i take it that you talk about Metal Gear Solid 1..

Actually it been known that there are some compatability issues with this game, so dont get distressed that is happening to you too.

A few Tricks that you could try are:

Try to start the game in a very low resolution like 320x240, if the attempt is successful exit and then try to play again in a more comfortable resolution. if that doesnt do the trick i guess your last option is to use microsoft's compatability kit that you can download from microsoft directly.

i hope that helps

have fun