I just installed the game and I can't proceed past the introductory chapter in the asylum. After I plug the wires in for the VCR and play the tape, it crashes right after the video stops every time. I have Windows XP and have tried all compatibility settings.
Anyone encounter this?
Thanks!

Maybe your install was corrupted, and the movie files didn't load correctly. Were there any problems for you during the opening cutscene?

I'm on Windows 7 with the same issue.
Everything else worked fine.
Edit: this did it for me. Doesn't help you though. Get Win7? :)

Thank you for the advice. It just seems to be some kind of conflict with my computer. I reinstalled and was able to proceed, but it sometimes crashes at certain parts. But if I restart the game it will proceed, so I just have to save often.
I don't mind though as the game is fantastic!

i had trouble with crashing also. i managed to get it running okay by downloading the dxwnd and setting the directx mode to version 7. it hasn't crashed since.
edit: nevermind, it started crashing too :(
i've had much more luck using d3d windower i got from filefront:
http://www.filefront.com/13838785/D3DWindower-English/
i'm running on xp, not using any of the compatibility mode options.
only problem is, i don't want to run in window mode, but fullscreen.

I'm having the same exact problem .I justinstalled the game and it seemed fineuntil I got to that VCR and after the cut scene, it crashed. I restarted the game (and had to start over of course), and it crashed again after the cut scene. After learning how to save the game I started saving every few mins and especially right before a cut scene (or right after if I successfully got through one).
So far I"ve gotten as far the pumpkin patch (fighting the scarecrow) and I"ve been dealing with crashes almost every time I do a zoom-in scene (like the tic-tac-toe game) or a cut-scene. It's rather annoying.
I have Win XP and I dont' know a thing about compatibility and all that jazz. The game runs fine except for these consistent crashes. The save workaround is just that, a workaround, but annoying.
I also don't think the hot key of shift-S actually does a quick save. Doesn't seem like it does...??

Same here. I have XP too. Any solutions? I tried to change compatibility settings but so far no luck.
Thanks.

I'm having the exact same problem. I have Windows XP and the game always crashes after watching the VCR. I tried to skip the video but no luck.

Ok when I started the game using dxwnd_gog located in the game folder, I didn't crash after the VCR movie played. Hopefully this will be the solution.

I'm having (what sounds like) the same trouble. The game seems rock solid until a movie cutscene needs to play then there's a good chance it will either crash when the movie is about to start or just after it finishes. I've only been able to play by saving right before and right after I do ANYTHING that might cause a cutscene (talk to anyone, enter a new building, use an item on anything, etc).
Anyone have any ideas on why the videos would be intermittently crashing the game on startup and/or on close?
In case it matters, I'm running XP SP3 with full admin privileges and no compatibility settings. I installed from the GOG setup file and let it run the file integrity check.
In terms of the shift-S quick save it actually does what it says, it saves "really quickly"! The save file is located at the end of the saved game list (I think it's slot number 25) so if the game crashes you need to click over a couple of pages in order to load it but it does work (it's what I've been using to try to play this game).

Hey thanks for clarifying that quick save thing. I didn't even know you could scroll across the saved-game screens, I'll try that next time.
Yes that's what mine was doing--crashing right before or after a cutscene, seemed like almost a 90% chance it would crash...so I got to saving right before and after cut-scenes too. However, I didnt' have a problem with crashing when I spoke with people too often, mostly just during close ups (i.e., of puzzles) and cut scenes.
I'm not sure if it's coincidence but when I tried changing my settings to win 98 compatible it seemed to help. I also read somewhere else that the game seems to crash more in certain chapters (chap 3 being one culprit). When I got to chap. 4 I didn't have as much trouble with crashing, now I'm on chap. 7 and still been doing a lot better than I was in chapters 1-3. Not sure why...but I still save ALL the time.

I mentioned talking to people as an option only because certain times it causes a cutscene (which could crash), not because of the conversations themselves. I don't think I've ever had a puzzle crash, though I could be misremembering, but cutscenes I'd agree seem like at least a 50/50 chance of crash on open and close.
EDIT: OK, I just finished the game (Awesome, btw) and right near the end I stumbled upon something which seemed to make the game rock solid! Leave some other stuff running when you play... I don't know why it worked for me (and a few other people I've seen on this forum) but once I started leaving a few programs running before starting Sanitarium (like FireFox, UHS Reader, Foxit PDF Reader, OpenOffice, iTunes, etc) I didn't encounter a single crash for the last 2-3 chapters! Hope this helps others running into this trouble.
My specs (in case it helps) are as follows:
CPU = AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ @ 3.0 GHz (Dual-Core, not overclocked or anything)
MB = Asus M2R32 MVP
RAM = 2x1GB PC2 6400 DDR2 (Crucial Tech., Dual Channel)
Video = ATI Radeon X1950 XTX (PCI Express with 512 MB GDDR3 on board)
OS = Windows XP Pro SP3 (fully patched except for .NET and other optional stuff)
Anything else which would be helpful, please just let me know.

I had been having exactly the same problem, so thought I'd try your suggestion and changed the compatibility mode to Windows 98. Also left Outlook Express running for good measure as suggested by DJBee. Guess what - breezed through the VCR cut scene and on with the game. Thanks guys!