System RAM: 512MB, Swap file fixed size of 768MB (I'm aware it is a bit too big)
I'm not very experienced in tech - but if I read this correctly, you set this RAM limit manually? IIRC in some cases <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" /> goes over 1 GB. I let XP manage it, didn't set the limit myself.
But reinstalling it is a very good idea if you did the patch install with running background proggies - AFAIK the Antivir/Firewall programs tend to interfere sometimes. I'm always offline when I install/patch and do it on a defragmented partition with a new start after deleting.
I wish you luck <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />
Kiya
In the patch readme I read that some of the story fixes require a new game to be started.
This applies only to gameplot bugs you may have already encountered IIRC. Did you?