* was you installing Aces high completely as a "WHOLE New Version" or was you just doing an update?
* if updating did you read the information page and install the correct update?
* did you miss any updates?
BE SURE TO READ THE INFORMATION PAGE OF THE NEWEST PATCH UPDATE AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS..... installing wrong patch can corrupt your whole game installation
you might be better of uninstalling the game and then re download the newest version completely ( which is ver 2.24 patch 4 ).............sounds like your patch update became corrupt possibly
if you go to do a complete fresh install, be sure to go and make a back-up copy of
-your settings folder,
-your sounds folder if using custom sounds,
-your terrains folder (so you do not have to re download all the terrains again)
-your skins folder
and any other folder you might think you need like missions, etc...... so you can copy them/replace the new folders after installing a fresh version
also make sure you are installing to the C:\ root directory and not installing to C:\programfiles folder ........ it should be C:\Hitech Creations\Aces High\
hope this helps.......... good luck
TC