i also found this in older posts :
I am on Windows 8 and LOVE IT!!!! I had one problem with DTR2, clicked compatibility mode, ran DTR2 in XP and have my monitor on 1440x900 no problems at all after that. Changing the video settings just makes the game no fun, but if you run the trouble shooter it will fix everything. So it's just making the game compatible is what you have to do. Windows 8 has made my work and life soooo much better than XP or Vista
I am using 1440x900 right click on icon, click compatibility, mode and run dtr2 in windows xp
hey bub, I had the same problem. go to options, video, set resolution to 1024x768, color depth to 32 bit, and turn on high resolution and 32 bit textures( green arrows ). see what that does.