I\'ve seen quite a few posts from people haveing video issues. ATI cards seem to be a major PITA.
I have been an ATI fan for a long time and have found that if I preform the following actions I can play just about anything.
1) Go into the device manager and remove the video card completely.
2)Install the latest drivers for your card.
3)Install the latest version of DirectX (I believe it is 9.0c)
4)Reinstall the video drivers for your card. (Do not remove the device this time.)
There is something about the DirectX installation that ATI cards just don\'t like. I\'ve had my tray icon dissapear, my video modes change, my fonts go hinky, and all sorts of other weird stuff.
Whenever a new version of DirectX comes along I follow the steps above and it seems to resolve any issues I have.
Hope this helps.
