I shall attempt to "dumb down" what I said below...
Sounds like you have a firm grasp on troubleshooting games, I guess
I'll point out the semi-obivous, if reinstalling steam doesn't help
then there's something else on your system, something you changed or
something that has changed that's causing the problem.
You reinstalled Steam. That did not fix the problem, so it probably is
NOT Steam, there's something else wrong with your system.
I would recommend running System Restore and rewinding your system
files to a date before all these problems started occuring.
Click Start Orb, and type "System Restore"
You should get an icon in your programs list that says "System Restore"
This program is built into Windows XP and Vista, it can "Rewind" your
computer to an earlier point in TIME. Basically, say you install a
program and your computer starts having problems, you can use system
restore to UNDO whatever damage was caused to your system.
It does not effect your personal data, only programs.
If you disabled System Restore (why?), or if SR doesn't go back far
enough in time then you may end up simply reinstalling Vista.
Something installed or changed on your system causing the crashes.
When HL2.exe stops working does it generate an error log?
When you bring up System Restore, you have the option of using a
suggested point in time to rewind too, if you choose No, you can choose
from a calendar of dates where your system files were "remembered". Try
to figure out when you started having problems. choose a date close too
that point in time and try selecting it. Your system reboots, then you
can try the game again.
You said you have an Inspiron 4305, but support.dell.com doesn't list
that model as a notebook or a desktop Inspiron model. I would suggest
going to Dell support online, find your system model in the Drivers
and Downloads are and make sure you get their latest drivers.
Go to
http://support.dell.com
Click Drivers and Downloads
Find the model number of your system from this list, the model you
mentioned (Inspiron 4305) does not exist, so I'm guessing you typed it
incorrectly?
Once you find the model of your computer, you can find the drivers for
Chipset, Video, and Audio for your system. Download and install per the
instructions.
Note that these drivers aren't they newest, they are just the ones
that Dell supports. If you know your video card make/model, and your
motherboard chipset make/model you may consider getting video/chipset
drivers from the manufacturer directly. If you're not sure how, double
check your system model number or post your video card/chipset info
here.
Dell tests drivers before they post them, if you want newer drivers you
have to go to the makers of each piece of hardware in your computer,
Video cards are usually made by nVidia (
http://www.nvidia.com), or ATi
(
http://ati.amd.com)
If you go to their sites, find your video card you can get a newer
version of their drivers which might fix your problems. You can probably
skip this suggestion, for now.
--
You're trying to do something difficult over text based messasge board,
it's not going to be easy, if you have any friends in your area that
work in IT, or Geek Squad or do a LOT of video game playing on PC, you
should call them for help.
Worse case scenario, Dells come packaged with "Restore" discs, that wipe
your HD and reinstall your OS like it was when you first bought the
computer. If you do that, update Windows using Windows Update, then re-
install your games, it will probably fix the problem.
Good luck,
