Can't run doom 3 anymore

Since I got Doom 3 I had been dissapointed by the FPS, because I thought it should be running faster than it was on my system. (gig ram, GeForce FX 5200, and 2.19 ghz) but it never bothered me too much. But now, recently, after not playing doom 3 for a while, it wont run at all. Multiplayer, I cant connect to any servers. If I do, it closes during the connection procedure, and theres a window, with yellow-on-blue text. is there, scrolls for a bit, then closes. And during SP, it drops to 0 FPS. I used to get 15-30, but now it wont run at all. The biggest change to my computer was a couple automatic windows updates, so I'm thinking it might have to do with service pack 2.

So, my 2 questions are:

How can I make doom playable again, and
If I DO get it playable again, how can I raise the FPS, which I think should be higher than it is.

Well, for starters make sure all your drivers are updated, and make sure you have the 1.1 patch. Also , use something like spybot S&D or Adaware to scan for spyware that may be interfering with the game. It's also a good idea to shut down any programs you have running in the background, as one or more of them may be causing instability.

As far as getting more FPS, we would have to know what settings you're runnig at right now. But generally speaking, using the latest drivers for your card and dropping your graphics settings should improve the situation.

have ya tried reinstalling, clean out the registry before ya do, tho

Weelll, I found out it was the new update. The multiplayer still doesnt work, but I think that' just firewall issues, which I'll fix. But after reinstalling, SP worked fine, still slow, 9 FPs during the first room, at the very start of the game. maybe because of the ship taking off, but even after leaving... I never got above 20. But, I think I know why. I noticed that morrowind had slowness problems too, but after realizing there was a software/hardware sound option, I switched it to hardware and, boom! My FPS jumped up a lot. So, I think it's sound issues, and nothing else... But unfortunately, sound configuration for doom 3 is very limited. In any case, I determined that the update killed the game for me and makes in uplayable. Sucky, but true. Any ideas on a more specific problem anyone?

As far as I'm aware all sound in Doom3 is processed in software on the CPU. This way they can make everything sound the same, without going through proprietary hardware in sound cards, possibly giving different effects.

Try this, go into your Windows control panel and under Sounds and Audio Device Properties you'll find a section where you can turn down, or off, hardware acceleration. I've no idea if this will help or not. It worked for me in one situation with a demo (Far Cry maybe?) and it might be worth trying...