Did you update to the newest patch?
I read somewhere that it was the cause, well a cause... I used that patch and havent had it crash again (only did once before so I cant say for sure the patch fixed it the one I installed was 1.51 I see that 1.52 is now out also).
http://www.atarisupport.com/faq/ente...x_pc.asp#patch
from the site:
During launch the game simply crashes back to the Windows desktop with no error message."
-- OR --
"After the game launches it locks up on a black screen."
Most of the time, this happens for one of two reasons: either your video card doesn?t meet the requirements for the game, or you are attempting to run the game with outdated video drivers. It can also be caused by the style of copy protection used for the game.
For more information on updating your video drivers please see our How to Update Your Drivers FAQ.