: Navigate to your Medieval II Total War/data folder and delete (or move) descr_geography_new.txt and descr_geography_new.db . The game will regenerate these, often resolving battle-loading crashes.
To get back to conquering Europe, you usually have to tackle the problem from three angles: 1. The Virtual Store & Permissions (The Most Common Fix)
Outdated DirectX and Visual C++ libraries can cause the "unspecified error" in Medieval 2 Total War. Here's how to update them: