problems with games

when i start up my game it says that it has detected a problem with ym hardware configuration . i just bought a new video card and installed it ( geforce 4 mx 440)it also came with a game ,ballistic , when i try to run it it says that an unexpected error occured the assertion failed on line 816 of D:\prj\DIESEL\D3Driver\D3DParameter block .cpp but my main problem is the game that i try to play is motor city online it say that hardware acceleration is not present or has dbeen disabled but when i check it the hardware config is at 50 percent and i cant raise it to 100 percent the game says i need to reconfigure th direct x property to allow hardware acceleration or install a hardware accelerated video card . dont know what to do im running direct x 8.1 and the configuration on the video card wont allow me to run the 3d test . please help what should i do .