Cannot see steam, smoke etc.

[medman]

HI, I am running XP Pro Service Pack 3, Pentium D, 3 GB Geil RAM, 500GB HD, Creative Xi-Fi Fatality pro, ATI 1950 Pro 512 RAM AGP. Catalyst Version 8.8. Samsung Synchmaster 226CW 22 inch LCD on 1650 x 1050 resolution.

For some reason some special effects like the steam and fire are not showing. But if I do not face them directly I can see them on the edge of the screen. But if the crosshair is pointed directly on the action it's just blank. For example, in the caves when the lamp is lit with the lighter, no fire is displayed, also in the iron mine when the steam lever is pulled, the steam cannot be seen.

Any ideas?