If you have Windows XP and you're having trouble with your game freezing, then you can shut down some of the other applications that are consuming CPU by holding Ctrl + Alt + Delete to bring up the Windows Task Manager. Go to the Processes tab and select a program that you don't need at the moment. Then right click the program and select End Process. You can do this to any unneeded program to free up CPU for your game to use instead, but be careful not to turn off a program that your computer needs. As long as it's a program that you're sure that you don't need turned on, such as an instant message client or a pen tablet, then you can safely disable it. To re-enable any programs that you've turned off, just restart the computer.

Another thing that you can try is to update your video card drivers by visiting the website of the video card's manufacturer. Sometimes this helps, sometimes it doesn't. To check what kind of video card that your computer is using, go to Start > Run and type "dxdiag" into the text field, then hit OK to bring up the DirectX Diagonostic Tool. This will show you all kinds of specifications for your computer, not just the video card. Click on the Display tab to see information for your video card. I should note that in order to use the DirectX Diagonistic Tool, your operating system must be a version of Microsoft Windows. To access the DirectX Diagonistic Tool on Windows Vista, type "dxdiag" in the start menu search bar.

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