most bugs in games are caused by a not so stable system with the lack of the latest drivers.
It all depends on how up-to-date your systems are.
is it virus free? (with the latest virus definitions)
is it spyware free? (with teh latest reg-files installed)
do you have th elatest drivers of your videocard?
have you installed the latets directX9 version?
do you have the latest soundcard drivers
computer bios updates.
defragmentated your harddisk?
Did you do a scandisk lately.
did you used the latest windows updates?
do you have adminitration right on winXp, because otherwize the patch could not install properly.
