If it still doesn't work, try setting compatibility for the crossfire... Right click crossfire and go to properties, then go to the compatibility tab, then checkmark "Run compatibility mode for this program for" and select the highest option given... The highest one for Windows XP should be Windows 2000, while for Vista and 7 it should be Windows XP.
Run CCleaner, and like I said, do a registry clean, a disk clean, etc.
Another solution... Could be by deleting sxs.dll in your crossfire folder...
Go to C:\Program Files\Z8Games\Crossfire.
Find it in ^that folder and delete. Restart computer and try again...
If your going to reinstall, make sure when you uninstall it, delete the z8games folder located in C:\Program Files\Z8Games
Then when you are going to install it, make sure your using the crossfire official downloader z8games has laid out for you on the downloads page.