I found my problem so I can at least share it with you.
A buddy has an ATI AGP X800Pro card which he yanked out of his computer and let me borrow.
I pulled out the ATI 9800Pro and yaned all the drivers. then stuck in the new card. I then stuck in his original CD that came with his vid card. I let it load all the drivers and even the hydravision stuff. On restart I immediately went to the game and NO PROBLEMS! Nothing, Nada, Nix!
Ok so now I know for a fact I have good drivers loaded for ATI cards. I removed the X800 and stuck the 9800 back in. I restarted and went into the game and got a freeze on game start.
Conclusion....I think the card is getting a bit worn out for years of continuos hard use. I think the game is not only CPU intensive but very hard on the vid card. The ATI 9800Pro works perfectly well for normal computer use but can't handle the load the game requires. My son-in-law is just bought a Dell 24 inch flat screen monitor which arrived Friday. His old viewsonic 21 inch crt died. He had a GeForce 2mx in his Dell so I gave him the 9800 today and it works perfectly. Dell appears to be having almost weekly sales on their big flat screens. I think he got his for $650. Im sure they're too slow for oour game but it will certainly suit his needs.
If you can use another card to check drivers to make sure all is compatable you might find the answer....
Hope this helps.
