At wits end.....

[Deephunter]

I've been into SH4 for a couple of years now, but I'm about to chuck the whole thing out the window....
The problem is, the games (tried both 1.4 and 1.5)suffer from "stuttering" - both visually and "operationally". Everything was running smoothly 'till last week, when it started to do this. I've tried every trick in the book, including re-installing the operating system (Vista), but nothing seems to help. I even tried re-formatting the HD, but Vista won't let me....

I've also checked the frame rate...While on the main menu screen it's running at 60-80 FPS, but as soon as I go into "gaming mode" it drops to as low as 3...It never gets any higher than 12-15 FPS...

So...I'm back to being a landlubber...
Anyone have any idea of what is causing this..?? And a fix for it....

Here are my system specs...in case you need them...
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/21/2010, 08:42:01
Machine name: ELJEFE-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.090302-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 530s
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2140 @ 1.60GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.6GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1232MB used, 3072MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9400 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0641&SUBSYS_095B19F1&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1266 MB
Dedicated Memory: 499 MB
Shared Memory: 767 MB
Current Mode: 1360 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 8.17.0011.9745 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 4/3/2010 17:55:31, 9386600 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4501-11CF-505C-50291FC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0641
SubSys ID: 0x095B19F1
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C

Thanks in advance for any advice/solutions...

Gus.