1) disable the autorun feature in Win95/98, by taking the following steps:
a) Start | Settings | Control Panel | System
b) Device Manager tab, double-click the CD-ROM folder to expand it, or click on the cross in front of it
c) find your CD-ROM drive (it should be the only drive listed in this folder) and click on it to highlight it, then click the Properties button at the bottom
d) Settings tab, uncheck the "Auto Insert Notification" check box.
e) Click OK, then click OK again.
f) Close Control Panel, and then restart the computer.

or

2) Hold down your Shift key while inserting the CD - this bypasses Windows' autorun feature (you need to hold it down until the drive light has gone out).

The horse ranch bug affects the UK version ONLY. No other localized version exhibits this behavior, nor does the North American version.
The Zeus localizers are responsible for creating and publishing a remedy. I have no information on when that might happen, and I won't mislead you by guessing.

The bug does not render the game unplayable. Our tests confirm that you can build one working horse ranch, but subsequent ranches never breed horses. The inability to build multiple horse ranches does hobble your playing style to some degree, but it should not be insurmountable.

Registration is now underway in Age of Kings Heaven's aptly named King of the Nomads Tournament! Players have until December 28th to register for this tournament that will feature 1 on 1 random civilization battles on the infamous Nomad random map. Games will get underway on December 29th on GameSpy Arcade, with a bunch of Ager goods up for grabs! To register, or for more information, visit: http://aok.heavengames.com/tourney/kotn/kotnt.shtml

A sheet comes with eus that lists several different sound boards, and possible problems you might have with them. Not listed is the Soundblaster 16 PCI. I was experiencing the occasional bit of crackle or static from the speakers... went into the Options menu, Sound, and shut off the 3D sounds. Problem solved.