Sorry for the dup post...decided due to the number of posts to put in Technical and General...
Windows Update someone suggested....Does NOT install for me....Vista with SP1....
"Update Does NOT apply to your system"
is the message I get when installing....
HOWEVER when I back down the Effects from highest to High ONLY...no more crashes...must be something in the graphics driver of DX 10 bug....will see if the new drivers someone listed fixes this or if there are any DX10 updates available.
When loading any of my saved games with a ton of active stuff without fail in ~10 seconds after starting the minidump would occur....with effects all set to High rather than Highest....no problems at all....guess I will live without the effects for now