One of the most common causes of games not working properly (crashing, freezing etc) would be out of date graphic card drivers.

To be clear - a Windows XP update is NOT a graphic card update.

Firstly, you will need to know the make and model of your graphics card.

Once you have found this(steps below), you will need to check to see if it supports T&L(Transform & Lighting) This isnt a completely new feature but some of the older cards wont support it...without this, the game will not work properly - meaning a new card.

Checking your card
To find out information about your PC and the display device simply:

click on START
click on RUN
type in the box that appears - dxdiag (as I have typed it)
Hit enter

If it asks about digital assigning, click Yes.

It may take a few moments for the information to be collected. When ready...

click on DISPLAY

From here you will see the Model, Make and the last time the drivers were updated for your card. If some of the information is missing, then your drivers are out of date.

To update, simply visit the website of your card maker and download the latest driver. Restart and keep your fingers crossed.

DMUK