bfme

Believe it or not, I used to have the exact same problem. It seems the game has trouble creating files in Vista.
Give this a try:
Search for a folder named AppData Then open Roaming -> My Battle for Middle Earth 2 Files.
You'll probably find that the folder is empty. If it is, open up notepad and save new file to that folder. It should be named Options.ini.
In that file, place this data:

Quote:
AudioLOD = Low
HasSeenLogoMovies = yes
IdealStaticGameLOD = VeryLow
Resolution = 800 600
StaticGameLOD = VeryLow
TimesInGame = 1

Then save that, and create a new folder named Maps in the My Battle for Middle Earth 2 Files folder.

If that still fails, delete the data out of the Options.ini file and replace with this:
Quote:
AllHealthBars = yes
AmbientVolume = 81.000000
AnimationLOD = High
AudioLOD = Low
Brightness = 50
DecalLOD = High
EffectsLOD = Medium
FlashTutorial = 0
GameSpyIPAddress =
HasSeenLogoMovies = yes
IdealStaticGameLOD = Low
ModelLOD = Medium
MovieVolume = 70.000000
MusicVolume = 78.000000
Resolution = 1024 768
SFXVolume = 80.000000
ScrollFactor = 64
SendDelay = no
ShaderLOD = Low
ShadowLOD = Low
StaticGameLOD = Custom
TerrainLOD = Medium
TextureQualityLOD = High
TimesInGame = 59
UseEAX3 = no
VoiceVolume = 69.000000
WaterLOD = Medium