Ok guys here we go, after a few hours of playing this is what i discovered. There is a problem with starforce and vista when you try and update game, hence why the patch dosnt work. However if you follow the instructions i'm about to give then you can get it to work.
1. Install Sh3 and play once.
2. Download starforce update tool.
3. Update Starforce.
4. Deinstall Sh3
5. Reinstall SH3 (not sure why but it works
)
6. Patch to 1.4b ( The game should be upgraded by now )
7. Upgrade to GWX ( if you want, although not sure why anyone wouldnt )
8. Download and install Sh3 Commander
9. download and install Sh3 commander DWX patch
There you go, all the steps i took, and YES it did work on my machine, I will warn you my mate tried the same and had all kinds of problems with Vista but i think thats more down to his comp than SH3. He has trouble running anything on vista at mo
Hope you find this helpfull, the only problem i have is a slight graphics error where i get a black triangle now and again on horizon apart from the Sh3, GWx and commander works perfectly
Enjoy