We could update all the related drivers, reconfigure your video settings, check all your system files and hard drive for corruption and repair that (which may require a system repair/upgrade), run a full troubleshooting process on the system including many different procedures including an extensive test for malware and testing in various differnent modes, swap out various hardware (if possible) to verify that it isn't a hardware problem, and perform many other tests and procedures trying to identify the cause and a potential solution. We could be lucky and find the problem quickly or it may take everything we have to discover it. A System Restore may be eventually the only option besides something even more radical like a system repair/upgrade or even a clean install (or spending money taking it to a computer repair shop for service) - and then even more changes will need to be made and it's possible depending on your setup that the restore point we need before the problem began may have been overwritten to make space for a newer restore point and then the option becomes unavailable (and we can't save a restore point now to prevent that - Vista doesn't offer that option).
We chose to present you with the simplest, fastest, and easiest solution first before going that route. If a problem is recent, this procedure is often successful in resolving it (especially if we have no idea what caused it as is the case here as you indicate you did nothing wrong but something changed and finding that something could be quite time consuming and involved and in certain cases it may not be possible to find it - if for example something changed in the registry for some reason and we really have no way to test for that but a System Restore replaces the registry with the one that existed at the restore point so such a problem is instantly rectified if that's the cause). But I will add that this is not a miracle process. it may not resolve the problem or help in any way - then we need to do the things mentioned in the first paragraph of this post until we identify the cause and then find a solution to it. That may be quick if we're lucky or it may take quite a while and quite a bit of effort - there's no way at this point to determine that.
The "reset" shouldn't be that enormous unless you need to go back a long way AND you make a lot of changes by frequently installing and uninstalling programs and had a lot of updates (which Windows update will notice aren't there and will re-install automatically assuming you have it set to do that) since the restore point and made many system configuration changes since the restore point. Since this was probably recent (as a gamer, you probably noticed this within the last few days or at most a week or so), the changes shouldn't be all that extensive. And it doesn't affect your data whatsoever, so you need not be concerned about that. This probably isn't as big a reset as it may sound - and it is the most appropriate first step in the situation you have described.
The decision, however, is ultimately yours. If you refuse to consider this option, then we can proceed with the procedures partially described in the first paragraph and see where that leads us. Of course, at any time you can always decide to simply take it to a reputable computer repair shop for service and pay to have all this done for you (though they are likely to want to simply re-install the operating system as for them, that's the simplest solution - even if it leaves you with the biggest "reset" possible).
I hope this helps. I hope you decide to give it a try. Again, it may not resolve the problem, but it's the best choice we can offer for you to try. If it doesn't work, we'll help you with other recommendations in the best order we can come up with.
Good luck!
