after 2 more serious crashes, I ended up removing the MM7 program altogether, and the patch too, then re-installing both under safe mode, then trying these adjustment suggestions again. altered screen resolution and color really helped. I also disabled most other windows programs running in the background, and norton systemworks, before attempting to run MM7. game loaded and plays successfully. sorry for the duplicated question, which I've seen repeated in the archives lol, but I sure appreciate the extra help.
happy gaming 
