Thank you for your time, gentleman. I did forget to mention that I have a version of DirectX higher than the 'you must have this version' and I had tried reinstalling GoogleEarth.
Sounds like another of life's little 'improvements' proving its own worth. (And, as for 'improvements' if you are installing DirectX be very careful of the install or you end up with Blip (sp?) as well).
The 'old version' install sounds like the best solution for now. Still I have got a new graphics card out of this (although my computer (I suspect the graphics) did 'freeze' an hour or so ago, for the first time in years. Watch this space).