^^ Macho Oily Man
Sounds like your comp.
xentelian explained about the .rec games and where to put them. You may have placed them in the wrong folder.
If your system meets the requirements for AoM, then you may need to update your drivers and / or OS. Driver updates from the online site for your Graphics Board, and your OS from MS's update site.
Make sure you have enough space left on your hard drive and just generally clean up your system, run Disk Cleanup & Disk Defragmenter, use a spy ware removal tool to get the garbage out (like Adaware or Spybot - they're free).
The graphics problem (blue screen and freeze up) may be caused by any (or a combination) of the above.
We're not supposed to advertise here, so if you want email me for site URL's.
FAILURE is not an option, it comes bundled with the software.
The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work ?"
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work ?"
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost ?"
The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that ?"
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.