Do you happen to have (or can make) a screenshot of the actual message box? This would help confirm exactly where/when in the application startup it's having a problem to rule out certain things.
That error is kind of a pain to troubleshoot. It's like someone that says, "something somewhere doesn't work." I don't think it can get more vague than that. The most common causes are:
- A Windows update needing to be installed
- The Bisual C++ redistributables being missing or somehow corrupted
- A registry key for a COM object being incorrect (usually update related)
Coupling it with the CK32 bit complicates it a little because they put the 32bit exe deep in a sub folder. Which it can't run from there properly. It needs to be moved to the regular game folder or have a shortcut made to run it from the game folder as the working directory. I would suggest moving it if you haven't already.
Assuming that isn't the root of the issue then, I'd start with ensuring you have all your windows updates done. Manually open settings and go to the Windows update page. Check for updates and install anything it can. Reboot after checking for good measure even if it says there were none.
Next up throw in the latest C++ redistributables. I'd do both just to make sure you have the latest patches. This covers all Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022. Also reboot after installing. Not usually needed but hey why not?
x86
https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe
x64
https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe
If that still doesn't solve it then the next up would be repairing the COM links. This is tricky and has has a bit of risk involved as it's messing with the registry.
For this you'll need CCleaner. You can get it form the official site
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download The free one is fine. During install I would do the customize option and uncheck the adding it to the recycle bin and the cookie scanner. Then
TAKE CAUTION during first run as it will ask you to install extra 3rd party garbage. It might ask to install and set their browser as default. Or it might ask to install AVG. Or it might even offer some other more useless crap. Just decline it.
Once you get to the screen that says it's time for a PC health check stop. You're at the main screen. Use the left side tabs and click Registry. You can either scan everything. Uncheck stuff you don't want it to scan. Or just right click a single item to scan. For now right click ActiveX and Class Issues and have it scan. It should go through fairly quick. Then click the button in the lower right corner that says Review selected Issues. You will be asked to make a backup.
DO IT. When you click yes it will give you a file save dialog. You can rename the file if you like, or just use the default. Then it will ask you to confirm the fix one at a time, or you can just click the Fix All Selected Issues. Once complete, uninstall CCleaner as the current version is a bunch of garbage beyond the on demand scanning. Then reboot the computer and try again.
