Please make sure that you have installed DirectX 8.0. This could cause these problems if you are running an older version of DirectX.
To check this do the following:
1) Go to the Start Menu
2) Left click on Run
3) Type in Dxdiag, then click "Ok" to open the file.
This should open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. At the bottom of this first page you should see a line that shows:
DirectX Version: DirectX 8.0 (4.08.00.0400) (These numbers in parenthesis may not be exactly the same, cause my system is running Win 2k) Make sure the number after the DirectX is 8.0 or you will need to download DirectX 8.0 and install it on your system.
You can download DirectX 8.0 from the following links:
Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/r...eleaseID=27742
Windows 98/ME
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/r...eleaseID=27741