Why can't i play games on my PC

[Ibarst]

I have purchased 2No. games recently to play on my PC and I cant get either of them to work.

They have both been strategy games the most recent being call "Spell Force"

They load up ok, the music and start menu appear but as soon as I click on the start game button the screen switches its self off and comes up with no signal. The only way to get things going again is to unplug my PC.

The PC is of a good spec with plenty of spare capacity and seems to exceed the requirements of the game but they still wont work.

Any ideas?

[fo3nix]

what operating system is the game designed for, and what are you running?

also, the game will probably come with some little text file, "readme.txt" or something in the game directory. this often lists last minute problems they've found with certain hardware... see if they mention anything like the problems you're having.

[Ibarst]

Think you have solved the problem, that I am stupid!

The game requirements are XP/ME/2000/98 and I am running on 2003.

[Mattk]

whats 2003 ?!

the only way the game wouldnt run is if u r running win 95 or a non-microsoft os ie firefox or linux 

[fo3nix]

mattk, firefox isnt an OS.. its just a browser (cross platform at that).

2003, as in 2003 server? Why are you running that on presumably a home system? Consider changing to 2000 or XP? (i'd go with 2000 if you're not bothered about a flashy interface and your hardware is a few years old).