Point number one is well taken though I'm surprised nothing shows in event
viewer. That said, it leads to number 2. I certainly agree the latest
isn't always the best and certainly can be the source of trouble but if you
are not using the latest and are having problems a driver, especially a
graphics driver is good place to start looking as a culprit especially with
regard to a game.
Also, if a graphics card shares memory with main system memory as opposed to
having its own memory that can be a cause.
3) The driver in the update was supplied by ATI. It may work better for
some depending upon setup. Those drivers as opposed to those that come from
the manufacturer's website are not as full featured and often don't
implement all the features of the card. Some such features might in fact be
the source of the problem.
4)Drivers are a very good place to start and again, I go back to what I said
about shared memory. Many machines today come with shared memory and they
just aren't up to gaming or anything with more intense graphics, especially
on an OS as graphics intensive as XP.
I offered up drivers as a good place to start. I assumed if that didn't
resolve it he'd be back.
I have a boilerplate response to crashing as follows that is far more
comprehensive and more likely to find software issues as well, I'm including
it below:
NOTE: the driver recommendation is last in the list:
First, be sure your antivirus software has the latest definitions and run a
virus scan.
Second, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com
Note: you should always be well backed up before running an application of
this type.
If your system is clear of viruses, open Control Panel, open System, go to
the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, remove the
check from "Automatically Restart" under System Failure. This will cause
the system to blue screen instead of restarting on errors and the
information on the blue screen may give a clue as to the source of the
issue.
Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, open Event Viewer, look for
errors corresponding to the crash, double click the error, the information
contained within may give a clue as to the
source of the problem.
Assuming you have an XP CD and not a recovery CD, place the XP CD in the
drive, when the setup screen appears, select "Check System Compatibility,"
the report it generates may point to problem hardware or software on your
system. If you do not have an XP CD, you can download this application
known as the Upgrade Advisor from the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp
Note: If you have access to a broadband connection it might be best to
download using that as this is a rather large download.
Check for the latest drivers for your hardware, especially your graphics
card and soundcard and all peripherals connected to your system. Do not use
Windows Update for this, go to the device manufacturer's web sites and if
you install updated drivers, ignore the message about drivers being unsigned
by Microsoft.
