Not sure how to fix the error. I'm using Win2000 Prof. and the game sounds/fps/stability is ****. I'm a dual 1.2 GHz processor, Elsa Synergy2000 (latest drivers on entire system), with a gig of some of the finest Corsair RAM money can buy.
Uninstall the game, trade your copy in, and pick up a new one. A game that took 3 years to make and it needs a major overhaul right after release. And no information available on that overhaul. It's just retarded. Not since Ultima 9 has a game earned so much shame.
As you can tell, I've got a serious beef with this game. Mostly because for a breif time I really, really, enjoyed playing it. Before the server crashed and deleted my game files. Or how about character files being saved on servers that aren't up all the time, or don't auto-restart so you have to keep on making new characters everwhere you go.... I can go on...

Good luck with getting your game to work =D I'll be checking back to see if there's any Win2k info.

High