Ok, while trying to find an ISP with a less obtrusive posterior intrusion...
If you start the game, go online to the arena list, then bring up ping details, then just sit for a few minutes (under 5), the game goes whitescreen, then get the "An error has occurred..." dialog.
My system is an Opty 165 + GF7800GT + Win XP SP2 + Forceware 93.71