My tweaking of RADEON and of XP was not in vain because I figured some other things out. ...
Good news! ... PROBLEM SOLVED! ... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/diomed.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":dio" border="0" alt="diomed.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/modding.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
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... through analysis of the system messages, specifically the SYSTEM page, in the Event Viewer - Start>Run>EVENTVWR.MSC (with the requisite electronic dialogue with Microsoft available when you right click an event message, select Properties then click the link to MS - some useful info and tips free).
Turns out the <u><i><b>Pirates</u>!</b></i> application <b><i>nor</i></b> the ATI RADEON hardware were hanging - the <b><i>SYSTEM (XP SP2)</i></b> crashed when a Service called <i>"Registry Management"</i> tried to access some other program in the background unrelated to the game. ***[ this was even after I had disabled other applications and services listed under my Windows Login using Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete), prior to launching Pirates!].
Every time, the "Registry Management" service tried and failed to access something I had uninstalled long ago, a utility program, and Windows reported that "Regisrtry Management" service, in this instance, was commanded to run by "Unknown".
So I disabled "Registry Management" under Services in Start>Run>MSCONFIG.EXE, rebooted, Registry Managment service never loaded, and SINCE THEN, Pirates! has run, with all RADEON features maxed, supremely well, and I had a 6-hour session last evening with no lockups in which I learned much more of the game and had a hell of a good time - !
I bought some adapter cables at Radio Shack (stereo miniplug converted to stereo RCA with 12-foot cable cost $8.99), connected my computer's sound card to my Sony theater system and FILLED THE HOUSE, no, BLEW THE DOORS <i>OFF</i> THE HOUSE! with the sounds of cannon fire, scurvy yells and chatter, thunder, waves, rain, duels, mortal combat, quips and challenges, ballroom dancing, etc, and all the great music and ambient sounds of the game; I'll never play with the wimpy desktop speakers again - but I left them connected and cranked them to fill in the soundscape directly in front of me while the room roared. This kind of total immersion can also be achieved using high quality headphones minus the physical rumbling feel.
or: <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
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