I decided to try a fresh install of SH3:
I formatted "F" drive
I installed SH3 from the Ubisoft DVD
I updated to SH3 1.4 with "silent_hunter_3_dvd_1.4b_us.exe"
I installed GWX 3.0
I ran a 4gb patch
I get the following error when trying to launch:

Everything seemed to go fine up to this point.
Any ideas?