i think i have the same problem as fringey, but i have tried a few more things so i'll post what i have done in the hopes that it will help.
I installed my version through impulse in case that makes a difference.
i have my drivers fully updated, i have tried reinstalling, i have run it as an administrator, all the usual problems are covered.
also i have opened up the amnesia shortcut properties in the main folder and noticed that the start location is in the G:\ location which for me is the disk drive. My impulse version didn't come with a disk so i assumed that should be pointing somewhere else so i pointed it at the amnesia directory.
I also tried putting the folder on the desktop and running as administrator in case there were permission issues.
I tried running the game through the "launcher" and "amnesia" applications in the redist folder.
the "launcher" application does the same thing as the shortcut and impulse, it loads for a bit then nothing.
when i run the "amnesia" application the screen goes black like it is going to start, then i get the message that amnesia has crashed, and the "black box" diagnostic window is frozen at 32 percent.
The closest i have gotten is if i start amnesia right when i start up my computer. If i start the "amnesia" application while other startup programs are starting the same sequence except instead of getting the amnesia crashed window, the "black box" is able to finish. (i will atttatch the crash file) I have tried starting it again after the other start up programs finish and the black box crashes at the same 32 percent.
I hope this helps.
also i am running windows 7 64 bit with the ATI mobility radeon HD 5870 and an I7 processor and 8GB ram