First, you should make sure that you have the most up-to-date versions of Direct X and your graphics card drivers.
Direct X can be obtained here: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35
That is a web installer which will check your version first before downloading the latest version.
As for your graphics card drivers, you will need to find them on your card manufacturer's website. You can locate the name of your graphics card in the Device Manager under "Display Adapters." Search for that name and find the drivers.
Download Direct X first and test it, then try the graphics card drivers.
You may also need to re-enable your DirectDraw and Direct 3D Acceleration within DirectX. To do this go to:
Start>Run>DXDIAG (direct X diagnostics tool)
"Display" Tab, RE-ENABLE:
DirectDraw Acceleration -->enable
Direct 3D Acceleration -->enable
Right-click on the desktop and go to: Properties>Display>Change Display Settings>Advanced Settings>Troubleshoot>Change Settings:
Hardware Accleration all the way to full
[x] Enable write combing