I know the game can run on my system because it has. On one occasion, I left the black screen alone while I went to go do something else. When I came back some 15 or 20 minutes later, the game had loaded up the main menu and the sound and everything was working. Unfortunately my controller wasn't plugged in so I couldn't do anything and had no choice but to force close the game. I've tried to do it again but either I'm too impatient or the wait time required for it to start working is random.



I'm experiencing this same exact problem on Lego Batman: The Videogame, too. Interesting, right? In that game I also left it on the black screen for about 15 minutes and it started working. That time I had my controller in and I was able to adjust the resolution and even played an entire level without any problems. After I quit the game to see if I could do it again, it felt like I had to wait even longer and I eventually gave up around 25 minutes waiting for the black screen to do something.


So I'm in a situation where my games can run... but they decide for themselves when they want to run. Ever come across something like this? So far I've stumped both the threads online and even the game's still-existent technical support.


Some people online have said their games take a while to start up, but they've all reported it at like one or two minutes max. My wait time seems both arbitrary and ridiculous. I would appreciate if anyone has some answers.


Things I've tried:
- all compatibility modes in the .exe's properties
- all the other options in the properties tab

- dxwnd to force it into windowed mode
- setting monitor refresh rate to 60 MHz (already native 60)
- setting game to native resolution and lower resolutions
- installing DirectX 9 via the June 2010 redist


Who knows if these are even the right places to start. I mean, if the games can run, wouldn't the above solutions be useless anyway?

Update 1:


The games work if I wait. For some reason they hang temporarily on launch. When I have Windows XP Service Pack 3 combatibility mode enabled, they work after a certain amount of time. For Lego star wars it's about 8 minutes. For lego harry potter it's about 3 minutes.


Question now is why?

Hello Rust,

Welcome to Seven Forums.


3 - 8 minutes certainly is a long wait, but achievable.

I am almost certainly at a loss as to why this is happening. However I did notice that your System Specs state that you are using Avast Antivirus - is that true? If you are using Avast and experience performance issues, then you might be best advised to check that you have Game Mode | Avast help enabled in Avast. That could be one explanation as to the slow startup of your games.